School Social Worker Salary by State (2026)

Name: School Social Worker annual wages by US state, May 2025
Creator: NueCareer
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Child, Family, and School Social Workers earn the most in Connecticut at $78,970 a year and the least in Arkansas at $43,330 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $59,550. All 54 states and territories with reported data are ranked below, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median: $78,970
National median: $59,550
Lowest median: $43,330
States reporting: 54

Top 5 states for Child, Family, and School Social Workers

1. Connecticut$78,970 median · $76,219 adjusted · 5,230 employed
2. Maryland$76,390 median · $72,781 adjusted · 4,710 employed
3. New Jersey$76,280 median · $70,107 adjusted · 7,360 employed
4. Massachusetts$75,570 median · $71,456 adjusted · 10,900 employed
5. Washington$74,480 median · $69,599 adjusted · 10,720 employed

Lowest-paying states for Child, Family, and School Social Workers

54. Arkansas$43,330 median · $49,841 adjusted · 1,150 employed
53. Puerto Rico$43,620 median · no price parity · 3,370 employed
52. Oklahoma$43,950 median · $50,032 adjusted · 6,500 employed
51. Mississippi$46,530 median · $53,512 adjusted · 3,310 employed
50. Alabama$46,660 median · $52,531 adjusted · 4,220 employed

School Social Worker salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of child, family, and school social workers OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
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1	Connecticut	$78,970	$62,030	$100,510	5,230	$76,219
2	Maryland	$76,390	$56,920	$93,940	4,710	$72,781
3	New Jersey	$76,280	$59,530	$97,500	7,360	$70,107
4	Massachusetts	$75,570	$61,150	$94,650	10,900	$71,456
5	Washington	$74,480	$58,920	$86,700	10,720	$69,599
6	District of Columbia	$73,550	$59,730	$99,500	2,430	$66,924
7	New Hampshire	$71,010	$50,680	$80,810	1,700	$68,171
8	Rhode Island	$69,870	$50,760	$85,770	2,450	$68,312
9	Hawaii	$68,270	$58,290	$79,860	1,170	$62,091
10	Minnesota	$67,450	$56,510	$81,720	6,540	$68,393
11	Vermont	$67,340	$58,570	$74,940	640	$68,744
12	California	$65,200	$52,270	$82,080	60,310	$58,887
13	New York	$65,100	$56,230	$79,510	30,170	$60,322
14	North Dakota	$64,560	$57,070	$74,520	870	$72,573
15	Oregon	$64,130	$54,420	$80,130	6,630	$62,045
16	Colorado	$63,720	$51,540	$82,820	8,200	$61,833
17	Maine	$63,290	$56,720	$76,630	2,000	$65,214
18	Illinois	$63,220	$52,320	$81,650	19,860	$63,247
19	Alaska	$62,630	$50,590	$76,290	1,260	$61,187
20	Virginia	$61,330	$49,600	$78,530	9,410	$60,660
21	Nevada	$61,080	$49,960	$76,630	4,030	$61,093
22	Idaho	$59,840	$47,860	$74,190	810	$62,664
23	North Carolina	$59,610	$49,010	$68,120	13,010	$63,196
24	Wisconsin	$59,280	$47,980	$70,010	5,710	$63,000
25	Michigan	$59,270	$47,740	$75,380	15,760	$61,600
26	Kentucky	$59,100	$46,230	$67,260	8,470	$65,551
27	Louisiana	$56,800	$41,640	$63,310	1,110	$64,394
28	Montana	$56,780	$45,380	$59,520	1,250	$59,993
29	Florida	$56,550	$47,130	$64,940	14,000	$54,683
30	Wyoming	$56,420	$36,680	$61,490	710	$60,869
31	Tennessee	$56,310	$46,660	$68,720	7,870	$61,293
32	New Mexico	$56,160	$45,470	$78,090	2,990	$60,903
33	Texas	$55,680	$46,330	$63,870	21,670	$57,368
34	Guam	$54,910	$37,920	$59,160	80	N/A
35	Kansas	$54,300	$48,050	$61,470	3,190	$60,288
36	Iowa	$52,250	$45,460	$65,040	3,410	$59,536
37	West Virginia	$52,220	$45,510	$58,720	2,380	$58,348
38	Utah	$52,000	$43,410	$73,230	1,930	$52,598
39	South Carolina	$51,800	$44,810	$57,550	5,520	$55,254
40	Ohio	$51,520	$47,310	$61,160	16,050	$55,533
41	South Dakota	$51,100	$46,010	$59,100	2,050	$57,684
42	Pennsylvania	$50,820	$44,700	$63,480	16,200	$52,085
43	U.S. Virgin Islands	$50,810	$47,180	$59,990	30	N/A
44	Indiana	$50,470	$46,780	$59,610	6,690	$54,078
45	Arizona	$50,150	$45,870	$57,540	7,560	$49,813
46	Delaware	$48,520	$47,440	$58,670	910	$48,613
47	Missouri	$48,520	$44,300	$55,740	9,620	$53,426
48	Nebraska	$47,770	$44,180	$55,980	4,830	$53,017
49	Georgia	$47,510	$41,600	$60,250	7,110	$49,339
50	Alabama	$46,660	$41,890	$59,560	4,220	$52,531
51	Mississippi	$46,530	$40,190	$53,730	3,310	$53,512
52	Oklahoma	$43,950	$40,250	$52,210	6,500	$50,032
53	Puerto Rico	$43,620	$36,300	$53,440	3,370	N/A
54	Arkansas	$43,330	$37,350	$52,130	1,150	$49,841

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For Child, Family, and School Social Workers, that changes the ranking: Connecticut leads on raw pay at $78,970, while Connecticut leads once prices are taken into account at $76,219.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

School Social Worker pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays Child, Family, and School Social Workers the most?

Connecticut reports the highest median wage for Child, Family, and School Social Workers at $78,970 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Maryland ($76,390) and New Jersey ($76,280).

Which state pays Child, Family, and School Social Workers the least?

Arkansas reports the lowest median for Child, Family, and School Social Workers at $43,330 a year, $35,640 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Where do Child, Family, and School Social Workers earn the most after cost of living?

Dividing each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity puts Connecticut first at $76,219 in national-average dollars, from a raw median of $78,970. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.

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