Salary Outlook with Ph.D. in Social Work Degree
In most fields, earning a Doctor of Philosophy degree, or Ph.D., represents the pinnacle of educational and academic achievement. The same is often true for students with educational and professional experience in the field of social work. While it’s not the only possible doctoral degree in the field, a Ph.D. in Social Work can be the next best step to a social work career that’s rewarding both professionally and financially.
What should potential social work Ph.D. students know about their degree options, possible career paths and what federal data indicates about their long-term career outlook?
What’s On This Page
- Social Work Doctorate Options
- Social Work Career Tracks
- Social Work PhD Salary Outlook
- Social Work Ph.D. Salary by State
- Projected Social Work Ph.D. Jobs
Social Work Doctorate Options
Two main types of doctoral degrees are available in social work — a Doctor of Social Work (DSW) and a Ph.D. in Social Work. It’s not typical for one college or university to offer both types of degrees, and it usually comes down to the programmatic focus of the institution’s social work department.
Generally, DSW programs are geared more toward the professional practice of social work. In this way, these degrees can be considered equivalent to the Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.), which was developed in the 1970s to train practicing psychologists.
SEE ALSO: Top 5 Online DSW Social Work Programs
Social work Ph.D. degree programs will usually be more focused on conducting in-depth academic and lab-based research into various facets of social work to help build upon the body of literature in the field.
Of course, those with a Ph.D. in Social Work may go on to become practicing social workers, and it’s possible to earn a DSW and have a flourishing career in research. But generally, social work Ph.D. programs will be more heavily skewed toward research while DSW programs will be heavy on clinical experiences.
Social Work PhD Career Tracks
There isn’t one single possible career path once you’ve completed a Ph.D. in Social Work, and there are many types of jobs a Ph.D.-holder is qualified to fill. Here’s a look at the possible options by the type of job:
Social Work Ph.D. career options by industry
| Education | Social Work | Business | Research |
| College Professor | Therapist | Human Resources Director | Applied Researcher |
| School Counselor | Licensed Clinical Social Worker | Training and Development Manager | Policy Researcher |
| Special Education Teacher | Mental Health Counselor | Industrial-Organizational Psychologist | Lab Director |
Depending on the job they’re seeking, Ph.D. in Social Work graduates may need to clear additional licensure and certification hurdles. This is especially true for those seeking jobs that are public-facing, such as Special Education Teacher or Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Be sure to consult the laws and rules in your state.
Social Work PhD Salary Overview
Having a PhD vastly increases a person’s earnings potential. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that a PhD psychologist’s median salary will be more than twice that of a high school graduate. While that’s not necessarily surprising, those who have completed a PhD also have a median income that’s 41% higher than a bachelor’s-holder.
What can social work PhD graduates expect to make in the state where they live? We can start by looking at the national average annual salaries for a range of professions:
| Clinical and Counseling Psychologists | $106,600 |
| Social and Community Service Managers | $83,400 |
| Social Work Professors | $80,840 |
| Healthcare Social Workers | $67,430 |
| Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers | $63,870 |
| Social Workers | $62,880 |
| Child, Family and School Social Workers | $59,190 |
Social workers with a PhD can have their pick of which career field they want to pursue. On this list clinical and counseling psychologists have the most lucrative job title, while child, family and school social workers have the least.
Generally though, the number-one thought of social workers isn’t maximizing salary.
When we get to the state-level, the BLS doesn’t track salary data for general social workers. The closest relevant category to PhDs in social work is mental health and substance abuse social workers. We’ll use this career category going forward.
And because level of education generally corresponds to salary, we’ll assign the top 10% mental health and substance abuse social worker salary as a rough-estimate proxy for what social workers with a PhD earn on average.
Nationally the salary numbers for mental health and substance abuse social workers are:
| Bottom 25% salary | $43,750 and lower |
| Median salary | $55,960 |
| Average salary | $63,870 |
| Top 25% salary | $74,810 and higher |
| Top 10% salary | $100,090 and higher |
So nationally, PhD social workers earn an average salary of $100,090, according to this estimate.
Now we can use state data to estimate the average salary of PhD social workers.
