Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020
21-1022 Healthcare Social Workers
Provide individuals, families, and groups with the psychosocial support needed to cope with chronic, acute, or terminal illnesses. Services include advising family caregivers. Provide patients with information and counseling, and make referrals for other services. May also provide case and care management or interventions designed to promote health, prevent disease, and address barriers to access to healthcare.
National estimates for Healthcare Social Workers
Industry profile for Healthcare Social Workers
Geographic profile for Healthcare Social Workers
National estimates for Healthcare Social Workers:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Healthcare Social Workers:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 176,110 |
1.5 % |
$ 29.07 |
$ 60,470 |
0.5 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Healthcare Social Workers:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 17.36 |
$ 21.77 |
$ 27.71 |
$ 34.67 |
$ 41.90 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 36,110 |
$ 45,280 |
$ 57,630 |
$ 72,120 |
$ 87,150 |
Industry profile for Healthcare Social Workers:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Healthcare Social Workers are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Healthcare Social Workers, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Healthcare Social Workers:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
47,590 |
0.85 |
$ 32.03 |
$ 66,630 |
| Individual and Family Services |
23,060 |
0.90 |
$ 24.26 |
$ 50,460 |
| Home Health Care Services |
20,740 |
1.39 |
$ 30.57 |
$ 63,590 |
| Outpatient Care Centers |
13,730 |
1.43 |
$ 30.12 |
$ 62,660 |
| Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) |
13,680 |
0.89 |
$ 27.23 |
$ 56,640 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Healthcare Social Workers:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Outpatient Care Centers |
13,730 |
1.43 |
$ 30.12 |
$ 62,660 |
| Home Health Care Services |
20,740 |
1.39 |
$ 30.57 |
$ 63,590 |
| Other Residential Care Facilities |
1,630 |
1.02 |
$ 24.93 |
$ 51,850 |
| Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals |
2,210 |
0.91 |
$ 28.24 |
$ 58,740 |
| Individual and Family Services |
23,060 |
0.90 |
$ 24.26 |
$ 50,460 |
Top paying industries for Healthcare Social Workers:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Computer Systems Design and Related Services |
30 |
(7) |
$ 36.23 |
$ 75,370 |
| Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations |
260 |
0.06 |
$ 34.29 |
$ 71,330 |
| Junior Colleges |
80 |
0.01 |
$ 33.21 |
$ 69,080 |
| Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals |
2,250 |
0.84 |
$ 32.47 |
$ 67,530 |
| Scientific Research and Development Services |
130 |
0.02 |
$ 32.17 |
$ 66,900 |
Geographic profile for Healthcare Social Workers:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Healthcare Social Workers are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Healthcare Social Workers, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Healthcare Social Workers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York |
18,290 |
2.10 |
1.66 |
$ 29.57 |
$ 61,510 |
| California |
17,140 |
1.04 |
0.82 |
$ 39.91 |
$ 83,000 |
| Texas |
11,150 |
0.92 |
0.73 |
$ 28.75 |
$ 59,790 |
| Massachusetts |
10,540 |
3.15 |
2.49 |
$ 30.12 |
$ 62,640 |
| Florida |
10,200 |
1.21 |
0.95 |
$ 26.08 |
$ 54,250 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Healthcare Social Workers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Massachusetts |
10,540 |
3.15 |
2.49 |
$ 30.12 |
$ 62,640 |
