Best Community Health Worker programs in Oregon, ranked by enrollment
Promote health within a community by assisting individuals to adopt healthy behaviors.
16 schools in Oregon run programs that feed this job, graduating 509 people a year. The job pays a median of $53,350 in Oregon across about 1,980 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Oregon that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
6 programs in Oregon that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Oregon (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Oregon page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 51.2201In Oregon → | 214 | 42.0% | 5 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 2 | CIP 51.0001In Oregon → | 165 | 32.4% | 5 | $34,545 | $25,000 |
| 3 | CIP 51.2208In Oregon → | 58 | 11.4% | 3 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 4 | CIP 51.2207In Oregon → | 55 | 10.8% | 5 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 5 | CIP 51.1504In Oregon → | 11 | 2.2% | 1 | $37,335 | $22,861 |
| 6 | CIP 51.2212In Oregon → | 6 | 1.2% | 2 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
Top 16 schools in Oregon
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 5 of the 16 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oregon State University Corvallis, OR Public · 1 feeder programs | 167 | Public Health, General | $40,682 | 70% | — | 77% |
| 2 | American College of Healthcare Sciences Portland, OR Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 107 | Health and Wellness, General | $30,774 | 100% | $24,073 | 53% |
| 3 | Portland State University Portland, OR Public · 4 feeder programs | 96 | Community Health and Preventive Medicine | $36,762 | 53% | — | 91% |
| 4 | Oregon Health & Science University Portland, OR Public · 3 feeder programs | 43 | Public Health Education and Promotion | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | Western Oregon University Monmouth, OR Public · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Public Health Education and Promotion | $35,701 | 47% | — | 98% |
| 6 | University of Portland Portland, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Health and Wellness, General | — | 80% | $33,822 | 89% |
| 7 | Willamette University Salem, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Public Health, General | — | 71% | $20,345 | 77% |
| 8 | Pacific University Forest Grove, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Public Health, General | $30,412 | 67% | $30,571 | 90% |
| 9 | Mt Hood Community College Gresham, OR Public · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Community Health Services/Liaison/Counseling | — | 24% | — | — |
| 10 | National University of Natural Medicine Portland, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Health and Wellness, General | — | — | — | — |
| 11 | George Fox University Newberg, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Behavioral Aspects of Health | — | 72% | $26,564 | 94% |
| 12 | Linfield University McMinnville, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Public Health Education and Promotion | — | 70% | $26,243 | 85% |
| 13 | Linn - Benton Community College Albany, OR Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Public Health Education and Promotion | — | 29% | — | — |
| 14 | Oregon Institute of Technology Klamath Falls, OR Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Behavioral Aspects of Health | — | 54% | — | 95% |
| 15 | Central Oregon Community College Bend, OR Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Community Health and Preventive Medicine | — | 25% | — | — |
| 16 | Corban University Salem, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Health and Wellness, General | — | 61% | $23,096 | 94% |
All 16 schools in Oregon
Every school in Oregon with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon State University | Corvallis | Public | 167 | 1 |
| American College of Healthcare Sciences | Portland | Private for-profit | 107 | 1 |
| Portland State University | Portland | Public | 96 | 4 |
| Oregon Health & Science University | Portland | Public | 43 | 3 |
| Western Oregon University | Monmouth | Public | 18 | 1 |
| University of Portland | Portland | Private not-for-profit | 16 | 1 |
| Willamette University | Salem | Private not-for-profit | 14 | 1 |
| Pacific University | Forest Grove | Private not-for-profit | 13 | 1 |
| Mt Hood Community College | Gresham | Public | 11 | 1 |
| National University of Natural Medicine | Portland | Private not-for-profit | 10 | 1 |
| George Fox University | Newberg | Private not-for-profit | 4 | 1 |
| Linfield University | McMinnville | Private not-for-profit | 3 | 1 |
| Linn - Benton Community College | Albany | Public | 3 | 1 |
| Oregon Institute of Technology | Klamath Falls | Public | 2 | 1 |
| Central Oregon Community College | Bend | Public | 1 | 1 |
What community health workers earn in Oregon
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $51,850. Oregon pays above the national figure.
Concentrated here: Oregon employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in Oregon
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Community Health Workers page.
How to become a Community Health Worker
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Oregon
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 9 majors mapped to Community Health Workers9 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 09.0905Health Communication
- 51.0001Health and Wellness, General
- 51.1504Community Health Services/Liaison/Counseling
- 51.2201Public Health, General
- 51.2207Public Health Education and Promotion
- 51.2208Community Health and Preventive Medicine
- 51.2209Maternal and Child Health
- 51.2212Behavioral Aspects of Health
- 51.3206Arts in Medicine/Health
Common questions
Answers for people weighing community health workers programs in Oregon.
What degree do you need to become a Community Health Worker?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Public Health, General, which awarded 214 degrees in Oregon in 2024-25, 42.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Community Health Worker?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Public Health, Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions. Together they graduate about 509 people a year in Oregon.
How much do community health workers earn in Oregon?+
The median is $53,350 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 2.9% above the U.S. median of $51,850. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for community health workers growing?+
BLS projects a +11.3% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 7,800 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Oregon?+
16 institutions in Oregon reported graduates from at least one of the 6 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do community health workers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Community Health Promoter, Community Nutrition Educator, Community Health Outreach Worker, Community Health Program Coordinator among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 21-1094.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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