---
title: "School Social Worker"
description: "Provide social services and assistance to improve the social and psychological functioning of children and their families and to maximize the family…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/school-social-worker"
last-updated: "2026-08-23T15:56:39.581Z"
---

# School Social Worker

**Category:** Community and Social Service · **SOC code:** 21-1021 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 21-1021.00

Provide social services and assistance to improve the social and psychological functioning of children and their families and to maximize the family well-being and the academic functioning of children. May assist parents, arrange adoptions, and find foster homes for abandoned or abused children. In schools, they address such problems as teenage pregnancy, misbehavior, and truancy. May also advise teachers.

Also advertised as: Adoption Social Worker; Case Manager; Case Worker; Child Protective Services Social Worker (CPS Social Worker); Family Protection Specialist; Family Resource Coordinator; Family Service Worker; Foster Care Social Worker.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $59,550 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $28.63/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $42,280 to $95,530, with the middle half between $48,270 and $76,070
- **Total US employment:** 392,550
- **Typical entry education:** Bachelor's
- **Preparation required:** Medium preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +3.4% over 2024–2034 (BLS EP, 2024–2034)
- **Annual job openings:** 35,100 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 41/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 392,550 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $42,280 |
| 25th | $48,270 |
| 50th (median) | $59,550 |
| 75th | $76,070 |
| 90th | $95,530 |
| Mean (average) | $64,000 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CT | $78,970 | $76,219 | 5,230 |
| MD | $76,390 | $72,781 | 4,710 |
| NJ | $76,280 | $70,107 | 7,360 |
| MA | $75,570 | $71,456 | 10,900 |
| WA | $74,480 | $69,599 | 10,720 |
| DC | $73,550 | $66,924 | 2,430 |
| NH | $71,010 | $68,171 | 1,700 |
| RI | $69,870 | $68,312 | 2,450 |
| HI | $68,270 | $62,091 | 1,170 |
| MN | $67,450 | $68,393 | 6,540 |
| VT | $67,340 | $68,744 | 640 |
| CA | $65,200 | $58,887 | 60,310 |
| NY | $65,100 | $60,322 | 30,170 |
| ND | $64,560 | $72,573 | 870 |
| OR | $64,130 | $62,045 | 6,630 |

39 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 54 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/school-social-worker/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/school-social-worker.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 399,900 in the 2024–2034 base year to 413,300 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 13,400 jobs, or +3.4%. About as fast as average: 3.4% against 3.1% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 35,100 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2024–2034.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** Bachelor's degree (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Medium preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** None.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| Bachelor's Degree | 68.7% |
| Master's Degree | 25.8% |
| Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 5.5% |

## What the work involves

- Refer clients to community resources for services, such as job placement, debt counseling, legal aid, housing, medical treatment, or financial assistance, and provide concrete information, such as where to go and how to apply.
- Provide, find, or arrange for support services, such as child care, homemaker service, prenatal care, substance abuse treatment, job training, counseling, or parenting classes to prevent more serious problems from developing.
- Maintain case history records and prepare reports.
- Interview clients individually, in families, or in groups, assessing their situations, capabilities, and problems to determine what services are required to meet their needs.
- Consult with parents, teachers, and other school personnel to determine causes of problems, such as truancy and misbehavior, and to implement solutions.
- Develop and review service plans in consultation with clients and perform follow-ups assessing the quantity and quality of services provided.
- Counsel individuals, groups, families, or communities regarding issues including mental health, poverty, unemployment, substance abuse, physical abuse, rehabilitation, social adjustment, child care, or medical care.
- Collect supplementary information needed to assist client, such as employment records, medical records, or school reports.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Active Listening — importance 4.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 4.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Learning Strategies — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Social Perceptiveness — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Service Orientation — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Persuasion — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Negotiation — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Customer and Personal Service — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Psychology — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Therapy and Counseling — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Administrative — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Sociology and Anthropology — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Oral Expression — importance 4.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Comprehension — importance 4.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Problem Sensitivity — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Comprehension — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Expression — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speech Clarity — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Social (S), Conventional (C), Investigative (I).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| S — Social | 6.85 |
| C — Conventional | 3.57 |
| I — Investigative | 3.32 |
| E — Enterprising | 2.94 |
| A — Artistic | 2.90 |
| R — Realistic | 1.70 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ENFJ | 74.9 |
| ESFJ | 71.8 |
| ESFP | 70.2 |
| ENFP | 65.6 |
| INFJ | 61.8 |

Best-fitting types: ENFJ, ESFJ, ESFP.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Healthcare Social Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/healthcare-social-worker) — median $67,880
- [Marriage and Family Therapist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/marriage-and-family-therapist) — median $66,940
- [Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/mental-health-and-substance-abuse-social-worker) — median $60,280
- [Rehabilitation Counselor](https://nuecareer.com/careers/rehabilitation-counselor) — median $46,850
- [Social and Human Service Assistant](https://nuecareer.com/careers/social-and-human-service-assistant) — median $45,930
- [Social and Community Service Manager](https://nuecareer.com/careers/social-and-community-service-manager) — median $80,390
- [Community Health Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/community-health-worker) — median $51,850
- [Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselor and Advisor](https://nuecareer.com/careers/educational-guidance-and-career-counselor-and-advisor) — median $64,330
- [Probation Officer and Correctional Treatment Specialist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/probation-officer-and-correctional-treatment-specialist) — median $66,270
- [Health Education Specialist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/health-education-specialist) — median $64,070

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 30.3 Database, May 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2024–2034. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024–2034 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/school-social-worker