There were approximately 175,000 healthcare social workers at work in the U.S. as of May 2019 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 2019, the national mean wage for healthcare social workers was $59,300 per year, modestly ahead of the $53,490 annual mean wage for all occupations in the U.S. 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 2019 these were the ten states where healthcare social workers attain the highest average pay:
| California | $79,620 |
| Oregon | $74,050 |
| Connecticut | $72,980 |
| Nevada | $72,640 |
| Hawaii | $71,260 |
| Alaska | $65,020 |
| New Hampshire | $64,680 |
| New Jersey | $64,150 |
| Utah | $63,280 |
| Washington | $62,990 |
| Massachusetts | $61,650 |
At the other end of the table, here were the bottom ten states for healthcare social worker pay:
| Montana | $50,740 |
| West Virginia | $50,650 |
| Arkansas | $50,480 |
| Kentucky | $49,770 |
| Nebraska | $49,280 |
| Tennessee | $48,280 |
| Mississippi | $47,460 |
| Missouri | $47,380 |
| Alabama | $47,190 |
| South Dakota | $44,060 |
So where does your state rank for healthcare social worker pay?
Visit Healthcare Social Worker Average Wages by State for further information.
