Direct support professional salary

Open direct support professional jobs post a median of $19 an hour, with the middle half paying $17.25–$20.50: about $39,500 a year full time. Measured from 954 jobs at 162 employers that state their pay, read from each employer's own job board.

Median posted /hr

Middle half /hr

A year, full time

estimate, 2,080 hours

BLS median /hr

May 2025

The jobs themselves: Direct support professional jobs

What direct support professionals are paid

Each bar counts the open jobs posting an hourly rate in its step of pay (a range at its midpoint). The middle half of employers' rates is in the darker color.

Posted hourly rates of 954 open jobs. The chart spans the 2nd to the 98th percentile; the lowest rate posted is $10, the highest $35.

Posted on open jobs

$17.25–$20.50/hr

Middle half of 389 employer rates (each employer's advertised range once), median $19. 79% of the 1,214 open direct support professional jobs state an hourly rate. 6 more state an "up to" ceiling, a weekly travel rate, a per-visit fee, or a rate far from the rest (a differential read as pay), left out.

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Direct support professional pay by employer

What each employer posts for direct support professionals, the employers with the most jobs stating pay first. An employer with at least 5 such jobs has a page of its own with every range it posts.

Employer	Median posted	Posted range	Jobs stating pay
Venture Community Services	$18.25	$17.50–$21	97
RHA Health Services	$15	$15–$20	65
The New York Foundling	$19.50	$18.23–$21.54	51
Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health	$20.75	$15–$28	35
Premier Community Supports	$25	$20–$26.50	32
Bancroft	$19.25	$18.21–$20	27
Rever Grand	$24	$24	19
United Counseling Service of Bennington County	$21.25	$21.19–$26.09	18
BAYADA Home Health Care	$17.50	$15–$20	16
Envision Unlimited	$22.50	$19.66–$24.87	15
UnitedHealth Group	$17	$14–$23.30	14
TURN Community Svcs	$16.50	$16.50	14
Advocates	$18.50	$18.50–$20	13
Progressive Directions, Inc. (PDI)	$16	$16	12
Skills of Central Pennsylvania	$17.75	$16–$22.05	11
Mozaic	$18.25	$16.75–$18.96	10
The Arc of Cumberland and Perry Counties	$17.50	$17.55	10
AFNB Home Care	$11	$10.50–$14	10
Aware	$23.50	$17–$33.04	9
ADAPT Community Network	$21.50	$17.46–$27.25	9
Our House	$20.50	$20–$21	9
The Center for Family Support	$20	$18.43–$21	9
The Arc Ontario	$19.50	$18.54–$20.54	9
Keystone Human Services	$19.25	$14–$22.25	9
One Vision	$17	$17	9
PathPoint	$23.75	$22.75–$27.04	8
AbilityFirst	$20	$20	8
ETTA	$20	$20–$35	8
Cardinal McCloskey Community Services	$17.75	$17.46–$20.96	8
The Opportunity Alliance	$21.50	$21.50	7
DABS	$21	$17–$26	7
Abilities First	$19.50	$18.12–$20.83	7
Opportunity Enterprises	$18.50	$17–$18.50	7
The Arc Oneida-Lewis	$18.50	$17.50–$20	7
BrightSpring Health Services	$17.50	$16–$22	7
All Ways Caring HomeCare	$16	$11–$23.75	7
Liberty ARC	$22.75	$19.50–$31.32	6
Arc of Onondaga	$20.25	$19.50–$21	6
Connections for Life	$19.50	$19.61–$25.80	6
Katahdin Friends	$19.25	$18.88–$21	6

Median of each employer's own jobs (a range at its midpoint), and the lowest and highest rate it posts. Jobs stating pay link to the employer's open jobs.

Direct support professional pay by state

States where at least 8 open jobs from 3 employers state an hourly rate, highest median first. Each opens the state's own page, with its towns and employers.

