Child, Family, and School Social Workers · SOC 21-1021

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Child, Family, and School Social Workerss

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for child, family, and school social workers. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 390 metro areas

Child, Family, and School Social Workers: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$87,600	2,120	1.9
2	Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT	$81,830	450	3.5
3	Salisbury, MD	$81,520	120	2.2
4	Longview-Kelso, WA	$80,450	130	3.1
5	Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA	$80,430	580	4.4
6	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	$79,920	2,200	3.7
7	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$78,970	1,140	2.8
8	New Haven, CT	$78,970	810	2.9
9	Greeley, CO	$78,530	280	2.4
10	Hanford-Corcoran, CA	$78,270	130	2.6
11	Springfield, MA	$78,250	1,190	5.9
12	Waterbury-Shelton, CT	$77,710	430	2.7
13	Vallejo, CA	$77,490	280	1.9
14	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$77,420	7,070	2.6
15	Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA	$77,300	240	2.6
16	Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY	$77,260	870	3.2
17	Pittsfield, MA	$76,440	200	3.6
18	Springfield, IL	$76,330	830	8.3
19	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA	$76,270	170	3.3
20	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA	$75,580	830	2.6
21	Barnstable Town, MA	$75,570	230	2.5
22	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$75,550	6,490	2.1
23	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$75,280	5,540	2.7
24	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$74,960	2,790	2.1
25	Walla Walla, WA	$72,910	100	4.0

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Child, Family, and School Social Workers overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.