| Missouri |
6,090 |
2.26 |
1.79 |
$ 23.58 |
$ 49,050 |
| Tennessee |
6,160 |
2.12 |
1.68 |
$ 24.04 |
$ 49,990 |
| New York |
18,290 |
2.10 |
1.66 |
$ 29.57 |
$ 61,510 |
| Vermont |
490 |
1.74 |
1.37 |
$ 27.28 |
$ 56,750 |
Top paying states for Healthcare Social Workers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
17,140 |
1.04 |
0.82 |
$ 39.91 |
$ 83,000 |
| District of Columbia |
400 |
0.59 |
0.46 |
$ 36.59 |
$ 76,100 |
| Oregon |
1,800 |
1.00 |
0.79 |
$ 36.41 |
$ 75,730 |
| Hawaii |
630 |
1.10 |
0.87 |
$ 35.29 |
$ 73,410 |
| Connecticut |
2,080 |
1.35 |
1.07 |
$ 34.54 |
$ 71,850 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Healthcare Social Workers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
15,860 |
1.80 |
1.42 |
$ 31.03 |
$ 64,540 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
5,840 |
1.00 |
0.79 |
$ 40.12 |
$ 83,460 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
5,630 |
2.16 |
1.71 |
$ 31.67 |
$ 65,880 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
3,900 |
1.55 |
1.23 |
$ 25.25 |
$ 52,510 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
3,670 |
0.84 |
0.66 |
$ 27.76 |
$ 57,740 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
3,420 |
0.95 |
0.75 |
$ 29.71 |
$ 61,810 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
3,230 |
1.20 |
0.95 |
$ 27.84 |
$ 57,910 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
2,980 |
1.61 |
1.27 |
$ 28.22 |
$ 58,700 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL |
2,960 |
2.28 |
1.80 |
$ 24.05 |
$ 50,030 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
2,730 |
1.17 |
0.93 |
$ 48.27 |
$ 100,410 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Healthcare Social Workers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New Bedford, MA |
900 |
15.08 |
11.91 |
$ 30.74 |
$ 63,930 |
| Springfield, MA-CT |
1,820 |
5.97 |
4.72 |
$ 25.44 |
$ 52,910 |
| Leominster-Gardner, MA |
260 |
5.35 |
4.22 |
$ 25.74 |
$ 53,540 |
| Pittsfield, MA |
170 |
4.73 |
3.74 |
$ 24.30 |
$ 50,550 |
| Worcester, MA-CT |
1,060 |
3.97 |
3.14 |
$ 31.19 |
$ 64,880 |
| Flint, MI |
480 |
3.95 |
3.12 |
$ 28.05 |
$ 58,340 |
| Jackson, TN |
250 |
3.88 |
3.06 |
$ 21.68 |
$ 45,090 |
| Rochester, MN |
380 |
3.28 |
2.59 |
$ 26.62 |
$ 55,380 |
| Watertown-Fort Drum, NY |
120 |
3.28 |
2.59 |
$ 24.31 |
$ 50,560 |
| Punta Gorda, FL |
150 |
3.19 |
2.52 |
$ 33.88 |
$ 70,470 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Healthcare Social Workers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
2,730 |
1.17 |
0.93 |
$ 48.27 |
$ 100,410 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
910 |
0.82 |
0.65 |
$ 47.59 |
$ 98,980 |
| Salinas, CA |
90 |
0.55 |
0.43 |
$ 46.01 |
$ 95,690 |
| Fresno, CA |
290 |
0.77 |
0.61 |
$ 43.57 |
$ 90,620 |
| Vallejo-Fairfield, CA |
120 |
0.94 |
0.74 |
$ 42.93 |
$ 89,300 |
| Modesto, CA |
180 |
1.01 |
0.80 |
$ 41.17 |
$ 85,630 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
5,840 |
1.00 |
0.79 |
$ 40.12 |
$ 83,460 |
| Salem, OR |
180 |
1.10 |
0.87 |
$ 39.18 |
$ 81,480 |
| Visalia-Porterville, CA |
(8) |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 38.68 |
$ 80,450 |
| Laredo, TX |
60 |
0.61 |
0.48 |
$ 38.65 |
$ 80,390 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Healthcare Social Workers:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Healthcare Social Workers:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Healthcare Social Workers:
About May 2020 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.
(8) Estimate not released.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2020 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2021
United States Department of Labor