State	Median posted	Middle half	BLS median	Jobs
Oregon	$22	$20–$24	$21.35 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	56
California	$21	$19.75–$24.75	$16.50 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	51
Illinois	$21	$20–$22.50	$18.30 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	28
Montana	$20.50	$18.50–$22.50	$17.61 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	16
New York	$19.50	$19–$21	$19.05 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	168
New Jersey	$19.50	$19.25–$20	$17.83 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	46
Maine	$19.50	$18.50–$21.50	$18.55 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	33
New Hampshire	$19.50	$18.25–$21.75	$18.64 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	12
Massachusetts	$19	$18.75–$20.75	$19.67 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	124
Missouri	$19	$18.50–$19.75	$15.90 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	15
Virginia	$19	$18.50–$19.25	$14.57 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	11
Pennsylvania	$18	$17.50–$19.50	$14.14 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	79
Minnesota	$18	$16.50–$20.25	$18.45 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	17
Ohio	$17.50	$17–$18.25	$16.57 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	19
Indiana	$17	$15.25–$18	$16.86 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	28
Wisconsin	$17	$16–$18	$17.47 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	15
Iowa	$16.50	$16–$17	$17.34 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	19
North Carolina	$16	$15.25–$17.50	$15.02 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	77
Arizona	$16	$15.50–$16.50	$17.51 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	13
Tennessee	$15.25	$15–$16	$15.45 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	18
Georgia	$14.75	$14–$16.50	$14.07 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	9

Median and middle half of employers' rates in the state. BLS medians are for the occupation's main SOC code in the state (May 2025).

Night shift direct support professional pay

Where one employer posts both night and other direct support professional jobs in the same state (26 such employers and states), the night jobs post the same base rate as the rest (the median gap is $0): most employers state their night differential apart from the base pay, so check the posting for it.

Employer, state	Night jobs, median	Other jobs, median
Venture Community Services, MA	$18.25 (1)	$18.25 (96)
Bancroft, NJ	$19.25 (3)	$19.25 (23)
Advocates, MA	$18.50 (3)	$18.50 (10)
Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, PA	$19.25 (1)	$19.25 (11)
Progressive Directions, Inc. (PDI), TN	$16 (1)	$16 (11)
Skills of Central Pennsylvania, PA	$20 (1)	$17.75 (10)
The Arc of Cumberland and Perry Counties, PA	$17.50 (1)	$17.50 (9)
One Vision, IA	$17 (4)	$17 (5)

A job counts as a night job when its title names nights ("Nights", "NOC", "7p-7a"). Jobs in brackets.

Best-paid open direct support professional jobs

The open jobs posting the highest hourly rates tonight, at most two from one employer.

Direct Support Professional (The Village / Caregiver)
ETTA · Los Angeles, CA· 2d ago
$35/hr
Direct Support Professional - Per Diem
Catholic Health (Long Island) · Elmont, Valley Stream and 1 more, NY· 5d ago
$34.41/hr
Direct Support Professional (Jewish Community @ Pico-Robertson / The Village)
ETTA · Los Angeles, CA· 2mo ago
$32–$35/hr
Intensive Support and Stabilization Direct Care Professional - Residential Services (Anaconda, MT)
Aware · Anaconda and Missoula, MT· 2w ago
$25.00–$33.04/hr
Intensive Support and Stabilization Direct Care Professional - Residential Services (Butte, MT)
Aware · Butte, MT· 2w ago
$25.00–$33.04/hr
DSP Supported and Independent Living Lead
Toolworks · Sf, CA· 4w ago
$29/hr
Direct Support Professional II - Foothill Home
Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health · California· 3d ago
$28/hr
Residential Habilitation Specialist
Liberty ARC · Canajoharie, NY· 1mo ago
$24.1–$31.32/hr
DSP Employment Specialist
CommonSpirit Health · Fargo, ND· 1w ago
$22.12–$32.9/hr
Habilitation Specialist
ADAPT Community Network · Brooklyn and Bronx, NY· 2d ago
$27.25/hr
Habilitation Specialist -Mon-Fri, 9a-4:30p
ADAPT Community Network · Staten Island, NY· 3w ago
$27.25/hr
Direct Support Professional, ABA Day Program
PathPoint · Los Angeles, CA· 3w ago
$26.25–$27.04/hr

Every open job: Direct support professional jobs

What BLS measures

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys what people employed in the occupation earn, at every level of experience. A posting advertises what a new hire is offered, so the two measure different things.

