Pay by state · 54 areas

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. The table below covers all 50 states, DC, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median: $78,970Connecticut
National median: $59,550BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median: $43,330Arkansas
Areas reporting: 54of 54 OEWS areas

Top and bottom

Highest- and lowest-paying states for child, family, and school social workers

Ranked on the state median among the 50 states and DC. Territories are in the full table but not ranked here.

Highest median pay

1Connecticut$78,970
2Maryland$76,390
3New Jersey$76,280
4Massachusetts$75,570
5Washington$74,480

Lowest median pay

1Arkansas$43,330
2Oklahoma$43,950
3Mississippi$46,530
4Alabama$46,660
5Georgia$47,510

All states

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
#
1	CTConnecticut	$78,970	$62,030	$100,510	5,230	$76,219
2	MDMaryland	$76,390	$56,920	$93,940	4,710	$72,781
3	NJNew Jersey	$76,280	$59,530	$97,500	7,360	$70,107
4	MAMassachusetts	$75,570	$61,150	$94,650	10,900	$71,456
5	WAWashington	$74,480	$58,920	$86,700	10,720	$69,599
6	DCDistrict of Columbia	$73,550	$59,730	$99,500	2,430	$66,924
7	NHNew Hampshire	$71,010	$50,680	$80,810	1,700	$68,171
8	RIRhode Island	$69,870	$50,760	$85,770	2,450	$68,312
9	HIHawaii	$68,270	$58,290	$79,860	1,170	$62,091
10	MNMinnesota	$67,450	$56,510	$81,720	6,540	$68,393
11	VTVermont	$67,340	$58,570	$74,940	640	$68,744
12	CACalifornia	$65,200	$52,270	$82,080	60,310	$58,887
13	NYNew York	$65,100	$56,230	$79,510	30,170	$60,322
14	NDNorth Dakota	$64,560	$57,070	$74,520	870	$72,573
15	OROregon	$64,130	$54,420	$80,130	6,630	$62,045
16	COColorado	$63,720	$51,540	$82,820	8,200	$61,833
17	MEMaine	$63,290	$56,720	$76,630	2,000	$65,214
18	ILIllinois	$63,220	$52,320	$81,650	19,860	$63,247
19	AKAlaska	$62,630	$50,590	$76,290	1,260	$61,187
20	VAVirginia	$61,330	$49,600	$78,530	9,410	$60,660
21	NVNevada	$61,080	$49,960	$76,630	4,030	$61,093
22	IDIdaho	$59,840	$47,860	$74,190	810	$62,664
23	NCNorth Carolina	$59,610	$49,010	$68,120	13,010	$63,196
24	WIWisconsin	$59,280	$47,980	$70,010	5,710	$63,000
25	MIMichigan	$59,270	$47,740	$75,380	15,760	$61,600
26	KYKentucky	$59,100	$46,230	$67,260	8,470	$65,551
27	LALouisiana	$56,800	$41,640	$63,310	1,110	$64,394
28	MTMontana	$56,780	$45,380	$59,520	1,250	$59,993
29	FLFlorida	$56,550	$47,130	$64,940	14,000	$54,683
30	WYWyoming	$56,420	$36,680	$61,490	710	$60,869
31	TNTennessee	$56,310	$46,660	$68,720	7,870	$61,293
32	NMNew Mexico	$56,160	$45,470	$78,090	2,990	$60,903
33	TXTexas	$55,680	$46,330	$63,870	21,670	$57,368
34	GUGuam	$54,910	$37,920	$59,160	80	N/A
35	KSKansas	$54,300	$48,050	$61,470	3,190	$60,288
36	IAIowa	$52,250	$45,460	$65,040	3,410	$59,536
37	WVWest Virginia	$52,220	$45,510	$58,720	2,380	$58,348
38	UTUtah	$52,000	$43,410	$73,230	1,930	$52,598
39	SCSouth Carolina	$51,800	$44,810	$57,550	5,520	$55,254
40	OHOhio	$51,520	$47,310	$61,160	16,050	$55,533
41	SDSouth Dakota	$51,100	$46,010	$59,100	2,050	$57,684
42	PAPennsylvania	$50,820	$44,700	$63,480	16,200	$52,085
43	VIU.S. Virgin Islands	$50,810	$47,180	$59,990	30	N/A
44	INIndiana	$50,470	$46,780	$59,610	6,690	$54,078
45	AZArizona	$50,150	$45,870	$57,540	7,560	$49,813
46	DEDelaware	$48,520	$47,440	$58,670	910	$48,613
47	MOMissouri	$48,520	$44,300	$55,740	9,620	$53,426
48	NENebraska	$47,770	$44,180	$55,980	4,830	$53,017
49	GAGeorgia	$47,510	$41,600	$60,250	7,110	$49,339
50	ALAlabama	$46,660	$41,890	$59,560	4,220	$52,531
51	MSMississippi	$46,530	$40,190	$53,730	3,310	$53,512
52	OKOklahoma	$43,950	$40,250	$52,210	6,500	$50,032
53	PRPuerto Rico	$43,620	$36,300	$53,440	3,370	N/A
54	ARArkansas	$43,330	$37,350	$52,130	1,150	$49,841

Method

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, the adjustment does not change the leader: Connecticut is first on raw pay and still first 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.

Questions

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?

Among the 50 states and DC, 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). Among the territories, Guam reports $54,910, U.S. Virgin Islands reports $50,810 and Puerto Rico reports $43,620.

Is the highest-paying state the best for child, family, and school social workers after cost of living?

Yes. Connecticut stays first after dividing each state median by its BEA Regional Price Parity, at $76,219 in national-average dollars from a raw $78,970. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024; the adjustment is NueCareer's calculation.

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