Social Work Salaries

Social work salaries have a high variability. Social work salaries vary depending upon a number of factors, including geographic location, highest social work degree and area of practice.

Social Work Employment Outlook, 2016-2026

Growth

16% Growth Projected in Overall Social Worker Employment
14% Growth in Child, Family & School Social Work Positions
20% Growth in Healthcare & Medical Social Work Positions
19% Growth in Mental Health & Substance Abuse Positions
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections

Earnings

Hospitals; state, local, and private $58,490
Local government, excluding education and hospitals $52,900 Ambulatory healthcare services $48,340
State government, excluding education and hospitals $46,120
Individual and family services $40,800
Mental health and substance abuse social workers $43,250
Source: Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Variables with Significant Relationships to Salary

• MSW salaries are $13,000+ higher than BSW salaries
• PhD & DSW earn $20-$25,000 more than MSWs
• MSW males earn $1200 more than females
• PhD females earn $7,000 more than males
• MSWs earn more in research organizations, government agencies and hospital inpatient facilities
• MSWs earn higher salaries in large cities or in urban clusters

NASW Research

In 2015, NASW released a profile of the 2015 Social Work Workforce Study that offers data on what social workers earn.

According to the NASW study, the median annual salary for social workers that have earned a graduate degree $48,000. 

For individuals with a master’s degree or higher, the highest median incomes are in national security and international affairs ($69,000), elementary and secondary education ($60,000), executive offices and legislative bodies ($57,500), insurance carriers ($57,000), hospitals ($56,000), and other health care settings ($56,000). 

The average salary in individual and family services, the largest single setting where MSWs work (31%), was $45,000.

Download Research

• NASW Compensation & Benefits Study (2009)
• NASW National Study of Licensed Social Workers (2004)
• Social Work Salaries by Gender (2011)
• Social Work Salaries by Race & Ethnicity (2011)
• Profile of the Social Work Workforce (2015)
• National Social work Workforce Study (2017)

Trends

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2006 social workers held about 595,000 jobs. According to the Bureau, employment of social workers was expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2016. 

The rapidly growing elderly population and the aging baby boom generation were creating greater demand for health and social services, resulting in particularly rapid job growth among gerontology social workers.