Social Work Salaries

Quick facts from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Seventy-one percent of all social workers are women. Their average annual salary is $30,108.   The average annual salary for male social workers is $34,372.

New! The Fried Social Worker blog now features articles about social worker salaries and working conditions.

• 2004 U. S. Department of Labor Statistics-Social Work Salaries  How much do social workers earn?
   
• 2004 U. S. Department of Labor Statistics-Social Work Jobs  Information about the sectors employing social workers.
   
• 2004 U.S. Department of Labor Statistics-Social Work Job Outlook  Job outlook for various areas of social work practice.
   
• 2004 U.S. Department of Labor Statistics-Working Conditions of Social Workers  Information about social workers' working conditions.

U.S. News provides the following salary statistics:

• Child welfare social worker: $32,500

• Community practitioner: $32,500

• Court social worker: $32,500

• HMO social worker: $37,500

• School social worker: $37,500

• Member, private practice: $47,500

• Solo private practitioner: $52,500
  
  
  

Average salaries for social workers, according to U.S. News:

• Entry level: $32,500

• Midlevel: $47,500

• Top: $52,500

Related Links: Links will open in a new window. In some cases, they are pdf documents rather than web pages.

• Occupational Outlook Handbook  Provides salary data and other statistics.
   

• Where do they go from here?  Boston University's survey of MSW grads.
   

• Study Finds Social Work and Other Female-Dominated Fields Suffer from Low Pay  Tell us something we don't know!
   

• Social Work Income  1999 Social Work income statistics compiled by NASW.
   

• Research on Income, Demographics, and Practice of Social Workers  Compiled by NASW from 2002 data.
   

• Selected Loan Debt of Social Work Students By State  According to this article by NASW, "Social work salaries continue to be among the lowest for professionals in general and for those with master's level educations in particular."