Recreation Attendant Hourly Pay & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 2,760 US job postings by 708 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for recreation attendants: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 2,760 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for recreation attendants in US job postings is $17.13 an hour (807 postings from 191 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $15.15 to $19.85 an hour.
- The skills that most set recreation attendant postings apart are customer service, friendly, positive attitude.
Recreation Attendant job postings in the US, October 2026
- $17.13/hr
- Median advertised pay (807 postings)
- $15.15–$19.85
- Middle 50% of postings
- 2,760
- US job postings from 708 employers
How much does a recreation attendant make an hour?
The median advertised pay is $17.13 an hour, from 807 US job postings by 191 employers that state pay. That is about $36,000 a year at 2,080 hours.
Advertised pay in 807 US recreation attendant job postings: median $36,000 a year ($17.13 an hour), middle half $32,000 to $41,000.
- Median: $36,000 ($17.13/hr)
- 25th percentile: $32,000
- 75th percentile: $41,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $10K–$20K | 0.4% |
| $20K–$30K | 16.4% |
| $30K–$40K | 55.7% |
| $40K–$50K | 23.7% |
| $50K–$60K | 2.1% |
| $60K–$70K | 0.9% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an hourly rate | $17.13 | $15.15–$19.85 | 522 |
| All pay postings, annualised | $36,000 | $32K–$41K | 807 |
For comparison, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median annual wage of Amusement and Recreation Attendants (39-3091) at $32,000 (May 2025). Postings advertise pay; the BLS measures what people earn, across all employers and levels.
What is the starting salary for a recreation attendant?
Figure withheld: fewer than 250 US postings list pay. How we decide.
Recreation attendant pay by state
Single-location US postings; states with at least 100 postings that state pay. States with pay-transparency laws (such as California, Colorado, New York and Washington) are over-represented among postings that state pay.
| State | Median pay | Middle 50% | Postings with pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $18.50/hr | $17.45–$20.00 | 106 | 8.8% |
Skills employers ask for in recreation attendant job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 36% |
| Customer service | 33% |
| Interpersonal skills | 16% |
| Attention to detail | 16% |
| Positive attitude | 12% |
| Work independently | 11% |
| Friendly | 10% |
| Organizational skills | 10% |
| Dependable | 6% |
| Self-motivated | 5% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set recreation attendants apart
- Customer service3.3× as often as in all postings · 33%
- Friendly7.8× as often as in all postings · 10%
- Positive attitude3.5× as often as in all postings · 12%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a recreation attendant job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a recreation attendant do?
Employers post these jobs as Pool Attendant, Spa Attendant, Fitness Attendant, Locker Room Attendant, Lift Operator and other titles. The largest specializations are Fitness Attendant (18%), Golf Shop Attendant (25%), Pool Attendant (6%), Usher (10%), Lift Operator (6%), Ride Operator (2%), Snowmaker (2%).
The closest official occupation is Amusement and Recreation Attendants (39-3091.00). Its most important tasks:
- Sell tickets and collect fees from customers.
- Provide information about facilities, entertainment options, and rules and regulations.
- Keep informed of shut-down and emergency evacuation procedures.
- Direct patrons to rides, seats, or attractions.
- Monitor activities to ensure adherence to rules and safety procedures, or arrange for the removal of unruly patrons.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
Other names for a recreation attendant: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Pool Attendant | 80 (11.3%) |
| Recreation Attendant | 41 (5.8%) |
| Spa Attendant | 38 (5.4%) |
| Fitness Attendant | 33 (4.7%) |
| Locker Room Attendant | 29 (4.1%) |
| Lift Operator | 28 (4.0%) |
| Cart Attendant | 27 (3.8%) |
| Fitness Center Attendant | 26 (3.7%) |
| Golf Cart Attendant | 26 (3.7%) |
| Ticket Seller | 25 (3.5%) |
| Golf Shop Attendant | 24 (3.4%) |
| Ride Operator | 24 (3.4%) |
| Men's Locker Room Attendant | 18 (2.5%) |
| Outside Services Attendant | 18 (2.5%) |
| Zamboni Driver | 18 (2.5%) |
| Pro Shop Attendant | 16 (2.3%) |
| Golf Services | 16 (2.3%) |
| Terrain Park Attendant | 15 (2.1%) |
| Lift Attendant | 13 (1.8%) |
| Birthday Party Host | 13 (1.8%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Recreation Attendant compared with similar careers
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Server | 15 | $16.90/hr |
| Bartender | 17 | $16.85/hr |
| Host | 18 | $16.58/hr |
| Cashier | 19 | $16.50/hr |
| Front Desk Agent | 18 | $18.50/hr |
| Retail Sales Associate | 18 | $17.24/hr |
Applying for recreation attendant jobs?
- Recreation attendant resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find recreation attendant jobs: search open postings
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 18 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 17 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.