Social worker salary in Illinois: 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 Illinois, how many people do the work there, and how it compares with the national figure.
$49,960 – $64,270
Range of medians across the 4 social worker occupations BLS publishes for Illinois. No BLS figure combines them.
BLS publishes no single “social worker” wage for Illinois. Across the 4 social worker occupations with a published May 2025 median in Illinois, median annual pay ran from $49,960 (mental health and substance abuse social workers) to $64,270 (healthcare social workers). “Child, family, and school social workers”, the largest of them in Illinois (19,860 employed), earned a median of $63,220, compared with $59,550 nationally.
Social workers in Illinois at a glance
“Child, family, and school social workers” are the largest social worker occupation with a published median in Illinois, with 19,860 employed and a median annual wage of $63,220 in May 2025 (BLS).
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Among the social worker occupations with a published median in Illinois, healthcare social workers had the highest: $64,270 (May 2025, BLS).
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
1 of the 4 social worker occupations with a published median in Illinois 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 Illinois
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, Illinois | Median hourly | Employed in Illinois | National median | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Social Workers | $64,270 | $30.90 | 4,910 | $67,880 | -5% vs national |
| Social Workers, All Other | $64,030 | $30.79 | 1,910 | $71,900 | -11% vs national |
| Child, Family, and School Social Workers | $63,220 | $30.39 | 19,860 | $59,550 | +6% vs national |
| Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers | $49,960 | $24.02 | 3,460 | $60,280 | -17% vs national |
How this page is built
Pay and employment are BLS OEWS state estimates for Illinois, 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 Illinois.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).