2023 Health Care Social Workers Salary Report

2023 Salary Report for Health Care Social Workers

The average salary for Health Care Social Workers is $62,310. The three states that pay Health Care Social Workers the most are District of Columbia ($87,000), California ($84,690) and Oregon ($79,870).

When adjusted for cost-of-living, the states that pay Health Care Social Workers the highest average annual salary are District of Columbia ($78,055), Oregon ($77,831) and California ($76,726).

When adjusted for cost-of-living the three states that pay Health Care Social Workers the least are South Dakota ($51,639), Missouri ($55,509) and New York ($55,966).

The following table shows the average yearly salary for Health Care Social Workers in each state and the average yearly salary after being adjusted for the cost-of-living (COLA) in that state.

The three states with the highest positive cost-of-living gap are Mississippi ($7,630), West Virginia ($7,505) and Arkansas ($6,995).

State	Salary	COLA	Gap
District of Columbia	$87,000	$78,055	-$8,945
California	$84,690	$76,726	-$7,964
Oregon	$79,870	$77,831	-$2,039
Hawaii	$73,960	$66,042	-$7,918
Rhode Island	$73,230	$71,900	-$1,330
Connecticut	$72,010	$69,615	-$2,395
Washington	$71,800	$66,878	-$4,922
New Jersey	$71,310	$64,151	-$7,159
New Hampshire	$68,240	$65,799	-$2,441
Utah	$67,880	$71,213	$3,333
Nevada	$65,530	$67,515	$1,985
Texas	$64,840	$65,140	$300
Massachusetts	$64,250	$59,801	-$4,449
Idaho	$63,990	$70,164	$6,174
Minnesota	$62,740	$63,618	$878
Maryland	$62,560	$58,758	-$3,802
Wyoming	$62,560	$67,808	$5,248
North Carolina	$62,540	$68,097	$5,557
Pennsylvania	$61,990	$63,540	$1,550
New York	$61,680	$55,966	-$5,714
Arizona	$60,790	$61,361	$571
Alaska	$60,320	$58,427	-$1,893
New Mexico	$60,320	$65,873	$5,553
Kansas	$59,940	$64,898	$4,958
Michigan	$59,390	$63,154	$3,764
Illinois	$59,090	$58,808	-$282
Wisconsin	$59,000	$63,312	$4,312
Maine	$58,900	$60,860	$1,960
Colorado	$58,450	$56,819	-$1,631
Florida	$58,420	$58,008	-$412
Ohio	$58,120	$63,388	$5,268
Iowa	$57,840	$63,526	$5,686
Arkansas	$57,650	$64,645	$6,995
Virginia	$57,420	$56,863	-$557
Vermont	$57,020	$57,393	$373
South Carolina	$56,870	$62,051	$5,181
Indiana	$56,460	$61,038	$4,578
Delaware	$56,330	$57,556	$1,226
Montana	$55,830	$60,396	$4,566
North Dakota	$55,580	$60,387	$4,807
Kentucky	$55,540	$61,862	$6,322
Louisiana	$55,060	$59,383	$4,323
West Virginia	$54,830	$62,335	$7,505
Mississippi	$54,810	$62,440	$7,630
Georgia	$54,710	$57,870	$3,160
Nebraska	$53,840	$57,961	$4,121
Tennessee	$52,920	$57,428	$4,508
Oklahoma	$52,820	$57,841	$5,021
Missouri	$51,340	$55,509	$4,169
Alabama	$50,450	$56,527	$6,077
South Dakota	$47,260	$51,639	$4,379

Salary Range by Education and Experience

About 50% of Health Care Social Workers in the United States earn between $47,630 and $76,920 with an experience level that ranges between 5 to 14 years.

About 10% of Health Care Social Workers in the U.S. earn more than $86,820, a rate for highly educated and experienced Health Care Social Workers.

Approximately 10% of Health Care Social Workers in the United States earn under $37,630, a rate generally reserved for less experienced or entry level Health Care Social Workers.

