Social Worker Salary, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 7,930 US job postings by 2,505 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for social workers: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 7,930 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for social workers in US job postings is $78,000 a year (1,836 postings from 550 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $68,000 to $94,000.
- Postings that ask for up to 1 year of experience advertise a median of $79,000 a year (606 postings).
- The skills that most set social worker postings apart are crisis intervention, psychosocial assessments, counseling.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 2 years of experience.
Social Worker job postings in the US, October 2026
- $78,000
- Median advertised pay (1,836 postings)
- $68,000–$94,000
- Middle 50% of postings
- $79,000
- Starting pay (postings asking up to 1 year)
- 7,930
- US job postings from 2,505 employers
How much does a social worker make?
The median advertised pay is $78,000 a year, from 1,836 US job postings by 550 employers that state pay. One in ten postings offers $114,000 or more.
Advertised pay in 1,836 US social worker job postings: median $78,000 a year, middle half $68,000 to $94,000.
- Median: $78,000
- 25th percentile: $68,000
- 75th percentile: $94,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $10K–$20K | 0.1% |
| $30K–$40K | 0.6% |
| $40K–$50K | 2.9% |
| $50K–$60K | 7.3% |
| $60K–$70K | 16.9% |
| $70K–$80K | 26.6% |
| $80K–$90K | 15.3% |
| $90K–$100K | 10.7% |
| $100K–$110K | 7.6% |
| $110K–$120K | 4.4% |
| $120K–$130K | 0.7% |
| $130K–$140K | 3.9% |
| $140K–$150K | 1.4% |
| $150K–$160K | 0.3% |
| $160K–$170K | 0.2% |
| $170K–$180K | 0.3% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | Most common titles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an hourly rate | $39.44 | $33.16–$49.04 | 714 | Social Worker, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Medical Social Worker |
| Postings that state an annual salary | $75,000 | $68K–$88K | 745 | Social Worker, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Director of Social Services |
| All pay postings, annualised | $78,000 | $68K–$94K | 1,836 | – |
What is the starting salary for a social worker?
Postings that ask for up to 1 year of experience advertise a median of $79,000 a year (606 postings).
| Experience asked | Median advertised pay | Postings |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1 years | $79,000 | 606 |
| 2-4 years | $82,000 | 395 |
| 5+ years | withheld | 34 |
Highest-paying social worker jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Worker (general) | $79,000 | 1,452 | 423 |
Social worker pay by state
Single-location US postings; states with at least 100 postings that state pay. States with pay-transparency laws (such as California, Colorado, New York and Washington) are over-represented among postings that state pay.
| State | Median pay | Middle 50% | Postings with pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $98,000 | $74,000–$130,000 | 177 | 9.8% |
| New York | $75,000 | $68,000–$86,000 | 283 | 12.3% |
Skills employers ask for in social worker job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 29% |
| Crisis intervention | 15% |
| Interpersonal skills | 15% |
| Organizational skills | 12% |
| Psychosocial assessments | 11% |
| Counseling | 10% |
| Problem-solving | 9% |
| Compassionate | 8% |
| Work independently | 7% |
| Case management | 7% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set social workers apart
- Crisis intervention40.7× as often as in all postings · 15%
- Psychosocial assessments140× as often as in all postings · 11%
- Counseling32.3× as often as in all postings · 10%
- Psychosocial assessment134.6× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Case management19.6× as often as in all postings · 7%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a social worker job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a social worker do?
Employers post these jobs as Licensed Clinical Social Worker, School Social Worker, Medical Social Worker, Licensed Social Worker, Social Services Director and other titles. The largest specializations are Social Services Director (13%), School Social Worker (5%), Hospice Social Worker (5%), Licensed Clinical Social Worker (under 1%), Child and Family Social Worker (under 1%).
The closest official occupation is Healthcare Social Workers (21-1022.00). Its most important tasks:
- Advocate for clients or patients to resolve crises.
- Educate clients about end-of-life symptoms and options to assist them in making informed decisions.
- Collaborate with other professionals to evaluate patients' medical or physical condition and to assess client needs.
- Refer patient, client, or family to community resources to assist in recovery from mental or physical illness and to provide access to services such as financial assistance, legal aid, housing, job placement or education.
- Utilize consultation data and social work experience to plan and coordinate client or patient care and rehabilitation, following through to ensure service efficacy.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
How much experience do you need to be a social worker?
Among 2,497 postings that state a minimum, the median is 2 years. 2% say 0 years and 49% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 2,497 US social worker job postings: median 2 years, and 49% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | 2% |
| 1 yr | 47% |
| 2 yrs | 33% |
| 3-4 yrs | 15% |
| 5-7 yrs | 3% |
| 8-9 yrs | under 1% |
| 10+ yrs | under 1% |
Postings that state a minimum (required or preferred); at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
We do not show a degree figure: in our checks, degree requirements in posting text were found too rarely to publish one. Why.
Full-time 81%, Part-time 19% of the 1,274 postings that state working hours.
Other names for a social worker: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Social Worker | 995 (39.7%) |
| Licensed Clinical Social Worker | 253 (10.1%) |
| School Social Worker | 177 (7.1%) |
| Medical Social Worker | 136 (5.4%) |
| Licensed Social Worker | 130 (5.2%) |
| Social Services Director | 124 (5.0%) |
| Director of Social Services | 107 (4.3%) |
| Clinical Social Worker | 95 (3.8%) |
| Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) | 61 (2.4%) |
| Social Services Assistant | 60 (2.4%) |
| Social Worker MSW | 56 (2.2%) |
| Hospice Social Worker | 51 (2.0%) |
| Social Worker II | 51 (2.0%) |
| LMSW | 51 (2.0%) |
| Licensed Master Social Worker | 40 (1.6%) |
| Social Service Director | 34 (1.4%) |
| Social Services Coordinator | 32 (1.3%) |
| Social Worker III | 32 (1.3%) |
| Social Worker I | 30 (1.2%) |
| Social Worker LCSW | 26 (1.0%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Social worker job titles compared
The titles people search for most, from the US job postings that use each exact title (October 2026).
| Job title | Open postings | Employers | Median pay | Median experience | Skills named most |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licensed Clinical Social Worker | 674 | 253 | – | – | communication, interpersonal skills, crisis intervention |
| Licensed Social Worker | 222 | 130 | – | – | communication, interpersonal skills, compassionate |
Social Worker compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Worker | $78K | 2 years | 7,930 | – |
| Mental Health Counselor | $73K | 2 years | 14,686 | 19 |
| Case Manager | $23.51/hr | 2 years | 17,865 | 17 |
| Psychologist | $125K | 2 years | 4,081 | 14 |
| Mental Health Technician | $20.66/hr | 1 year | 5,443 | 14 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Mental Health Counselor | 19 | $73K |
| Case Manager | 17 | $23.51/hr |
| Psychologist | 14 | $125K |
| Mental Health Technician | 14 | $20.66/hr |
| Chaplain | 15 | – |
| Dietitian | 15 | $39.00/hr |
Applying for social worker jobs?
- Social worker resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find social worker jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does a social worker make?
What is the starting salary for a social worker?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 20 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 19 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.