High paying social service jobs in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA

Every social service occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA. Read the percentile range, not just the median: the gap between the 10th and 90th inside a single social service job is usually wider than the gap between two different ones, so where you land in a field matters more than which field you pick.

Cost of living: prices in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA run 9.9% above the national average (2024), so a Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA salary is worth about 0.91× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order.

Local wage estimates are suppressed more often than state ones — BLS withholds any figure too few local employers report — so an occupation missing here simply has no published local estimate.

Wages: BLS OEWS, May 2025 · Cost of living: BEA regional price parities, 2024

Find social service jobs in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA

OccupationMedian, Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA · Employed

1Healthcare Social Workers$89,430
Master's degree
$56,510 – $139,050100
2Health Education Specialists$78,640
Bachelor's degree
$56,240 – $104,79080
3Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors$74,990
Master's degree
$62,600 – $131,190550
4Marriage and Family Therapists$70,910
Master's degree
$47,690 – $148,210130
5Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers$62,680
Master's degree
$49,470 – $111,34070
6Child, Family, and School Social Workers$61,960
Bachelor's degree
$41,840 – $93,100400
7Clergy$61,630
Bachelor's degree
$34,320 – $98,79060
8Community Health Workers$59,470
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,510 – $76,39080
9Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors$58,790
Master's degree
$45,120 – $102,200530
10Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other$57,950
Bachelor's degree
$36,970 – $96,390110
11Directors, Religious Activities and Education$56,870
Bachelor's degree
$38,130 – $107,26040
12Social and Human Service Assistants$54,870
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,140 – $74,540390
13Counselors, All Other$48,620
Master's degree
$40,810 – $121,80050
14Rehabilitation Counselors$48,070
Master's degree
$37,110 – $61,010130

Bars run from the 10th to the 90th percentile; the middle half is shaded darker, and the tick is the median.

#	Occupation	MedianSanta Cruz-Watsonville, CA	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Healthcare Social WorkersMaster's degree	$89,430	$56,510 – $139,050	100
2	Health Education SpecialistsBachelor's degree	$78,640	$56,240 – $104,790	80
3	Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and AdvisorsMaster's degree	$74,990	$62,600 – $131,190	550
4	Marriage and Family TherapistsMaster's degree	$70,910	$47,690 – $148,210	130
5	Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social WorkersMaster's degree	$62,680	$49,470 – $111,340	70
6	Child, Family, and School Social WorkersBachelor's degree	$61,960	$41,840 – $93,100	400
7	ClergyBachelor's degree	$61,630	$34,320 – $98,790	60
8	Community Health WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$59,470	$47,510 – $76,390	80
9	Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health CounselorsMaster's degree	$58,790	$45,120 – $102,200	530
10	Community and Social Service Specialists, All OtherBachelor's degree	$57,950	$36,970 – $96,390	110
11	Directors, Religious Activities and EducationBachelor's degree	$56,870	$38,130 – $107,260	40
12	Social and Human Service AssistantsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$54,870	$43,140 – $74,540	390
13	Counselors, All OtherMaster's degree	$48,620	$40,810 – $121,800	50
14	Rehabilitation CounselorsMaster's degree	$48,070	$37,110 – $61,010	130

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA. The rarer ones are real jobs — but a 1,190-person occupation at the top of a list answers a different question than the one most readers are asking.

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The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA to rank honestly.

High paying social service jobs in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA

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