%	Years	Employed	Annual Salary
10%	Less than a Year	17,386	Under $37,630
15%	2 – 4 years	26,079	$37,630 – $47,630
25%	5 – 9 years	43,465	$47,630 – $60,840
25%	10 – 14 years	43,465	$60,840 – $76,920
15%	15 – 20 years	26,079	$76,920 – $86,820
10%	20+ years	17,386	Above $86,820

Salary Compared to Related Professions

With an average annual salary of $62,310, Health Care Social Workers in the United States tend to earn less than Industrial Organizational Psychologists ($113,320), Clinical and Counseling Psychologists ($99,640), Forensic Psychologists ($98,010), Psychology Teachers ($88,390), and School Psychologists ($82,770).

However, Health Care Social Workers tend to earn more than Substance Abuse Counselors ($53,490), Social Workers ($54,880), and Marriage and Family Therapists ($59,660).

Title	Annual Salary
Industrial Organizational Psychologists	$113,320
Clinical and Counseling Psychologists	$99,640
Forensic Psychologists	$98,010
Psychology Teachers	$88,390
School Psychologists	$82,770
Health Care Social Workers	$62,310
Marriage and Family Therapists	$59,660
Social Workers	$54,880
Substance Abuse Counselors	$53,490

State-by-State Demand for Health Care Social Workers in 2030

The U.S. Department of Labor projects that by the year 2030, the total demand for Health Care Social Workers will be 209,300 with an average yearly openings of 20,400.

The three states needing the most Health Care Social Workers are New York (25,360), California (14,700) and Texas (13,380).

The three states needing the highest percentage of new Health Care Social Workers are Arizona (41.5%), Colorado (33.1%) and New York (26.7%).

In the table below, find the states, sorted from highest to lowest, with the highest demand for Health Care Social Workers in 2030.

State	2020	2030	% Change	Yearly Openings
New York	20,020	25,360	26.7%	2,600
California	13,100	14,700	12.2%	1,440
Texas	11,210	13,380	19.4%	1,340
Florida	10,590	12,470	17.8%	1,240
Massachusetts	10,920	11,930	9.2%	1,140
Pennsylvania	7,530	8,380	11.3%	810
Ohio	7,120	7,780	9.3%	750
Tennessee	5,400	6,640	23%	670
Michigan	5,860	6,570	12.1%	640
Missouri	6,240	6,550	5%	610
Illinois	5,020	5,330	6.2%	500
Arizona	3,710	5,250	41.5%	560
Washington	4,550	5,230	14.9%	580
Minnesota	4,550	5,110	12.3%	500
Maryland	4,130	4,900	18.6%	490
Indiana	4,020	4,520	12.4%	440
Wisconsin	3,970	4,250	7.1%	400
Colorado	3,140	4,180	33.1%	420
Georgia	3,470	4,130	19%	410
Virginia	3,500	3,980	13.7%	390
New Jersey	3,480	3,810	9.5%	370
North Carolina	3,170	3,600	13.6%	350
Alabama	2,480	2,720	9.7%	260
Oklahoma	2,350	2,700	14.9%	270
South Carolina	2,040	2,390	17.2%	240
Connecticut	2,210	2,300	4.1%	210
Oregon	1,900	2,190	15.3%	200
Mississippi	1,670	2,030	21.6%	210
Louisiana	1,800	1,850	2.8%	170
Kansas	1,700	1,840	8.2%	180
Kentucky	1,650	1,820	10.3%	180
Utah	1,340	1,610	20.1%	160
Arkansas	1,330	1,460	9.8%	140
New Mexico	1,300	1,460	12.3%	140
Puerto Rico	1,220	1,440	18%	140
Nevada	1,190	1,430	20.2%	140
Iowa	1,260	1,430	13.5%	140
West Virginia	880	1,000	13.6%	100
Nebraska	920	1,000	8.7%	100
Rhode Island	720	790	9.7%	80
Hawaii	650	720	10.8%	70
Delaware	630	710	12.7%	70
New Hampshire	630	690	9.5%	70
Maine	650	680	4.6%	60
Montana	580	670	15.5%	70
South Dakota	580	640	10.3%	60
Idaho	530	640	20.8%	60
Vermont	510	590	15.7%	60
North Dakota	410	450	9.8%	40
District of Columbia	400	430	7.5%	40
Wyoming	260	300	15.4%	30
Alaska	200	230	15%	20
Guam	120	150	25%	20

