Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers salary
SOC 21-1023 · BLS OEWS May 2025
What the range looks like
A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.
- 10th
- $39,740
- 25th
- $47,070
- Median
- $60,280
- 75th
- $79,730
- 90th
- $104,170
Getting in
- Typical education to enter
- Master's degree
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- Internship/residency
Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.
Where mental health and substance abuse social workers earn the most
Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | State | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | $79,380 | 107.9 | 14,820 | 1.79× |
| 2 | California | $79,000 | 110.7 | 19,860 | 1.28× |
| 3 | Connecticut | $78,640 | 103.6 | 1,540 | 1.06× |
| 4 | Minnesota | $75,020 | 98.6 | 3,590 | 1.42× |
| 5 | Maryland | $73,580 | 105.0 | 2,250 | 0.95× |
| 6 | District of Columbia | $73,310 | 109.9 | 510 | 0.85× |
| 7 | Vermont | $73,210 | 98.0 | 320 | 1.24× |
| 8 | Washington | $70,460 | 107.0 | 3,490 | 1.15× |
| 9 | Oregon | $68,210 | 103.4 | 2,230 | 1.33× |
| 10 | New Jersey | $66,590 | 108.8 | 2,420 | 0.66× |
| 11 | New Mexico | $65,640 | 92.2 | 800 | 1.08× |
| 12 | Colorado | $65,620 | 103.1 | 1,640 | 0.67× |
| 13 | Virginia | $64,240 | 101.1 | 3,670 | 1.04× |
| 14 | New Hampshire | $63,900 | 104.2 | 320 | 0.54× |
| 15 | Nevada | $62,900 | 100.0 | 1,100 | 0.83× |
| 16 | Massachusetts | $62,500 | 105.8 | 7,440 | 2.40× |
| 17 | Wisconsin | $61,860 | 94.1 | 1,880 | 0.75× |
| 18 | Rhode Island | $60,990 | 102.3 | 800 | 1.88× |
| 19 | North Dakota | $60,980 | 89.0 | 240 | 0.65× |
| 20 | Michigan | $60,830 | 96.2 | 4,620 | 1.23× |
| 21 | Delaware | $60,060 | 99.8 | 510 | 1.22× |
| 22 | Wyoming | $59,310 | 92.7 | 200 | 0.82× |
| 23 | Arkansas | $58,590 | 86.9 | 1,040 | 0.93× |
| 24 | North Carolina | $58,210 | 94.3 | 3,690 | 0.87× |
| 25 | Maine | $57,050 | 97.0 | 1,860 | 3.40× |
| 26 | Alaska | $56,710 | 102.4 | 250 | 0.88× |
| 27 | Kansas | $56,330 | 90.1 | 1,620 | 1.32× |
| 28 | Hawaii | $54,390 | 110.0 | — | — |
| 29 | Idaho | $52,520 | 95.5 | 510 | 0.69× |
| 30 | Georgia | $52,030 | 96.3 | 1,330 | 0.32× |
| 31 | Florida | $51,590 | 103.4 | 5,150 | 0.61× |
| 32 | Utah | $50,770 | 98.9 | 1,240 | 0.84× |
| 33 | West Virginia | $50,070 | 89.5 | 420 | 0.70× |
| 34 | Illinois | $49,960 | 100.0 | 3,460 | 0.66× |
| 35 | Missouri | $49,560 | 90.8 | 1,640 | 0.66× |
| 36 | Mississippi | $48,970 | 87.0 | 920 | 0.93× |
| 37 | South Dakota | $48,920 | 88.6 | 230 | 0.60× |
| 38 | Iowa | $48,530 | 87.8 | 1,200 | 0.90× |
| 39 | Indiana | $48,300 | 93.3 | 2,490 | 0.91× |
| 40 | Pennsylvania | $48,290 | 97.6 | 3,500 | 0.68× |
| 41 | Louisiana | $47,100 | 88.2 | 970 | 0.59× |
| 42 | Texas | $46,630 | 97.1 | 8,220 | 0.68× |
| 43 | Tennessee | $46,500 | 91.9 | 2,220 | 0.79× |
| 44 | Arizona | $46,380 | 100.7 | 3,690 | 1.33× |
| 45 | Ohio | $46,080 | 92.8 | 6,050 | 1.28× |
| 46 | Montana | $45,160 | 94.6 | 740 | 1.69× |
| 47 | Nebraska | $43,240 | 90.1 | 900 | 1.03× |
| 48 | Oklahoma | $43,120 | 87.8 | 1,780 | 1.22× |
| 49 | Kentucky | $42,570 | 90.2 | 1,360 | 0.80× |
| 50 | Alabama | $41,500 | 88.8 | 740 | 0.41× |
| 51 | South Carolina | $39,930 | 93.7 | 720 | 0.37× |
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. States where mental health and substance abuse social workers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Best paying metro areas for mental health and substance abuse social workers
The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
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 mental health and substance abuse social workers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Similar occupations
Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.
- Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors$59,350
- Social and Human Service Assistants$45,930
- Child, Family, and School Social Workers$59,550
- Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors$64,330
- Healthcare Social Workers$67,880
- Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other$56,730
- Rehabilitation Counselors$46,850
- Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists$66,270