How much do social workers make?
Answer
There is no single social worker salary: BLS publishes pay for each type. Medians range from $59,550 to $71,900 a year (May 2025).
| Social Workers, All Other | $71,900 | $43,620 | $115,610 | 62,930 | Bachelor's degree | +2.3% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Social Workers | $67,880 | $46,220 | $100,360 | 187,630 | Master's degree | +8.5% |
| Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers | $60,280 | $39,740 | $104,170 | 132,810 | Master's degree | +10.3% |
| Child, Family, and School Social Workers | $59,550 | $42,280 | $95,530 | 392,550 | Bachelor's degree | +4.4% |
BLS OEWS, May 2025 (released April 30, 2026); typical education and growth from BLS Employment Projections 2025–35.
How the types of social worker compare
The four official social worker occupations differ more in setting and license level than in basic training. Child, family, and school social workers are the largest group, with 392,550 jobs and a median of $59,550, and they work in child protective services, foster care and adoption agencies, and schools. Many child welfare jobs hire at the BSW level, while school roles may also call for a state education credential.
Healthcare social workers (187,630 jobs, median $67,880, the highest of the three direct-practice groups) help patients and families in hospitals, home health and hospice cope with illness and plan care after discharge.
Mental health and substance abuse social workers (132,810 jobs, median $60,280, close to child welfare pay) assess and treat people with mental illness and addiction. Therapy work requires an MSW and, for independent practice, a clinical license such as the LCSW, which takes years of supervised experience after the degree.
Social workers, all other (62,930 jobs, median $71,900, the highest of the four) covers social work jobs that fit none of the other three groups.
The main divide across all four is clinical versus nonclinical: a BSW can lead to case management and child welfare jobs, while diagnosing and treating mental health conditions requires an MSW, supervised hours and a clinical exam.
Social Worker salary by state
Median annual pay by type
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Median annual pay by state, BLS OEWS, May 2025. “—” means BLS did not publish the figure. Each occupation’s own page has its full state table with cost-of-living-adjusted pay.
What social workers do
A social worker helps people get through problems they cannot solve alone: a child in an unsafe home, a patient leaving the hospital with nowhere safe to go, a student who keeps missing school, a client with depression or an addiction. The work combines assessing what someone needs, connecting them to services such as housing, benefits, child care or treatment, and following up until things improve. Clinical social workers, usually titled LCSW, go further and diagnose and treat mental health conditions through therapy.
State and local government agencies, such as child protective services and public welfare offices, are the largest employers. Others work for family service nonprofits, hospitals, outpatient clinics, schools, hospices and private therapy practices. Most work from an office but spend a lot of time out visiting homes, schools, courts and shelters, and some are on call for emergencies. Caseloads are often large, the paperwork is heavy, and child welfare workers in particular see families at their worst moments, so the job can be stressful and emotionally draining.
A typical day
- Meet clients and families to find out what is going wrong and what support they already have
- Write and update service plans, then check back to see whether the plan is working
- Connect people to food aid, housing, health coverage, child care, job training or treatment programs, and help them apply
- Investigate reports of abuse or neglect and decide, with supervisors, whether a child is safe at home
- Keep detailed case notes and prepare reports and testimony for courts or agencies
- Plan hospital discharges with doctors and nurses so patients have care and support at home
- Provide individual, family or group therapy (licensed clinical social workers)
Also called: lcsw, clinical social worker, social workers, adoption social worker, case manager, case worker, child protective services social worker (cps social worker), family protection specialist.
How to become a social worker
Full guideTo become a social worker, you earn a bachelor's degree in social work (BSW) for entry-level jobs, or a two-year Master of Social Work (MSW) for clinical work and many hospital and school roles. Clinical social workers (LCSW) then need supervised experience that varies by state and the ASWB Clinical exam, so the full path often takes 8 to 9 years.
- Typical time
- 6 years (MSW); 8-9 years (LCSW)
- Fastest: 4 years (BSW, nonclinical)
- Minimum education
- Bachelor's degree in social work (BSW) for entry-level roles; Master of Social Work (MSW) from a CSWE-accredited program for clinical practice
- License
- Clinical social workers must be licensed in all states; some states also license BSW- and MSW-level nonclinical social workers
- Typical training cost
- $41.0K–$79.4K
- See the guide for what it includes
Read the step-by-step guide to becoming a social worker: each step with its time and cost, education options, exams, licensing and advancement.
