San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA · SOC 21-1022

Healthcare Social Workers in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara Metro

Compiled by WageDex

Metro area salary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025)

Geography used: wage and employment figures cover the full San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA BLS wage area, not only its central city; the comparison figure is the United States national estimate. Verify with the BLS OEWS source tables.

Median Salary

$107,170

per year in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro

+58% above

National Median

$67,880

per year nationally

Hourly Rate

$51.52/hr

median hourly

Employment

770

jobs in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro

The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara pay distribution spans from $66,210 at the 10th percentile to $156,940 at the 90th, a 2.4× observed spread. Differences in specialization, employer, sector, location, credentials, schedule, and experience may all contribute, but OEWS does not isolate their effects. The 25th percentile sits at $79,550 and the 75th at $132,020, so half of San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara-based healthcare social workers earn within that middle band.

Metro figures use establishment work location, not worker residence. BLS draws metro boundaries from the OMB MSA definitions, so San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA covers the central city plus outlying counties tied to the metro economically. OEWS includes straight-time pay, tips, commissions, incentive pay, and production bonuses. It excludes employer health and retirement benefits, overtime premiums, stock compensation, signing bonuses, and other nonproduction bonuses. The same occupation's national profile, statewide CA estimate, and peer-metro rows provide distinct geographic comparisons. A published median is a benchmark, not a prediction or ceiling for one worker.

Salary Range in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara Metro

Annual Salary Distribution

10th$66,210

25th$79,550

Median$107,170

75th$132,020

90th$156,940

Top Paying Jobs in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara

1. Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric Small sample $700,850 2. Psychiatrists $353,500 3. Family Medicine Physicians $351,760 4. General Internal Medicine Physicians $347,870 5. Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers Small sample $343,140 6. Lawyers $301,320 7. Computer and Information Systems Managers $291,660 8. Obstetricians and Gynecologists $263,990 9. Natural Sciences Managers $263,810 10. Physicians, Pathologists Small sample $248,420

Small sample marks a row whose BLS estimate rests on fewer than 100 workers. It is still a published figure, but BLS reports more sampling error for cells this small: the median relative standard error of the mean wage is 3.4% under 100 workers against 2.1% at 100 or more (May 2025 metro estimates). Small gaps in rank between neighbouring rows may not be meaningful.