Social Worker Earnings

The median annual wage for social workers was $49,470 in May 2018. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $30,750, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $81,400.

Median annual wages for social workers in May 2018 were as follows:

• Social workers, all other: $63,140
• Healthcare social workers: $56,200
• Child, family, and school social workers $46,270
• Mental health and substance abuse social workers $44,840

In May 2018, the median annual wages for social workers in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:

• Hospitals; state, local, and private: $60,100
• Local government, excluding education and hospitals: $54,430
• Ambulatory healthcare services: $49,840
• State government, excluding education and hospitals: $48,590
• Individual and family services $41,810

The majority of social workers work full time. They sometimes work evenings, weekends, and holidays to see clients or attend meetings, and they may be on call.

Source: BLS, USDOL