Child, Family, and School Social Workers salary in California
SOC 21-1021 · BLS OEWS May 2025
How local pay compares
After local prices: the $65,200 median has purchasing power comparable to about $58,887 nationally. California's BEA regional price parity is 110.7 (2024).
What the local range looks like
The wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the darker section is the middle half, and the tick is the median for California.
Getting in
- Typical education to enter
- Bachelor's degree
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- None
Narrow to a metro in California
Every linked area below has a published estimate for child, family, and school social workers. Missing areas were withheld by BLS rather than measured at zero.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | Metro area | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $87,600 | 110.4 | 2,120 | 0.74× |
| 2 | Hanford-Corcoran, CA | $78,270 | 101.6 | 130 | 1.04× |
| 3 | Vallejo, CA | $77,490 | 108.5 | 280 | 0.76× |
| 4 | Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | $75,580 | 110.5 | 830 | 1.01× |
| 5 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $72,020 | 115.6 | 5,840 | 0.97× |
| 6 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $71,250 | 113.6 | 26,220 | 1.66× |
| 7 | San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | $68,560 | 108.6 | 400 | 1.31× |
| 8 | Yuba City, CA | $64,040 | 104.2 | 200 | 1.58× |
| 9 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $63,270 | 106.7 | 3,550 | 1.30× |
| 10 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $63,230 | 106.4 | 5,810 | 1.34× |
| 11 | Napa, CA | $62,760 | 112.6 | 130 | 0.64× |
| 12 | Stockton-Lodi, CA | $62,610 | 105.1 | 870 | 1.19× |
| 13 | Salinas, CA | $62,520 | 109.0 | 450 | 0.95× |
| 14 | Fresno, CA | $62,080 | 102.2 | 1,920 | 1.59× |
| 15 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $61,960 | 109.9 | 400 | 1.62× |
| 16 | Chico, CA | $61,720 | 101.2 | 290 | 1.48× |
| 17 | Visalia, CA | $61,040 | 99.8 | 470 | 1.09× |
| 18 | Modesto, CA | $60,900 | 104.1 | 1,160 | 2.35× |
| 19 | El Centro, CA | $60,690 | 95.2 | 220 | 1.31× |
| 20 | Merced, CA | $60,200 | 98.3 | 500 | 2.49× |
| 21 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $59,770 | 111.9 | 3,820 | 0.98× |
| 22 | Redding, CA | $59,520 | 100.7 | 410 | 2.24× |
| 23 | Bakersfield-Delano, CA | $59,330 | 100.9 | 960 | 1.13× |
| 24 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $57,710 | 108.8 | 460 | 0.92× |
| 25 | Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $56,810 | 107.8 | 720 | 1.38× |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where child, family, and school social workers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
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