There were approximately 175,000 healthcare social workers employed in the U.S. as of May 2019 according to reports published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Healthcare social workers are employed in a variety of healthcare settings, including 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 than workers in most other occupations. As of May 2019, the BLS estimated that 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. While healthcare social workers earn slightly better salaries in comparison to most workers, there is considerable variation from region-to-region in how much healthcare social workers earn. May 2019 data from the BLS shows the following about healthcare social worker pay in the top 20 metro areas in the United States:
| Metropolitan Area | # Employed | Annual Mean Wages | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York-Newark-Jersey City | 14,180 | $63,980 | ||
| 2 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim | 7,600 | $83,430 | ||
| 3 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | 4,250 | $56,830 | ||
| 4 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | 2,870 | $60,100 | ||
| 5 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land | 2,080 | $65,950 | ||
| 6 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | 2,440 | $66,660 | ||
| 7 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach | 5,020 | $50,950 | ||
| 8 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington | 3,880 | $56,650 | ||
| 9 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta | 1,910 | $57,500 | ||
| 10 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler | 2,170 | $59,360 | ||
| 11 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton | 5,350 | $64,580 | ||
| 12 | San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley | 2,520 | $86,560 | ||
| 13 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | 1,560 | $75,900 | ||
| 14 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn | 2,030 | $56,990 | ||
| 15 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue | 2,070 | $68,900 | ||
| 16 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington | 3,000 | $59,130 | ||
| 17 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | 1,350 | $67,400 | ||
| 18 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | 1,100 | $53,200 | ||
| 19 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood | 1,940 | $56,760 | ||
| 20 | St. Louis | 3,030 | $48,130 | ||
| National | 174,890 | $59,300 | |||
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on December 5, 2020