Hourly wages, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Each figure opens its BLS page.
BLS occupation	10th pct	25th pct	Median	75th pct	90th pct	Employed
Home Health and Personal Care Aides (31-1120)	$13.00 (source: BLS OEWS, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, opens in a new tab)	$15.35 (source: BLS OEWS, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, opens in a new tab)	$17.21 (source: BLS OEWS, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, opens in a new tab)	$18.98 (source: BLS OEWS, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, opens in a new tab)	$21.65 (source: BLS OEWS, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, opens in a new tab)	4,305,810 (source: BLS OEWS, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, opens in a new tab)

The posted median ($19) is $1.79 above the BLS median ($17.21 (source: BLS OEWS May 2025, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, opens in a new tab)). Posted ranges run from a new hire's rate to an experienced one's, and their midpoint is counted here.

Direct support professional salary: common questions

How much does a direct support professional make an hour?

Open direct support professional jobs on CareJobs.Now that state an hourly rate post a median of $19, with the middle half between $17.25–$20.50 (954 jobs from 162 employers, each employer's advertised range counted once). Postings advertise a base rate, usually before shift differentials and bonuses. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics measured a median of $17.21/hr ($35,800 a year) for home health and personal care aides in May 2025.

How much does a direct support professional make a year?

At the posted median of $19 an hour, full time (2,080 hours a year) comes to about $39,500, and the middle half to $35,900 to $42,600. That is arithmetic on the hourly rate, not a salary any job states.

Which states pay direct support professionals the most?

By the median hourly rate open jobs post: Oregon ($22), California ($21) and Illinois ($21). The lowest: Georgia ($14.75), Tennessee ($15.25) and Arizona ($16). Each state's page breaks its pay down by town and employer.

Which employers pay direct support professionals the most?

Among employers stating a rate on at least 5 open jobs: Premier Community Supports ($25), Rever Grand ($24) and PathPoint ($23.75). The employer table lists the 40 employers with the most jobs stating pay.

Do night shift direct support professionals earn more?

Not in the base rate employers post: where one employer posts both night and other direct support professional jobs in the same state (26 such employers and states), the median gap is $0. Most state their night differential separately in the posting.

Where do these figures come from?

From the pay CareJobs.Now's open jobs state, read every night from each employer's own job board: 954 of 1,214 open direct support professional jobs (79%) state an hourly rate. No pay is estimated for a job that states none, "up to" ceilings and weekly travel rates are left out, and each employer's advertised range counts once in the median, so no single employer sets it.

More pay by job: Caregivers

Direct support professional jobs →Every healthcare salary →Pay explorer →

Sources and method

Only pay a job states is used: a plain hourly or yearly figure or range in US dollars, read from the job's own posting. A range counts at its midpoint. In the median and the middle half each employer's advertised range counts once, so an employer posting one range in many towns does not set the figure; an employer's own figures count its jobs one by one. "Up to" ceilings, weekly travel rates and rates under a third or over three times the occupation's median are left out. The yearly estimate is the hourly rate times 2,080 hours (40 a week). A job counts under its occupation and every occupation above it, and under every state it is open in. A page exists while at least 8 jobs from 3 employers state a rate. BLS figures are as published.

CareJobs.Now job board: the pay open jobs state, read nightly from each employer's own careers site, published October 24, 2026
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: Home Health and Personal Care Aides (SOC 31-1120), published May 15, 2026
BLS OEWS May 2025: Home Health and Personal Care Aides by state, published May 15, 2026
BLS Employment Projections 2025-2035: Home Health and Personal Care Aides (Occupational Outlook Handbook), published August 27, 2026

Cite this page

CareJobs.Now. (2026). Direct support professional salary. Data as of October 24, 2026. https://carejobs.now/salaries/direct-support-professional

How the board counts