Does The Y (YMCA) pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, The Y (YMCA) employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.1 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at The Y (YMCA). This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at The Y (YMCA)?

71% of The Y (YMCA) employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated The Y (YMCA) 3.8 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.9 for culture and values and 3.4 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at The Y (YMCA)?

Lifeguard (2019) , Summer Camp Counselor (797) , Camp Counselor (735) , Lifeguard/Swim Instructor (382) , Counselor (299) , Personal Trainer (284) , Swim Instructor (239) , Director (233) , Front Desk Receptionist (229) , Child Care Worker (213) , Member Service Representative (200) , Program Director (194) , Membership Representative (186) , Teacher (175) , Wellness Coach (158)

What are the pros of working at The Y (YMCA) according to real employee reviews?

"Also the people I worked with were great and really did care for the children and campers" ((in 1500 reviews)); "Great staff at my branch who always worked as a team real well and were very supportive." ((in 944 reviews)); "flexible hours are nice if I don't want the hours I can reject them." ((in 910 reviews)); "It was a positive experience and all my coworkers were great" ((in 819 reviews)); "Great work environment and perfect for anyone who's looking for a part" ((in 495 reviews))

What are the cons of working at The Y (YMCA) according to real employee reviews?

"The pay is too low for the amount of work and commitment asked for from management" ((in 3059 reviews)); "Poor management and not enough staffing" ((in 1033 reviews)); "Low salary compared to similar jobs in the field and experience doesn't budge the needle much if you negotiate." ((in 280 reviews)); "Expected us to take care of a heavily special needs child with no training whatsoever and for 16.88 an hour." ((in 240 reviews)); "Poor upper management does not have a sense of how to grow itself." ((in 223 reviews))

What are employees saying about The Y (YMCA) layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about The Y (YMCA) layoffs and their outlook for job security at The Y (YMCA) in 2026.

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The Y (YMCA)

The Y (YMCA) reviews

3.9

71% would recommend to a friend

(21,883 total reviews)

Suzanne McCormick

78% approve of CEO

57% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.1

Diversity & inclusion

3.9

Culture & values

3.8

Work/Life balance

3.4

Senior management

3.4

Career opportunities

3.1

Compensation and benefits

The Y (YMCA) has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 21,883 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The The Y (YMCA) employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the ONG y Organizaciones sin fines de lucro industry (3.7 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

22K reviews

4.0

Jun 14, 2008

Great Way to help the community

Field manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The Y is a great place to work for a variety of reasons. It has very competitive pay for young workers. I was paid much more than I would be paid at another job of similar responsibility. It is a relaxed environment that gives you the opportunity to work with kids and members of the community. Very flexible when it came to working - I could work when I could. It was also nice to work outside.

Cons

You get a horrible farmers tan if you work outside, and the parents can be somewhat uppity.

4.0

Jun 14, 2008

I wanna stay at the YMCA (for now)

Group leader

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Very relaxed and fun environment. People working there legitimately care about their employees. Management is very understanding of summer counselors and their needs. They understand that many of the people working there are not looking for a lifelong career but just summer employment and treat their employees accordingly. However, there is opportunity to continue working in child care if you enjoy the field. Some employees are perusing degrees in early childhood education while they continue to work at the YMCA. The YMCA is very caring about the needs of poorer families and you feel like you are making a legitimate difference in the lives of families that are in need of help.

Cons

Very disorganized management. Everyone is doing their own thing with no real guidance from the leaders of the local YMCA, instead being forced to run every idea and request through the Beverly YMCA. Further confused by being a member of the YMCA of the North Shore. As a result you end up having a large excess of red tape whenever you want to accomplish anything. They need to work on streamlining the entire process to make it easier and less time consuming to accomplish basic tasks such as budget and payroll. However, still a great place to work and this is just a minor complaint.

4.0

Jun 12, 2008

Great place for a high school/college student.

Lifeguard

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Everyone who works here is very caring and helpful. If something is going badly in another employees life, the others do their best to help that one out. This could include storm damage, or health problems, or deaths.We do our best to to not just be co-workers, but to also be each others friends. Working here, I have also learned a lot about the community and how people act and are treated by others.

Cons

A lot of YMCAs are in good condition, but the one I work at isn't. Another thing is that for someone with my job, there isn't a whole lot of room to advance, but then again, as a student who just graduated high school and wanted a part time job for that little extra cash, its fine.

Viewing 21880 - 21882 of 21,883 Reviews

Jobs at The Y (YMCA)

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