MSW Masters in Social Work Salary Outlook
Students interested in social work earn their bachelor’s degree in social work, beginning their careers as child or family social workers. For those who want to become clinical or healthcare social workers, a master’s degree in social work (MSW) is required. Getting your MSW degree means you will have more jobs available to you, as well as higher salaries.
A clinical social worker with a master’s degree is authorized to provide individual, group, family, and couples therapy. They work with clients to overcome mental health problems and difficult life situations. Clinical social workers also work with clients, doctors, and other healthcare workers to adjust treatment plans as needed.
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A healthcare social worker with a master’s degree helps patients to understand their medical diagnosis and to make needed changes to their housing, healthcare, or lifestyle. For instance, a healthcare social worker may help a person transition from months in the hospital back to their home. They also may offer vital information about support groups or home healthcare to help patients effectively manage their illness.
Earning your MSW requires full-time study for two years and supervised clinical training. So it is vital to understand your salary potential with this degree before you start your education. Below is detailed salary information for MSW holders.
Salary Outlook with Master’s in Social Work
As the official association for social workers, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) reports that MSW holders earn an average of $13,000 more than social workers with a BSW. It also notes that MSWs earn higher salaries in government agencies, hospital inpatient facilities, and research organizations.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) supports this notion that more education translates into a higher salary. It reports the median annual wage for all social workers in the country is $58,380.
The BLS reports a total of 751,900 social workers throughout the nation. It classifies them in these main categories:
- Child, family, and school social workers – 352,160 professionals (47%)
- Healthcare social workers – 185,020 professionals (25%)
- Mental health and substance abuse social workers – 114,680 professionals (15%)
- All other social workers – 58,460 social workers (8%)
The salary breakdown for the three main groups of social workers is:
| Bottom 25% salary | Median salary | Average salary | Top 25% salary | Top 10% salary | |
| Child, family, and school social workers | $45,120 | $53,940 | $59,190 | $68,450 | $85,590 |
| Healthcare social workers | $50,190 | $62,940 | $67,430 | $78,710 | $97,790 |
| Mental health and substance abuse social workers | $43,750 | $55,960 | $63,870 | $74,810 | $100,090 |
With experience master’s-level MSW social workers can set their sights on salaries in the top-25% range. They may even make it into the top 10% salary range, but this is more associated with doctoral-in-psychology or DSW social workers.
The type of work social workers engage in has an effect on salary. The following sectors are listed with their average annual salaries according to the type of social worker:
| Individual and family services | Elementary and secondary schools | Local government, excluding schools and hospitals | Religious organizations | |
| Child, family, and school social workers | $50,780 | $70,070 | $68,500 | $71,440 |
| Healthcare social workers | $55,590 | $60,590 | $61,990 | $54,260 |
| Mental health and substance abuse social workers | $55,220 | $61,160 | $66,430 | – |
The sectors offering the highest average salaries for each type of social work profession are:
- Child, family, and school social workers: scientific research and development services – $90,180
- Healthcare social workers: specialty hospitals – $79,160
- Mental health and substance abuse social workers: home health care services – $93,400
Masters in Social Work Job Outlook
The BLS projects the number of social worker jobs to increase 7% nationally between 2023 and 2033, nearly double the projected rate for all jobs of 4%.
The states with the top-10 best projected growth rates (2022-2032) for each type of social worker are as follows:
Child, family, and school social workers:
| Utah | 23.9% |
| New York | 21.9% |
| Tennessee | 17% |
| Florida | 15.5% |
| Colorado | 14.7% |
| North Carolina | 14.2% |
| Arizona | 13.9% |
| Montana | 13.8% |
| Texas | 13.4% |
| Idaho | 13.3% |
Healthcare social workers:
| Utah | 26.9% |
| Arizona | 26.2% |
| New York | 25.3% |
| Tennessee | 22.3% |
| Idaho | 22.2% |
| New Mexico | 22.1% |
| South Carolina | 21.5% |
| Montana | 19.4% |
| Colorado | 18.2% |
| California | 17.9% |
Mental health and substance abuse social workers:
| Utah | 38.3% |
| Arizona | 31.2% |
| New York | 27% |
| Idaho | 26.2% |
| Iowa | 21.3% |
| Tennessee | 20.4% |
| Montana | 20% |
| Colorado | 18.9% |
| California | 18.5% |
| Florida | 17.2% |
The BLS reports employment in all healthcare and social assistance occupations will rise by 10% between 2023 and 2033, much faster than average. In this time, 2.3 million new jobs will be added, and many of them with be master’s-level MSW jobs in social work.
SEE ALSO: 17 Best Things to Do with an MSW Degree
It is expected that clinical social workers should see a similar rise in employment. Clinical social workers are the most often-used provider of mental health services in the United States. More Americans are turning to mental health professionals to deal with their mental and personal problems as they age.
May 2023 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics salary for Social Workers, Child, Family, and School Social Workers, Healthcare Social Workers, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers, and Social Workers, all other. National labor market information and state labor market information also sourced from the U.S. Department of Labor. Information based on national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed February 2025.
What The Experts Say
To learn what the experts have to say about what the benefits are of getting an MSW, we checked Quora.com:
- “You can do community organizing with a master’s in social work as well as private therapy. MSW allows you to work in a vast array of settings: prisons, schools, hospitals, nonprofits, and more. It is a phenomenal multifaceted degree.” – Gretchen Landry, Masters in Social Work, Louisiana State University
- Experts also chimed in on this question: “Is a master’s degree in clinical social work worth it?”
- “It is very worth it for me. I assist people, teach, show, use your own words, every day in reaching out of their “bad” place to have a more fulfilling quality of life. Sometimes all it takes is validation and people soar. Sometimes it’s helping them to see they are in a bad place, that doesn’t make them bad people. Sometimes it helping them to feel safe enough inside themselves to come out and be part of the world. Yes, for me it’s very worth it.” – Kim Funderburk, MSW Social Work and Psychology, ASWWU
- “I have found it to be worth it. I was nearly 50 years old, and while I had taken some short trips into other fields, I had reached a salary ceiling. I finally decided it was time and was accepted by a superb school. Three years later, I’m in a great [social work] job with the kinds of responsibilities I wanted.” – Karen Davis, MSW Social Work, University of Southern California
Summary
Earning an MSW in social work provides you with more job opportunities, more responsibility, and higher salaries. Job demand and salaries in this in-demand field should continue to rise, so getting your MSW is a wise career move that will pay dividends for many years.