Social worker salary in California: what each kind of social worker earns.
There is no single social worker wage. Here is the BLS median for each kind of social worker in California, how many people do the work there, and how it compares with the national figure.
$63,010 – $89,660
Range of medians across the 4 social worker occupations BLS publishes for California. No BLS figure combines them.
BLS publishes no single “social worker” wage for California. Across the 4 social worker occupations with a published May 2025 median in California, median annual pay ran from $63,010 (“social workers, all other”) to $89,660 (healthcare social workers). “Child, family, and school social workers”, the largest of them in California (60,310 employed), earned a median of $65,200, compared with $59,550 nationally.
Social workers in California at a glance
“Child, family, and school social workers” are the largest social worker occupation with a published median in California, with 60,310 employed and a median annual wage of $65,200 in May 2025 (BLS).
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Among the social worker occupations with a published median in California, healthcare social workers had the highest: $89,660 (May 2025, BLS).
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
3 of the 4 social worker occupations with a published median in California were paid above their own national median in May 2025 (BLS).
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Nationally, BLS publishes a median of $61,780 for its social workers group; BLS publishes no state figure for that group, so this page shows each occupation separately.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
What each kind of social worker earns in California
Data One row per BLS occupation with a published state median, sorted by median annual pay. Hourly pay is shown only where BLS publishes it.
| Occupation (BLS title) | Median annual pay, California | Median hourly | Employed in California | National median | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Social Workers | $89,660 | $43.11 | 17,690 | $67,880 | +32% vs national |
| Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers | $79,000 | $37.98 | 19,860 | $60,280 | +31% vs national |
| Child, Family, and School Social Workers | $65,200 | $31.35 | 60,310 | $59,550 | +9% vs national |
| Social Workers, All Other | $63,010 | $30.29 | 6,430 | $71,900 | -12% vs national |
How this page is built
Pay and employment are BLS OEWS state estimates for California, May 2025, for each BLS detailed occupation on the national Social workers page. BLS publishes no social worker-wide state figure; nothing on this page is averaged or combined by TryHired. “Difference” compares each occupation's state median with its own national median. Top-coded medians (BLS “#”) are shown as “$239,200 a year or more”, never as a number.
- Pay at a specific employer, hospital system, union contract or school district.
- Pay in a specific city: metro figures differ from the state median.
- Licensing rules in California.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).