Sunday, August 28, 2022

The Best and Worst States for Healthcare Social Worker Pay

There were approximately 173,900 healthcare social workers at work in the U.S. as of May 2021 according to reports from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  Healthcare social workers are found in varied healthcare settings, including with hospitals, individual family services providers, home health care agencies, skilled nursing facilities, and outpatient care centers. Healthcare social work professionals generally earn slightly higher salaries and wages than workers in most other occupations.  Per BLS estimates, as of May 2021, the national mean wage for healthcare social workers was $62,310 per year.  Although healthcare social workers realize modestly better than average pay in comparison to most workers, there is considerable variation from state-to-state in how much healthcare social workers earn.  Per BLS data, as of May 2021 these were the ten best and worst states for healthcare social worker pay:

The Best and Worst States for Healthcare Social Worker Pay

State # Employed Annual Mean Wages Wage Rank*
DC 370 $87,000 1st
CA 13,050 $84,690 2nd
OR 1,830 $79,870 3rd
HI 690 $73,960 4th
RI 620 $73,230 5th
CT 1,800 $72,010 6th
WA 4,040 $71,800 7th
NJ 2,640 $71,310 8th
NH 530 $68,240 9th
UT 1,270 $67,880 10th
U.S. 173,860 $62,310 -------
LA 1,680 $55,060 42nd
WV 860 $54,830 43rd
MS 1,250 $54,810 44th
GA 4,570 $54,710 45th
NE 850 $53,840 46th
TN 7,440 $52,920 47th
OK 2,280 $52,820 48th
MO 5,010 $51,340 49th
AL 2,360 $50,450 50th
SD 550 $47,260 51st

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on August 27, 2022