Community and Social Service Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages O*NET task lead SOC 21-1022

Healthcare Social Workers

O*NET task statements lead this Healthcare Social Workers card before OEWS pay; neighboring titles include Social Workers, All Other, Social and Human Service Assistants, Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists, Marriage and Family Therapists.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Healthcare Social Workers: Social Workers, All Other ($72K) , Social and Human Service Assistants ($46K) , Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists ($66K) , Marriage and Family Therapists ($67K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Healthcare Social Workers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 21-1022 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Advocate for clients or patients to resolve crises
  2. 2. Educate clients about end-of-life symptoms and options to assist them in making informed decisions
  3. 3. Collaborate with other professionals to evaluate patients' medical or physical condition and to assess client needs
  4. 4. Investigate child abuse or neglect cases and take authorized protective action when necessary
  5. 5. Refer patient, client, or family to community resources to assist in recovery from mental or physical illness and to provide access to se…
  6. 6. Utilize consultation data and social work experience to plan and coordinate client or patient care and rehabilitation, following through…
  7. 7. Monitor, evaluate, and record client progress according to measurable goals described in treatment and care plan
  8. 8. Identify environmental impediments to client or patient progress through interviews and review of patient records
  9. 9. Counsel clients and patients in individual and group sessions to help them overcome dependencies, recover from illness, and adjust to life
  10. 10. Plan discharge from care facility to home or other care facility
  11. 11. Organize support groups or counsel family members to assist them in understanding, dealing with, and supporting the client or patient
  12. 12. Modify treatment plans to comply with changes in clients' status

Healthcare Social Workers: O*NET ranks Social Perceptiveness first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 21-1022 - lead skill Social Perceptiveness at 4.3 ; lead knowledge Psychology. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Social Perceptiveness 4.3
  2. 2. Speaking 4.1
  3. 3. Service Orientation 4.1
  4. 4. Reading Comprehension 4.0
  5. 5. Active Listening 4.0
  6. 6. Critical Thinking 4.0
  7. 7. Coordination 4.0
  8. 8. Writing 3.9

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Psychology 4.9
  2. 2. Therapy and Counseling 4.7
  3. 3. Sociology and Anthropology 4.4
  4. 4. English Language 4.4
  5. 5. Customer and Personal Service 3.9
  6. 6. Education and Training 3.5
National median after O*NET task lead
$67,880
/year · 12 published task lines above
Lead task: Advocate for clients or patients to resolve crises
$68K
National median
↑ +8%
Growth 2024-2034
18,400
Annual openings
187,630
Estimated US jobs
Social Workers, All Other
Highest-pay peer · $72K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Master's degree

Top Paying States for Healthcare Social Workers

1. Connecticut $79,900
2. Washington $78,570
3. Nevada $78,470
4. District of Columbia $94,100
5. Hawaii $85,420
6. Vermont $81,140
7. New Hampshire $78,260
8. Oregon $84,350
9. California $89,660
10. New Jersey $82,690

Other Community and Social Service Occupations titles

  1. 1. Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists $66,270
  2. 2. Marriage and Family Therapists $66,940
  3. 3. Social and Human Service Assistants $45,930
  4. 4. Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other $56,730
  5. 5. Counselors, All Other $50,860
  6. 6. Social Workers, All Other $71,900

O*NET publishes 12 leading task statements for Healthcare Social Workers (SOC 21-1022). The national OEWS median is $67,880 inside Community and Social Service Occupations. Same-group neighbors: Social Workers, All Other, Social and Human Service Assistants, Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists, Marriage and Family Therapists. Lead published task: Advocate for clients or patients to resolve crises.

Employment Projections expect +8% change between 2024 and 2034 (faster than average vs baseline 3.1%). About 18,400 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Master's degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Connecticut at $79,900. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Social Workers, All Other at $71,900. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Healthcare Social Workers pay-rank #2 in Community and Social Service Occupations

Among 17 detailed Community and Social Service Occupations with a published OEWS median, Healthcare Social Workers is pay-rank #2, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 21-1022 · national median $67,880 · upper third of Community and Social Service Occupations (#2/17). The day-to-day tasks above set this role apart from peers with a similar title.

Healthcare Social Workers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 21-1022

Connecticut · top state for Healthcare Social Workers

$80K published median

Washington · #2 state pay

$79K · behind Connecticut

Social Workers, All Other

Highest-pay peer vs Healthcare Social Workers · $72K

Social and Human Service Assistants

Lower-pay peer beside Healthcare Social Workers · $46K

Compare Healthcare Social Workers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Healthcare Social Workers with another occupation →

Role and task next reads

Healthcare Social Workers full salary map

State and metro OEWS after the task lead

Compare tasks and pay

Side-by-side with another occupation

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Community and Social Service Occupations titles sit near Healthcare Social Workers at the top of the pay table? ▼
Healthcare Social Workers is pay-rank #2 of 17 detailed Community and Social Service Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Marriage and Family Therapists ($67K), Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists ($66K), Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors ($64K), Health Education Specialists ($64K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do healthcare social workers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Healthcare Social Workers. Leading ones include: Advocate for clients or patients to resolve crises; Educate clients about end-of-life symptoms and options to assist them in making informed decisions; Collaborate with other professionals to evaluate patients' medical or physical condition and to assess client needs; Investigate child abuse or neglect cases and take authorized protective action when necessary. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for healthcare social workers? ▼
For SOC 21-1022, O*NET importance scores lead with Social Perceptiveness (4.3), Speaking (4.1), Service Orientation (4.1), Reading Comprehension (4.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Psychology, Therapy and Counseling, Sociology and Anthropology. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Healthcare Social Workers? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $67,880 as the national median for Healthcare Social Workers. The published 10th-90th range is $46,220 to $100,360. Beside Social Workers, All Other ($71,900), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Healthcare Social Workers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Healthcare Social Workers is +8%. Projected annual openings: about 18,400. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Healthcare Social Workers? ▼
BLS assigns Master's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Healthcare Social Workers. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Healthcare Social Workers? ▼
Connecticut ($79,900), Washington ($78,570), Nevada ($78,470) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Healthcare Social Workers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 21-1022. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Healthcare Social Workers. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics