The most current occupational employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicated that, as of May 2022, more than 182,000 healthcare social workers (HSWs) were working in the United States.  More than 23,000 of those HSW jobs were in the six-state Far West region of the country.  BLS data reveals the Far West U.S. to be the best in the nation for healthcare social worker pay. Not only did every state in the region register a healthcare social worker annual mean wage that topped the national average of $62,670, but every state in the region rated among the ten best in the nation for HSW annual mean wages. This included California and Oregon, which were #1 and #2 nationally for that pay metric.  A deeper dive into BLS data from May 2022 reveals the following details about healthcare social worker pay in the Far West U.S.:

Healthcare Social Worker Pay in the Far West U.S.

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
AK	170	$68,430	10th
CA	14,430	$88,380	1st
HI	810	$72,660	5th
NV	1,290	$69,940	9th
OR	1,770	$77,150	2nd
WA	4,560	$71,270	7th
U.S.	182,420	$62,760	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on January 14, 2024