25 Undervalued Jobs That We Appreciate Now More Than Ever

There's honor in an honest day's work, but honor doesn't pay the bills. Sadly, workers filling service-oriented jobs in fields like food preparation, childcare, and even emergency medicine — some of which are made high-risk by the coronavirus pandemic — are often the ones receiving the most meager paychecks. Cheapism examined data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to find 25 jobs where workers are making far less than the average U.S. worker, $56,310 a year, despite their important duties. 

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Average hourly wage: $23.13
Where they make the most: New York ($64,330)
Where they make the least: Puerto Rico ($25,980)
Whether they're transporting school kids, the elderly and disabled, or the rest of us, bus drivers are charged with getting people safely where they need to go, and the pandemic has added an extra layer of stress to the occupation. It's a critical job that doesn't come with a big salary — about $48,110 a year, or 85% of what the average U.S. worker makes. 

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Average hourly wage: $22.02
Where they make the most: California ($68,930)
Where they make the least: Puerto Rico ($20,540)
Emergency dispatchers are on the receiving end of 911 calls, dispatching first responders to panicked people who may barely be able to remember their own name, let alone where they are. For this critical job, they earn an average of $45,800 a year, or about 81% of what the average U.S. worker makes.

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Average hourly wage: $21.60
Where they make the most: Alaska ($53,550 a year)
Where they make the least: Mississippi ($39,240 a year)
If government shutdowns have taught us anything, it's that our transportation security screeners are absolutely vital — and absolutely underpaid, even with the government functioning as it should. A viral pandemic makes the job notably riskier. The folks who keep guns and bombs off our planes make an average of only $44,920 a year, or 80% of the average U.S. worker’s salary. 

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Average hourly wage: $20.23
Where they make the most: Alaska ($66,880 a year)
Where they make the least: Puerto Rico ($30,260 a year)
Rehabilitation counselors help those who've suffered from injury, illness, addiction, or other life-altering conditions get back into the swing of daily life. And while it's a job that may be personally fulfilling, it's not exactly a financial gold mine. Rehab counselors make an average of $42,080 a year, or 75% of the average U.S. worker’s salary. 

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Average hourly wage: $19.56
Where they make the most: Alaska ($55,970 a year)
Where they make the least: Kentucky ($28,380 a year)
When's the last time you trapped a potentially rabid raccoon, removed a crocodile from a porch, or corralled an aggressive stray dog? Animal control workers never know what the day will bring, unless you count a low paycheck. They make an average of $40,680 a year, or 72% what the average U.S. worker makes. 

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Average hourly wage: $19.41
Where they make the most: Hawaii ($58,580 a year)
Where they make the least: Puerto Rico ($21,620 a year)
First responders earn a lot of much-deserved praise from politicians, but praise doesn't keep the lights on and the heater cranking. For their life-and-death duties, EMTs and paramedics make an average of $40,370 a year — that's about 72% what the average U.S. worker makes. 

Related: Lifesaving Skills Worth Learning for Emergencies

Average hourly wage: $19.40
Where they make the most: Washington ($54,060 a year)
Where they make the least: Puerto Rico ($24,350 a year)
They shimmy into dank, dark spaces, deal with toxic chemicals, and get an up close and personal view of the critters that give the rest of us the creeps. Pest control workers do a job that very few of us are willing to do, but they make an average annual salary of only $40,350, or about 72% the average U.S. salary. 

Related: 22 Cheap, Natural Ways to Rid Your Home of Pests

Average hourly wage: $18.51
Where they make the most: Washington, D.C. ($47,510 a year)
Where they make the least: Puerto Rico ($23,560 a year)
Customer service can be a brutal field. Representatives often bear the brunt of customers' anger or frustration, and their job means resisting the all-too-human urge to take it personally. They have to solve problems they didn't cause as quickly as possible, often enduring more vitriol in the process. But they earn an average of just $38,510 a year, or 68% what the average U.S. worker makes. 

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Average hourly wage: $18.38
Where they make the most: District of Columbia ($54,640 a year)
Where they make the least: Puerto Rico ($24,880 a year)
Anyone who works in social services can tell you that supporting at-risk community members and helping them benefit from government programs can be enormously rewarding, but also enormously draining. This essential job pays an average of just $38,230 a year, or about 68% what the average U.S. worker makes.

Average hourly wage: $17.92
Where they make the most: California ($47,230 a year)
Where they make the least: Puerto Rico ($20,470 a year)
We'd love it if the folks charged with sticking needles into our arms were fairly compensated for a task that's desperately needed during a health crisis and high-risk, too. But phlebotomists, who draw blood for all sorts of critical procedures, make an average of only $37,280 a year. That's 66% of the average U.S. worker’s salary.

Average hourly wage: $17.57
Where they make the most: New Jersey ($47,190 a year)
Where they make the least: Puerto Rico ($23,530 a year)
Little Jimmy had a potty accident, Sophia glued her construction paper turkey to her desk, and no one seems to want to nap during rest time. In other words, it's a typical day for a preschool teacher, who makes a paltry average of $36,550 a year, 65% of the average U.S. worker’s salary. 

Related: What Teachers Are Paid Around the World

Average hourly wage: $17.52
Where they make the most: California ($47,620 a year)
Where they make the least: Puerto Rico ($24,090 a year)
Pharmacy technicians are largely responsible for filling your prescriptions correctly, labeling them accurately, taking inventory of medications, and fielding customers' questions. But they're paid an average of $36,450 a year for these very important tasks, 65% of the average U.S. worker’s salary. 

