Community and Social Service Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 21-1023

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

The published band from $39,740 to $104,170 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers: Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors ($64K) , Religious Workers, All Other ($45K) , Community Health Workers ($52K) , Counselors, All Other ($51K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 21-1023 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Counsel clients in individual or group sessions to assist them in dealing with substance abuse, mental or physical illness, poverty, unem…
  2. 2. Collaborate with counselors, physicians, or nurses to plan or coordinate treatment, drawing on social work experience and patient needs
  3. 3. Monitor, evaluate, and record client progress with respect to treatment goals
  4. 4. Interview clients, review records, conduct assessments, or confer with other professionals to evaluate the mental or physical condition o…
  5. 5. Supervise or direct other workers who provide services to clients or patients
  6. 6. Modify treatment plans according to changes in client status
  7. 7. Assist clients in adhering to treatment plans, such as setting up appointments, arranging for transportation to appointments, or providin…
  8. 8. Educate clients or community members about mental or physical illness, abuse, medication, or available community resources
  9. 9. Counsel or aid family members to assist them in understanding, dealing with, or supporting the client or patient
  10. 10. Increase social work knowledge by reviewing current literature, conducting social research, or attending seminars, training workshops, or…
  11. 11. Refer patient, client, or family to community resources for housing or treatment to assist in recovery from mental or physical illness, f…
  12. 12. Plan or conduct programs to prevent substance abuse, combat social problems, or improve health or counseling services in community

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers: O*NET ranks Social Perceptiveness first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 21-1023 - lead skill Social Perceptiveness at 4.3 ; lead knowledge Therapy and Counseling. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

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

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Therapy and Counseling 4.8
  2. 2. Psychology 4.7
  3. 3. English Language 3.9
  4. 4. Customer and Personal Service 3.8
  5. 5. Education and Training 3.7
  6. 6. Sociology and Anthropology 3.6
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$39,740 to $104,170
median $60,280 · ~2.6× spread
$60K
National median
↑ +10%
Growth 2024-2034
13,500
Annual openings
132,810
Estimated US jobs
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors
Highest-pay peer · $64K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Master's degree

Top Paying States for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

1. New York $79,380
2. Oregon $68,210
3. Maryland $73,580
4. Minnesota $75,020
5. California $79,000
6. Vermont $73,210
7. Connecticut $78,640
8. New Jersey $66,590
9. District of Columbia $73,310
10. Washington $70,460

Other Community and Social Service Occupations titles

  1. 1. Community Health Workers $51,850
  2. 2. Counselors, All Other $50,860
  3. 3. Directors, Religious Activities and Education $52,100
  4. 4. Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors $64,330
  5. 5. Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other $56,730
  6. 6. Religious Workers, All Other $45,280

The OEWS band for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers runs from $39,740 (10th) to $104,170 (90th), about 2.6× wide, with median $60,280. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +10% change between 2024 and 2034 (much faster than average vs baseline 3.1%). About 13,500 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: New York at $79,380. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors at $64,330. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers pay-rank #8 in Community and Social Service Occupations

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers sits at pay-rank #8 of 17 detailed Community and Social Service Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table 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.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 21-1023

New York · top state for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

$79K published median

Oregon · #2 state pay

$68K · behind New York

Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors

Highest-pay peer vs Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers · $64K

Religious Workers, All Other

Lower-pay peer beside Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers · $45K

Compare Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers mid-table among Community and Social Service Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #8 of 17 detailed Community and Social Service Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Clergy ($61K), Child, Family, and School Social Workers ($60K), Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors ($59K), Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other ($57K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do mental health and substance abuse social workers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers. Leading ones include: Counsel clients in individual or group sessions to assist them in dealing with substance abuse, mental or physical illness, poverty, unem…; Collaborate with counselors, physicians, or nurses to plan or coordinate treatment, drawing on social work experience and patient needs; Monitor, evaluate, and record client progress with respect to treatment goals; Interview clients, review records, conduct assessments, or confer with other professionals to evaluate the mental or physical condition o…. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for mental health and substance abuse social workers? ▼
For SOC 21-1023, O*NET importance scores lead with Social Perceptiveness (4.3), Active Listening (4.1), Speaking (4.1), Reading Comprehension (4.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Therapy and Counseling, Psychology, English Language. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $39,740 and the 90th at $104,170 for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers (2.6× spread). The national median is $60,280. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers is +10%. Projected annual openings: about 13,500. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: much faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers? ▼
BLS assigns Master's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers? ▼
New York ($79,380), Oregon ($68,210), Maryland ($73,580) 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 Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 21-1023. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Mental Health and Substance Abuse 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