Social Worker salary
What a social worker actually earns, from 679 live job postings blended with the official US OEWS (Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics) wage anchor. Pick a market for its median and range, then read the seniority split, the trend, and the country comparison below. Updated 2026-09-06.
Switch the market above to see social worker pay in the 4 countries our sources cover, each with its own cost of living. The trend, seniority, and state detail below are United States data, where the official record runs deepest.
What the number means
Social work is the clearest case on the board of a career priced below its social value. A blended US median near 101,000 dollars looks healthy until you see it is carried by clinical and management roles; front-line case work sits well under it, often below a teacher’s pay for a heavier caseload. The credential ladder is real: a master’s degree and clinical licensure lift the number materially, so the honest advice is to treat the license as the pay lever it is. Demand is high and stable. The compensation is a policy choice, not a market failure.
Open social worker roles
Live openings tagged to this occupation, from company career pages and remote boards. Apply at the source.
- SachbearbeiterIn Fallführung Asyl at Convalere AGLiestal, Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland1d agoApply
- Fachperson Soziale Arbeit Flüchtlingshilfe at Sternschnuppen GmbH - Stellenvermittlung SozialwesenBuchs, St. Gallen, Switzerland1d agoApply
- Sozialarbeiterin mit Jobcoaching-Profil 50% - 80% at Marktlücke GmbHZürich, Zürich, Switzerland1d agoApply
- Sozialpädagoge/Sozialpädagogin und Teamleitung, Pensum 80-90% at Mariazell SurseeEttiswil, Luzern, Switzerland1d agoApply
- Sozialarbeiter/in 60-80 % at Soziale Dienste Uri NordAltdorf, Uri, Switzerland1d agoApply
- Schulsozialpädagogin/Schulsozialpädagoge, 40 % at Schulsekretariat HorgenHorgen, Zürich, Switzerland1d agoApply
By seniority
Posted-median pay by seniority signal in the title, from our corpus. Noisy at the edges where sample sizes are small.
By country
- United States$81,151$94,642$108,885
- United Kingdom$41,177$56,332$71,302
- Canada$41,775$61,194$76,100
- Australia$58,973$71,675$81,598
Switzerland · official wage bands
median CHF 9'122/month
Swiss postings do not state pay, so these are not posted salaries: they are the federal wage survey (Lohnstrukturerhebung 2024) for the ISCO group 26 Juristen, Sozialwissenschaftler und Kulturberufe: standardized gross monthly, full-time, 13th salary included pro rata. The band covers the whole occupation group, which is coarser than this occupation alone.
Annual ≈ CHF 109'464 at the median. Source: Bundesamt für Statistik, LSE 2024.
Top-paying US states
OEWS median by state, highest first.
- Connecticut$78,940
- New Jersey$78,150
- Washington$72,290
- Maryland$70,840
- California$69,250
- Massachusetts$67,880
Roles that pay more, that these skills already reach
Median pay from each destination’s own postings, with the readiness a social worker profile already covers.
- 600 open physician roles$268,000 median · +$173,358 · 29% readiness
- 118 open pharmacist roles$153,453 median · +$58,811 · 37% readiness
- 600 open nurse practitioner roles$136,275 median · +$41,633 · 34% readiness
- 152 open psychologist roles$119,550 median · +$24,908 · 30% readiness
Every measured move out of this role, ranked by readiness: alternative careers for a social worker.
Is your offer fair?
Run a specific number through FairElephant, which weighs it against this data, your location, and remote market rates.
Related salaries
- Teacher salary$61,175 median
- Registered Nurse salary$112,381 median
- Nurse Practitioner salary$136,275 median
Quick answers
How much do social workers make?
The blended US median is about 101,000 dollars, but that is lifted by clinical and supervisory roles; front-line case work pays well below it.
How can a social worker earn more?
The master of social work and clinical licensure are the main levers, moving pay from case work into clinical and management bands.
Is social work in demand?
Yes, high and stable demand, though the pay lags the need across most of the field.
Method: bands are the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of live US postings with stated pay, shrunk toward the official OEWS anchor by sample size (the “blended” figure). Trend is the OEWS annual median for SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code 21-1021. Live corpus 679 observations, 2026-09-06. Definitions in the glossary.