Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers · SOC 21-1023

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workerss

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

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for mental health and substance abuse social workers. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (2 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 295 metro areas

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	Vallejo, CA	$122,930	120	0.8
2	Cheyenne, WY	$118,900	30	0.7
3	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$109,050	1,010	0.9
4	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA	$98,800	140	1.2
5	Salinas, CA	$97,200	100	0.5
6	Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR	$96,420	130	0.5
7	Hanford-Corcoran, CA	$91,730	80	1.6
8	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$87,550	1,990	0.8
9	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$87,370	1,310	0.8
10	Boulder, CO	$84,450	70	0.3
11	Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT	$84,260	130	1.0
12	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$84,190	160	0.8
13	Mankato, MN	$83,530	90	1.6
14	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$83,150	1,330	1.2
15	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$82,450	12,090	1.3
16	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	$81,990	460	0.8
17	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$81,240	160	0.8
18	Grand Junction, CO	$80,030	30	0.5
19	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$79,940	360	0.9
20	Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY	$79,870	410	1.5
21	Elmira, NY	$79,410	50	1.4
22	Modesto, CA	$78,880	170	0.9
23	Waterbury-Shelton, CT	$78,640	210	1.3
24	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$78,410	9,380	1.5
25	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$78,350	1,840	0.9

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Mental Health and Substance Abuse 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.