The Highest-Paying States and Cities for Social Workers

Are you interested in a social work career but wonder if it is financially worth it? Like any career, social work salaries vary by location and type of specialization. While the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports a median annual salary of $58,380 for social workers, the top 10% earned more than $94,910.

Salaries can vary for many reasons, and one major one is location. For example, healthcare social workers in some parts of California earn well over $100,000 annually. Learn about the top states and metro areas offering the highest social work salaries.

New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, and Washington are the top-paying states for social workers. In these states, social workers earn an average annual salary of over $90,000.

The highest annual salaries for social workers range from about $81,000-$94,000, BLS statistics show. Four of the 10 top-paying states are on the East Coast.

Population and population density can play important roles in this reality. For example, metropolitan areas may offer more employment opportunities and higher salaries to offset higher costs of living.

How much a social worker can earn also varies by level of education and licensure, years of experience, and type of employer.

Social workers in child, family, and school specializations earn the highest annual salaries in Washington, D.C., New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Connecticut, with average annual earnings ranging from about $70,000 to $76,000.

Social workers in these specializations command higher salaries in certain metro areas. Professionals In the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Cruz region of California earn the highest average salary of about $82,000, followed by Portsmouth, Maine and New York-Jersey City.

Healthcare social workers often command higher social worker salaries, with employers on both U.S. coasts paying the highest. California consistently ranks as the top-paying state for this specialization, with an average annual salary above $93,000. However, it’s important to note that California has a substantially higher cost-of-living index score (144.7is ) than the U.S. average of 100.

Mental health and substance use social workers are in demand. The top-paying state is New York, with an average annual salary of over $90,000, followed by California, with an average salary of over $80,000. While salaries vary considerably across the country, these professionals tend to earn the highest salaries on the East and West Coasts.

Four of the top five highest-paying locations for these social workers are in metropolitan areas of California. The metropolitan area comprising New York City and parts of New Jersey offers a competitive annual average salary of $98,480 and more employment opportunities than most other locations.

Several factors impact salary nationwide, including demand, population density, and the cost of living. Areas with higher costs of living tend to pay higher salaries.

In comparison, the lowest-paid mental health and substance use social workers reside in Alabama, Oklahoma, and Missouri, reporting average annual salaries ranging from $40,000 to $43,000.