Child, Family, and School Social Workers
Median $59,550
Occupation · SOC 21-1023
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers: pay and where the jobs are
What mental health and substance abuse social workers earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$60,280 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $68,030
- Median hourly wage
- $28.98
- Mean hourly wage
- $32.71
- Employment
- 132,810
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 21-1023.
Check your pay
See where your pay falls among mental health and substance abuse social workers nationally and in your state. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Enter your pay to see where it falls.
Use these numbers
How much do mental health and substance abuse social workers make?
The median annual wage for mental health and substance abuse social workers was $60,280 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $39,740 and the highest-paid 10% more than $104,170. As an hourly rate, the median is $28.98. About 132,810 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in New York ($79,380), California ($79,000) and Connecticut ($78,640). After taxes and local prices, though, a median paycheck goes furthest in Vermont.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for mental health and substance abuse social workers looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.
| Step | Annual | Hourly | Monthly gross | Monthly after federal tax & FICA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $39,740 | $19.11 | $3,312 | $2,843 |
| 25th percentile | $47,070 | $22.63 | $3,923 | $3,333 |
| Median | $60,280 | $28.98 | $5,023 | $4,218 |
| 75th percentile | $79,730 | $38.33 | $6,644 | $5,410 |
| 90th percentile | $104,170 | $50.08 | $8,681 | $6,843 |
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers: pay by state
52 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.
1
$59,215 take-home in national prices
2
$58,505 take-home in national prices
3
$58,088 take-home in national prices
Where a median mental health and substance abuse social worker paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 14,820 | $79,380 | $54,650 | $122,340 | $60,610 | $56,162 |
| California | 19,860 | $79,000 | $46,450 | $147,300 | $60,278 | $54,441 |
| Connecticut | 1,540 | $78,640 | $49,260 | $108,530 | $60,185 | $58,088 |
| Minnesota | 3,590 | $75,020 | $50,950 | $98,520 | $57,699 | $58,505 |
| Maryland | 2,250 | $73,580 | $38,100 | $104,000 | $57,464 | $54,749 |
| District of Columbia | 510 | $73,310 | $57,940 | $115,500 | $57,085 | $51,942 |
| Vermont | 320 | $73,210 | $61,510 | $100,140 | $58,005 | $59,215 |
| Washington | 3,490 | $70,460 | $46,790 | $102,680 | $57,421 | $53,658 |
| Oregon | 2,230 | $68,210 | $50,280 | $100,680 | $51,815 | $50,130 |
| New Jersey | 2,420 | $66,590 | $45,180 | $102,130 | $53,075 | $48,780 |
| New Mexico | 800 | $65,640 | $36,700 | $114,170 | $53,002 | $57,479 |
| Colorado | 1,640 | $65,620 | $47,100 | $95,950 | $52,438 | $50,885 |
| Virginia | 3,670 | $64,240 | $48,530 | $102,480 | $50,917 | $50,361 |
| New Hampshire | 320 | $63,900 | $49,140 | $123,560 | $53,524 | $51,384 |
| Nevada | 1,100 | $62,900 | $37,930 | $98,010 | $52,720 | $52,731 |
| Massachusetts | 7,440 | $62,500 | $48,260 | $100,670 | $49,206 | $46,528 |
| Wisconsin | 1,880 | $61,860 | $45,430 | $87,690 | $49,721 | $52,841 |
| Rhode Island | 800 | $60,990 | $42,900 | $135,200 | $48,844 | $47,755 |
| North Dakota | 240 | $60,980 | $44,050 | $75,840 | $51,177 | $57,529 |
| Michigan | 4,620 | $60,830 | $42,150 | $82,750 | $48,722 | $50,638 |
| Delaware | 510 | $60,060 | $47,550 | $81,210 | $47,542 | $47,633 |
| Wyoming | 200 | $59,310 | $39,650 | $118,900 | $49,836 | $53,765 |
| Arkansas | 1,040 | $58,590 | $39,440 | $99,070 | $47,577 | $54,726 |
| North Carolina | 3,690 | $58,210 | $38,970 | $79,720 | $47,138 | $49,973 |
| Maine | 1,860 | $57,050 | $45,870 | $96,370 | $45,561 | $46,946 |
| Alaska | 250 | $56,710 | $46,250 | $85,670 | $47,475 | $46,381 |
| Kansas | 1,620 | $56,330 | $47,750 | $79,650 | $45,098 | $50,071 |
| Hawaii | Not published | $54,390 | $45,790 | $90,870 | $43,270 | $39,353 |
| Idaho | 510 | $52,520 | $40,940 | $92,770 | $42,705 | $44,720 |
| Georgia | 1,330 | $52,030 | $32,990 | $83,500 | $42,138 | $43,761 |
| Florida | 5,150 | $51,590 | $38,180 | $77,610 | $43,633 | $42,192 |
| Utah | 1,240 | $50,770 | $37,980 | $101,350 | $41,257 | $41,731 |
| West Virginia | 420 | $50,070 | $38,410 | $70,190 | $40,964 | $45,772 |
| Illinois | 3,460 | $49,960 | $39,910 | $79,050 | $39,995 | $40,011 |
| Missouri | 1,640 | $49,560 | $38,610 | $72,800 | $40,609 | $44,716 |
| Mississippi | 920 | $48,970 | $25,880 | $78,920 | $40,301 | $46,348 |
| South Dakota | 230 | $48,920 | $39,230 | $73,610 | $41,487 | $46,833 |
| Iowa | 1,200 | $48,530 | $37,980 | $80,760 | $39,982 | $45,557 |
| Indiana | 2,490 | $48,300 | $36,290 | $77,780 | $39,594 | $42,424 |
| Pennsylvania | 3,500 | $48,290 | $37,790 | $73,940 | $39,465 | $40,447 |
| Louisiana | 970 | $47,100 | $31,890 | $72,440 | $38,998 | $44,212 |
| Texas | 8,220 | $46,630 | $36,870 | $79,210 | $39,647 | $40,849 |
| Tennessee | 2,220 | $46,500 | $38,320 | $68,430 | $39,543 | $43,042 |
| Arizona | 3,690 | $46,380 | $40,810 | $64,350 | $38,681 | $38,420 |
| Ohio | 6,050 | $46,080 | $34,700 | $75,610 | $38,382 | $41,371 |
| Montana | 740 | $45,160 | $37,960 | $82,390 | $37,100 | $39,199 |
| Nebraska | 900 | $43,240 | $35,760 | $59,160 | $35,835 | $39,772 |
| Oklahoma | 1,780 | $43,120 | $35,780 | $52,930 | $35,432 | $40,336 |
| Kentucky | 1,360 | $42,570 | $33,880 | $63,960 | $35,013 | $38,834 |
| Alabama | 740 | $41,500 | $29,370 | $64,750 | $33,830 | $38,087 |
| South Carolina | 720 | $39,930 | $30,250 | $63,970 | $33,768 | $36,019 |
| Puerto Rico | 350 | $26,500 | $21,840 | $43,920 | — | — |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 21-1023. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.