Is it worth it? Training cost against pay
Compare careers- Training time
- 6 years (MSW); 8-9 years (LCSW)
- Typical path in our guide
- Training cost
- $41.0K–$79.4K
- Tuition and exam fees, before aid
- Median pay
- $59,550
- $8,570 above the all-jobs median ($50,980)
- Cost vs. one year's pay
- 69–133%
- Training cost as a share of a year at the median
Once qualified, the pay difference over the typical US job at the median ($8,570 a year before tax) would repay the training cost in about 4.8–9.3 years after training ends (6 years (msw); 8-9 years (lcsw) in our guide). This is a rough guide: it ignores taxes, financial aid, interest, earnings given up while training and how pay changes over a career. How we calculate ROI.
Job outlook for social workers
BLS Employment Projections 2025–35
- Projected growth
- +4.4%
- All occupations +3.5%
- Jobs in 2025
- 405,100
- 422,900 projected for 2035
- Openings each year
- 33,900
- New jobs plus replacements
- Self-employed
- —
- Not in the pay figures above
BLS projects child, family, and school social worker jobs to grow 4.4% from 2025 to 2035, from 405,100 to 422,900, slightly faster than the 3.5% average, with about 33,900 openings a year. Demand comes from efforts to strengthen parenting, prevent abuse and find foster and adoptive homes, though state and local budgets can hold hiring back. Across all social work, BLS expects faster growth for mental health and substance abuse social workers, driven by more people seeking treatment including for opioid use disorder, and for healthcare social workers serving an aging population. Many openings in every group come from replacing social workers who retire or change careers.
Outlook shown for child, family, and school social workers; each type’s growth is in the table at the top.
Related careers and their pay
- Marriage and Family Therapist$66,940
- School Counselor$64,330
- Psychologist$100,580
- School Psychologist$95,990
- Healthcare Social Workers$67,880
Related occupations from O*NET 31.0; median annual pay from BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Social Worker salary FAQ
What is the difference between an LCSW and an MSW?
An MSW is a degree: the Master of Social Work, usually two years of graduate school with a supervised field placement. An LCSW is a state license that allows independent clinical practice, including diagnosing and treating mental health conditions. You need the MSW first, then supervised clinical experience after graduation and a passing score on the ASWB Clinical exam. The exact license title varies from state to state.
Can social workers do therapy?
Yes, if they hold the right license. Every state requires clinical social workers to be licensed, and only those with an MSW, supervised clinical experience and a clinical license can provide psychotherapy independently. Social workers with a BSW or a non-clinical master's license work in case management, advocacy and referral but do not diagnose or provide therapy on their own.
Is social work a stressful job?
Often, yes. BLS notes that understaffing and large caseloads can make the work stressful, and many social workers deal with abuse, crisis, illness and loss every week. Child protective services is usually the most demanding, with court deadlines, home visits and on-call shifts. Hospital, school and private practice roles tend to have more predictable hours, though they still carry heavy documentation and emotionally difficult cases.
Do social workers work weekends?
Most social workers work full time on weekday schedules, but evenings, weekends and holidays come up, especially in child welfare, hospitals and crisis programs. Agencies that investigate abuse or respond to mental health emergencies usually rotate on-call duty. School social workers generally follow the school calendar, and therapists in private practice often see some clients in the evening to fit around their work hours.
Sources
Data updated October 28, 2026 · Text checked against its sources October 28, 2026
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, released April 30, 2026, SOC 21-1021
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035, released September 2026
- O*NET 31.0 Database (21-1021.00), U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0; tasks rewritten by Careers and Salaries
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state and metro area, 2024
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), US city average, May values
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard field-of-study and institution data, most recent cohorts, released 2026-10-15
- Social Workers, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked October 28, 2026
- Directory of Accredited Programs, Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) · checked October 28, 2026
- Exam, Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) · checked October 28, 2026
- Licensed Clinical Social Worker: License Requirements, New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions · checked October 28, 2026
- License Finder, CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor · checked October 28, 2026
- Social Work Licensure Compact, Social Work Licensure Compact Commission · checked October 28, 2026
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