Average annual social work PhD salary by state
| New York | $133,270 |
| Rhode Island | $131,040 |
| California | $130,590 |
| District of Columbia | $108,180 |
| Connecticut | $105,230 |
| New Jersey | $104,000 |
| Alaska | $102,170 |
| Virginia | $99,390 |
| Washington | $99,280 |
| Maine | $98,640 |
| Massachusetts | $96,070 |
| New Hampshire | $95,870 |
| Maryland | $94,760 |
| Minnesota | $93,380 |
| Vermont | $92,370 |
| Oregon | $88,040 |
| Utah | $85,440 |
| Georgia | $82,570 |
| Colorado | $82,110 |
| Delaware | $81,380 |
| Illinois | $80,900 |
| Hawaii | $79,760 |
| Idaho | $78,910 |
| North Dakota | $78,140 |
| Michigan | $77,590 |
| Wisconsin | $76,000 |
| Nevada | $75,880 |
| Indiana | $75,000 |
| Louisiana | $74,700 |
| Florida | $74,220 |
| Ohio | $73,540 |
| New Mexico | $73,110 |
| Kansas | $72,190 |
| Kentucky | $70,460 |
| Pennsylvania | $69,630 |
| North Carolina | $69,590 |
| Iowa | $69,310 |
| South Carolina | $67,280 |
| Wyoming | $67,180 |
| West Virginia | $65,270 |
| Texas | $64,490 |
| Arizona | $64,160 |
| Arkansas | $63,870 |
| Mississippi | $62,700 |
| Montana | $62,630 |
| Tennessee | $61,910 |
| South Dakota | $59,470 |
| Missouri | $58,270 |
| Alabama | $56,250 |
| Oklahoma | $56,000 |
| Nebraska | $52,210 |
PhD social workers earn the best average wages on the East Coast and in California. Six states offer average salaries above $100,000, and 14 offer salaries above $90,000. Only five states offer average salaries below $60,000.
Looking at growth, the BLS reports that nationally social workers in general should see their number of jobs increase by 7% between 2023 and 2033. That’s nearly double the national rate for all jobs of 4% over that same period.
Unfortunately the BLS doesn’t track projected state-level growth rates for social workers in general. It does track projected growth rates for these related professions (2023-2033):
| Clinical and Counseling Psychologists | 13.3% |
| Social and Community Service Managers | 8.2% |
| Social Work Professors | 3.6% |
| Healthcare Social Workers | 9.7% |
| Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers | 11.6% |
| Child, Family and School Social Workers | 4.9% |
Because mental health and substance abuse social workers are a good proxy for social workers in general, we can use a scaler of 0.603 on the state-level projected growth rates of mental health and substance abuse social workers to create a growth rate that aligns with the national rate of 7%.
Now we can estimate the following state-level projected growth rates for social workers:
| Utah | 23.1% |
| Arizona | 18.8% |
| New York | 16.3% |
| Idaho | 15.8% |
| Iowa | 12.8% |
| Tennessee | 12.3% |
| Montana | 12.1% |
| Colorado | 11.4% |
| California | 11.2% |
| Florida | 10.4% |
| Georgia | 10.2% |
| South Carolina | 9.9% |
| Oregon | 9.8% |
| Wyoming | 9.6% |
| Texas | 9.3% |
| North Carolina | 9.1% |
| Washington | 8.8% |
| Indiana | 8.5% |
| New Jersey | 8.5% |
| Maryland | 8.4% |
| Nevada | 8.4% |
| New Mexico | 8.4% |
| New Hampshire | 8.1% |
| Kansas | 7.8% |
| Virginia | 7.8% |
| Louisiana | 7.8% |
| Rhode Island | 7.7% |
| Nebraska | 7.7% |
| West Virginia | 7.4% |
| District of Columbia | 7.4% |
| Arkansas | 7.2% |
| Kentucky | 7.1% |
| Alaska | 6.9% |
| Illinois | 6.6% |
| Missouri | 6.0% |
| Vermont | 6.0% |
| Massachusetts | 5.8% |
| Connecticut | 5.7% |
| Oklahoma | 5.0% |
| Ohio | 4.8% |
| Pennsylvania | 4.8% |
| Alabama | 4.7% |
| South Dakota | 4.6% |
| Mississippi | 4.6% |
| Delaware | 4.5% |
| Michigan | 4.5% |
| Minnesota | 3.9% |
| North Dakota | 3.8% |
| Wisconsin | 3.7% |
| Maine | 0% |
The top-five states for their projected social work growth rates are a diverse mix: Utah, Arizona, New York, Idaho and Iowa. 11 states have double-digit growth rates, and 23 states have growth rates that are more than double the national average. Maine is the only state anticipating zero extra jobs being created over this time, however there should still be openings here due to retirements and professionals leaving the workforce.
May 2023 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics salary for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers and select occupations. 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.
Conclusion
Careers in social work can be challenging but for those who are dedicated to making a difference, they also can be quite rewarding. Earning a Ph.D. in Social Work is often an ideal way to supercharge career earnings and open up new avenues of professional experience.