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Average hourly wage: $16.52
Where they make the most: District of Columbia ($49,130 a year)
Where they make the least: Puerto Rico ($18,660 a year)
Security guards are always supposed to be on high alert for fights, theft, or other problems, but in this era of mass shootings and recession-fueled riots or break-ins, there's undoubtedly a new layer of anxiety. They make an average of $34,360 a year, 61% of what the average U.S. worker makes.  

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Average hourly wage: $16.01
Where they make the most: Minnesota ($45,390 a year)
Where they make the least: Mississippi ($22,650 a year)
Overseeing activities for mental health patients, cleaning up after them, monitoring moods and vitals, diffusing outbursts, and even restraining patients in the event of a serious disturbance is all in a day's work for a psychiatric aide. This draining job nets an average of $33,300 a year, or just 59% of the average U.S. worker’s salary.  

Related: How to Get Free or Cheap Mental Health Care

Average hourly wage: $15.41
Where they make the most: Alaska ($42,500 a year)
Where they make the least: Puerto Rico ($22,350 a year)
Nursing assistants are often responsible for the nitty-gritty of patient care: things like grooming, bathing, and transporting patients or cleaning up accidents. However, they may also perform more involved tasks like monitoring IVs or documenting patients' behavior. These crucial duties earn them an average of $32,050 a year, 57% of what the average U.S. worker makes. 

Average hourly wage: $15.10 

Where they make the most: Washington ($40,330 a year)
Where they make the least: Puerto Rico ($20,070 a year)
They clean up messy conference rooms in office buildings and puddles of puke at elementary schools. They shovel snow from parking lots in the dead of winter and keep the air conditioner cranking in the heat of summer. During the coronavirus pandemic, their skills are sorely needed in public places, and just doing their jobs can put their health at risk. Still, janitors make only $31,410 a year, 56% of the average U.S. worker’s salary. 

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Average hourly wage: $14.97
Where they make the most: Rhode Island ($48,990 a year)
Where they make the least: Puerto Rico ($21,950 a year)
Dealing with grieving families can't be the easiest job, but funeral attendants handle it with grace, making sure we can pay our respects without any logistical hiccups. When there's a spike in deaths like the one created by COVID-19, this becomes far more difficult. This delicate job nets them an average of just $31,130 a year, 55% of the average U.S. worker’s salary. 

Related: The New Rules for Funerals During the Pandemic

Average hourly wage: $14.49
Where they make the most: District of Columbia ($44,450 a year)
Where they make the least: Puerto Rico ($19,010 a year)
Without them, we don't have crops; without crops, we don't have food. Still, there's a well-documented shortage of farm workers in the U.S., and it's no wonder. The long hours and back-breaking physical labor net them an average of only $30,140 a year, 54% of what the average U.S. worker makes.

Average hourly wage: $14.20
Where they make the most: District of Columbia ($37,040 a year)
Where they make the least: Puerto Rico ($19,230 a year)
Unless you're frequenting restaurants run by well-compensated celebrity chefs, the people preparing your meal probably aren't making enough cash to regularly eat out themselves. Restaurant cooks, charged not only with making our meals tasty but preparing them safely, make an average of just $29,530 a year, only 52% of the typical U.S. worker’s salary. Their jobs are also some of the first to be cut during a global pandemic. 

Related: How Restaurants Have Changed Over the Past Decade

Average hourly wage: $13.49
Where they make the most: Alaska ($35,360 a year)
Where they make the least: Puerto Rico ($18,020 a year)
The disabled and the elderly depend on home health aides to help them with things they can't do themselves, whether that's managing health issues or completing daily chores like bathing and grooming. But the selfless folks who fill this role make an average of just $28,060 a year, about half as much as the average U.S. worker. 

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Average hourly wage: $13.47
Where they make the most: District of Columbia ($40,540 a year)
Where they make the least: Puerto Rico ($20,630 a year)
In homes, hotels, hospitals, and other spots, we depend on cleaners to keep our surroundings tidy and sanitary. We trust them with access to some of our most intimate spaces. Tip them well, because despite the long, physical hours, they're making an average of just $28,010 a year, or half as much as the average U.S. worker.

Average hourly wage: $13
Where they make the most: Hawaii ($50,100 a year)
Where they make the least: Alabama ($20,080 a year)
Lifeguards, ski patrollers, and amusement safety workers are just a few of the people charged with keeping us safe when we just want to have fun, but they make very little for their efforts — an average of $27,050 a year, or 48% of the average U.S. worker’s salary. 

Related: 22 Jobs That Make the Gym Redundant

Average hourly wage: $12.90
Where they make the most: District of Columbia ($35,950 a year)
Where they make the least: Puerto Rico ($19,180 a year)
The folks we trust to prepare and serve our food, whether that's at a fast-food restaurant, school, specialty store, or somewhere else, make an average of just $26,820 a year. That's 48% of the average U.S. worker’s salary.

Average hourly wage: $12.88
Where they make the most: District of Columbia ($37,760 a year)
Where they make the least: Puerto Rico ($19,280 a year)
Whether a childcare worker is charged with keeping tots safe and happy all day at a daycare or for just an hour or two at a gym or church, it's a crucial and often thankless task. Sadly, the people we trust with our children make an average of just $26,790 a year, or 48% of what the average U.S. worker makes. 

Related: How Household Spending Has Dropped During the Pandemic

Average hourly wage: $12.36
Where they make the most: Washington ($33,110 a year)
Where they make the least: Puerto Rico ($19,410 a year)
During the pandemic, cashiers have been front and center among frontline workers, interacting with person after person as we pay for food, clothing, and other necessities. The constant risk certainly hasn’t been accompanied by decent pay: Cashiers make an average of just $25,710 a year, or 46% of what the average U.S. worker makes.