As of April 01, 2025, the average hourly pay of Social Worker (MSW) in the United States is $30. While Salary.com is seeing that Social Worker (MSW) salary in the US can go up to $37 or down to $24, but most earn between $27 and $34. Salary.com shows the average base salary (core compensation), as well as the average total cash compensation for the job of Social Worker (MSW) in the United States.
| Annual Salary |
Monthly Pay |
Weekly Pay |
Hourly Wage |
|
| 75th Percentile | $34 | $3 | $1 | $0 |
| Average | $30 | $3 | $1 | $0 |
| 25th Percentile | $27 | $2 | $1 | $0 |
As of April 01, 2025, Salary.com is seeing that an entry-level Social Worker (MSW) with under 1 year experience makes about $60,143. With less than 2 years of experience, a mid-level Social Worker (MSW) makes around $60,625. After 2-4 years, the Social Worker (MSW) pay rises to about $63,585. Those senior Social Worker (MSW) with 5-8 years of experience earn roughly $66,682, and those Social Worker (MSW) having 8 years or more experience is expected to earn about $67,235 on average.
| Levels | Salary |
|---|---|
| Entry Level Social Worker (MSW) | $60,143 |
| Intermediate Level Social Worker (MSW) | $60,625 |
| Senior Level Social Worker (MSW) | $63,585 |
| Specialist Level Social Worker (MSW) | $66,682 |
| Expert Level Social Worker (MSW) | $67,235 |
| Entry Level | 5% |
| Mid Level | 4% |
| Senior Level | 1% |
| Top Level | 6% |
| Experienced | 7% |
Salaries in the United States can vary significantly from state to state due to a multitude of factors, including cost of living, local economic conditions, and industry presence.
For example, as of April 01, 2025, the average yearly salary of Social Worker (MSW) is $69,524 in California and in Massachusetts, the average annual salary goes to $68,598. While in New Jersey, a Social Worker (MSW) earns $68,320 per year.
What Am I Worth?
Salaries in the United States can vary significantly from city to city due to a multitude of factors, including cost of living, local economic conditions, and industry presence.
For example, as of April 01, 2025, the average yearly salary of Social Worker (MSW) in San Francisco, CA is $78,721 and in New York, NY, the average annual salary goes to $73,048. While a Social Worker (MSW) earns $70,300 per year in Boston, MA.
For those exploring the changing dynamics of Social Worker (MSW) salaries, Salary.com offers detailed insights through our Job Trending in CA Labor Market analysis. As of April 01, 2025, our research highlights a notable shift in Social Worker (MSW) compensation over the past six years. For instance, the median salary has moved from $74,373 in 2023 to about $72,204 in 2024 (for a comprehensive analysis of Social Worker (MSW) salary trends, click here). It's crucial to consider several elements, including geographical location, experience level, industry demand, and economic development, as they play a significant role in influencing salary variations.
Salary.com job board provides millions of Social Worker (MSW) information for you to search for. Click on search button below to see Social Worker (MSW) job openings or enter a new job title here.
Here are companies hiring for Social Worker (MSW) and their salaries, click below for more details.
| Core Compensation | ||||
| Core Compensation | Median | % of Total | ||
| Base Salary | $63,032 | 70.8% | ||
| Bonus | $0 | 0.0% | ||
| Value of Benefits | ||||
| Core Compensation | Median | % of Total | ||
| Social Security | $4,822 | 5.4% | ||
| 401K/403B | $3,089 | 3.5% | ||
| Disability | $1,009 | 1.1% | ||
| Healthcare | $6,371 | 7.2% | ||
| Pension | $2,647 | 3.0% | ||
| Time Off | $8,000 | 9.0% | ||
| Total Compensation | $88,969 | 100% | ||
| Degree Level | % of user with this level of education |
|---|---|
| No Diploma | 0.1% |
| High School | 0.8% |
| Associates | 1.5% |
| Bachelors | 5.1% |
| Masters | 91.4% |
| Doctorate | 1.1% |
What Am I Worth?
Interviews clients and their families and coordinates and plans programs and activities to meet their social and emotional needs. Provides crisis intervention and assists families in understanding the implications and complexities of the life situation and its impact on lifestyle. Provides professional social work assistance to clients and families as related to illness, disease, hospitalization, financial and educational needs by utilizing a variety of modalities in all areas of service. Responsibilities also include involvement in the discharge planning process. Requires a master's degree. Typically reports to a manager. Years of experience may be unspecified. Certification and/or licensing in the position's specialty is the main requirement.
Specify the abilities and skills that a person needs in order to carry out the specified job duties. Each competency has five to ten behavioral assertions that can be observed, each with a corresponding performance level (from one to five) that is required for a particular job.
Planning: An act or process of making or carrying out plans. Establishment of goals, policies, and procedures for a social or economic unit city planning business planning.
Patient Care: Patient care refers to the prevention, treatment, and management of illness and the preservation of physical and mental well-being through services offered by health professionals.
Geriatrics: Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty focused on providing care for the unique health needs of older adults. The term geriatrics originates from the Greek geron meaning "old man", and iatros meaning "healer".