Projected Demand for Psychology Professions to 2030

The U.S. Department of Labor projects that the three professions needing the most new psychologists in the United States by 2030 are Substance Abuse Counselors (402,600), Social Workers (377,400) and Health Care Social Workers (209,300).

The three professions needing the highest percentage of new psychologists in the United States by 2030 are Substance Abuse Counselors (22.9%), Marriage and Family Therapists (16.3%) and Health Care Social Workers (13.2%).

Title	2020	2030	Change	% Change	Avg. Yearly Openings
Social Workers	335,300	377,400	42,100	12.6%	36,700
Substance Abuse Counselors	327,500	402,600	75,100	22.9%	41,000
Health Care Social Workers	184,900	209,300	24,400	13.2%	20,400
Marriage and Family Therapists	73,200	85,100	11,900	16.3%	8,500
Forensic Psychologists	55,200	56,300	1,100	2%	3,700
Psychology Teachers	44,100	48,600	4,500	10.2%	4,700
Industrial Organizational Psychologists	4,900	5,000	100	2%	300

10 Highest-Paying Cities

The top ten cities where Health Care Social Workers are paid the highest average yearly salary in the United States are shown in the table below.

The top three cities with the highest Health Care Social Workers salary in the United States are are San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara ($105,600), Santa Rosa ($100,890) and San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward ($98,340).

When adjusted for the cost-of-living (COLA) the three cities that pay psychologists the most in the United States are are San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara ($94,185), Santa Rosa ($91,852) and Yuba City ($88,955).

City / Metro	Average Yearly Salary	Cost-of-Living Adjusted
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara	$105,600	$94,185
Santa Rosa	$100,890	$91,852
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward	$98,340	$83,786
Vallejo-Fairfield	$96,170	$88,701
Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade	$91,270	$86,023
Salinas	$90,840	$82,023
Yuba City	$88,510	$88,955
Modesto	$87,880	$85,561
Napa	$83,860	$75,258
Fresno	$81,840	$81,971

10 Highest-Paying Rural Areas

The top ten nonmetropolitan areas where Health Care Social Workers are paid the highest average annual salary in the United States are shown in the table below.

The three rural areas in the United States with the highest Health Care Social Workers salary are Massachusetts ($79,860), West Central-Southwest New Hampshire ($73,280) and Coast Oregon ($71,490).

When adjusted for the cost-of-living (COL) the three rural areas in the United States with the highest annual salary are Coast Oregon ($74,252), Northwestern Idaho ($73,526) and Massachusetts ($73,462).

Rural Areas	Yearly Salary	COL Adjusted
Massachusetts	$79,860	$73,462
West Central-Southwest New Hampshire	$73,280	$72,756
Coast Oregon	$71,490	$74,252
Connecticut	$70,510	$68,844
Central Oregon	$70,020	$72,725
Eastern Oregon	$68,710	$71,365
Hawaii / Kauai	$67,750	$63,200
Northwestern Idaho	$65,100	$73,526
Southeast Minnesota	$63,950	$72,178
Northern New Hampshire	$63,370	$62,917

State-by-State Health Care Social Workers Salary Summaries

See state-by-state summaries for the average annual salary, average hourly salary, cost-of-living adjusted salaries, current employment, 2030 projected employment, and the state’s current cost of living index.

Find links to the highest paid city reports and state salary reports.

Frequently Asked Questions About Health Care Social Workers Salaries

Official Data Sources for Health Care Social Workers: Salary Data | Projected Employment | Cost of Living Data