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Direct support professional salary in Pennsylvania

Open direct support professional jobs in Pennsylvania post a median of $18 an hour, the middle half $17.50–$19.50 (about $37,400 a year full time), $1 below the national posted median. From 79 jobs at 18 employers that state their pay.

$18
Median posted /hr
$18–$20
Middle half /hr
$37,400
A year, full time
estimate, 2,080 hours
$14.14
BLS median in PA
May 2025

The jobs themselves: Direct support professional jobs in Pennsylvania · Direct support professional pay nationwide

What direct support professionals are paid in Pennsylvania

Each bar counts the open jobs posting an hourly rate in its step of pay (a range at its midpoint).

Posted hourly rates of 79 open jobs in Pennsylvania. Lowest posted $11, highest $27.58.

Posted on open jobs in Pennsylvania

$17.50–$19.50/hr

Middle half of 39 employer rates (each employer's advertised range once), median $18. 52% of the 152 open direct support professional jobs in Pennsylvania state an hourly rate.

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Direct support professional pay by town in Pennsylvania

Towns where at least three open jobs state an hourly rate, the towns with the most such jobs first.

TownMedian postedPosted rangeJobs (employers)
Harrisburg$19$14–$259 (4)
Mechanicsburg$17.50$17–$196 (2)
Lancaster$19$17–$19.505 (2)
Carlisle$18.25$17–$22.055 (4)
Pittsburgh$21.50$18.19–$27.584 (2)
Philadelphia$19.50$17.51–$254 (2)
Bethlehem$17$14–$20.754 (3)
Monaca$20$203 (1)
Moon Township$20$203 (1)
Camp Hill$17.75$17–$193 (1)
Scranton$17.50$16.25–$18.753 (1)
Allentown$17$14–$20.753 (3)

Median of employers' rates in the town, the lowest and highest rate posted, and the jobs and employers behind them. A town opens its own job page.

Direct support professional pay by employer in Pennsylvania

What each employer posts for direct support professionals here, the employers with the most jobs stating pay first.

EmployerMedian postedPosted rangeJobs stating pay
Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health$19.25$15–$23.0512
Skills of Central Pennsylvania$17.75$16–$22.0511
The Arc of Cumberland and Perry Counties$17.50$17.5510
Keystone Human Services$19$14–$22.256
BAYADA Home Health Care$18$15–$206
The Verland Foundation$20$205
COMHAR$17.50$17–$194
Community Services Group$17$174
UPMC$23$18.19–$27.583
UCP Central Pa$17.75$17–$193
The Arc of Northeastern Pennsylvania$17.50$16.25–$18.753
VIA of the Lehigh Valley$17$173
Values Into Action$22.50$19–$252
Anova Premier Home Care$18.75$18–$19.502
Team Select Home Care$14$11–$162
Select Medical$22.75$20.51–$251
RHA Health Services$18$181
Melmark$16.50$16.501

Median of each employer's jobs in Pennsylvania (a range at its midpoint), and its lowest and highest rate here. An employer's name opens its pay for direct support professionals nationwide when it has such a page.

Night shift direct support professional pay in Pennsylvania

Where one employer posts both night and other direct support professional jobs in the same state (3 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, stateNight jobs, medianOther jobs, median
Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, PA$19.25 (1)$19.25 (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)

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 in Pennsylvania

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

What BLS measures in Pennsylvania

What people employed in the occupation earned in the state, at every level of experience, from the BLS survey. A posting advertises what a new hire is offered.

Hourly wages, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Pennsylvania. Each figure opens its BLS page.
BLS occupation10th pct25th pctMedian75th pct90th pctEmployed
Home Health and Personal Care Aides (31-1120)$12.75 (source: BLS OEWS, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, opens in a new tab)$13.65 (source: BLS OEWS, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, opens in a new tab)$14.14 (source: BLS OEWS, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, opens in a new tab)$16.55 (source: BLS OEWS, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, opens in a new tab)$18.25 (source: BLS OEWS, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, opens in a new tab)257,370 (source: BLS OEWS, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, opens in a new tab)

BLS median by metro area

Direct support professional salary in Pennsylvania: common questions

How much does a direct support professional make in Pennsylvania?

Open direct support professional jobs in Pennsylvania that state an hourly rate post a median of $18, the middle half $17.50–$19.50 (79 jobs from 18 employers). Full time that is about $37,400 a year. BLS measured a median of $14.14/hr ($29,420 a year) for people employed in the occupation in Pennsylvania (May 2025).

Where in Pennsylvania do direct support professionals earn the most?

By the median rate open jobs post, in the towns with the most jobs stating pay: Harrisburg ($19), Mechanicsburg ($17.50), Lancaster ($19) and Carlisle ($18.25). The town table lists 12.

Which employers in Pennsylvania pay direct support professionals the most?

Among employers stating a rate on at least three open jobs here: UPMC ($23), The Verland Foundation ($20) and Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health ($19.25).

How does Pennsylvania compare with the rest of the country?

The posted median in Pennsylvania ($18) is $1 below the national posted median of $19. In the BLS survey Pennsylvania ranks 42 of 52 by median wage.

Where do these figures come from?

From the pay open jobs state, read every night from each employer's own job board: 79 of 152 open direct support professional jobs in Pennsylvania (52%) state an hourly rate. No pay is estimated for a job that states none; "up to" ceilings and weekly travel rates are left out.

Direct support professional pay in other states

Direct support professional salary nationwide →Every healthcare salary →

Sources and method

Only pay a job states is used, a range at its midpoint. In the state's median and middle half each employer's advertised range counts once, so an employer posting one range in many towns does not set the figure; a town's median follows the same rule. "Up to" ceilings, weekly travel rates and rates far from the occupation's median are left out. A state has a page while at least 8 jobs from 3 employers state a rate there. The yearly estimate is the hourly rate times 2,080 hours. BLS figures are as published.
  1. CareJobs.Now job board: the pay open jobs state, read nightly from each employer's own careers site, published October 24, 2026
  2. BLS OEWS May 2025: Home Health and Personal Care Aides (SOC 31-1120), every state, published May 15, 2026
  3. BLS OEWS May 2025: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, national, published May 15, 2026
  4. BLS OEWS May 2025: Home Health and Personal Care Aides by metropolitan area, published May 15, 2026

Cite this page

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

How the board counts