Healthcare Social Workers: Career Profile
Provide individuals, families, and groups with the psychosocial support needed to cope with chronic, acute, or terminal illnesses. Services include advising family caregivers. Provide patients with information and counseling, and make referrals for other services. May also provide case and care management or interventions designed to promote health, prevent disease, and address barriers to access to healthcare.
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What Tasks Do Healthcare Social Workers Do?
The core tasks performed by healthcare social workers cover:
- Advocate for clients or patients to resolve crises.
- Educate clients about end-of-life symptoms and options to assist them in making informed decisions.
- Collaborate with other professionals to evaluate patients' medical or physical condition and to assess client needs.
- Refer patient, client, or family to community resources to assist in recovery from mental or physical illness and to provide access to services such as financial assistance, legal aid, housing, job placement or education.
- Utilize consultation data and social work experience to plan and coordinate client or patient care and rehabilitation, following through to ensure service efficacy.
- Monitor, evaluate, and record client progress according to measurable goals described in treatment and care plan.
- Identify environmental impediments to client or patient progress through interviews and review of patient records.
- Counsel clients and patients in individual and group sessions to help them overcome dependencies, recover from illness, and adjust to life.
Skills and Knowledge
Successful healthcare social workers rely on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Top Skills
The abilities most important for this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Top Knowledge Areas
Other Healthcare Social Workers Job Titles
This career also goes by job titles like:
- AIDS Social Worker
- Bereavement Counselor
- Case Manager
- Case Worker
- Caseworker
- Certified Health Care Social Worker
- Certified Social Worker in Health Care (C-SWHC)
- Client Advocate
How Many Healthcare Social Workers Are There?
There are roughly 224,465 healthcare social workers working in the United States today. Employment is projected to grow by +12.1% over the projection horizon.
Healthcare Social Workers Pay
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $78,044 |
| Hourly median | $37.52 |
| 10th percentile | $52,095 |
| 25th percentile | $65,070 |
| 75th percentile | $91,019 |
| 90th percentile | $103,994 |
Pay can vary substantially based on experience, location, and industry.
Healthcare Social Workers Salary by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| California | $92,970 |
| District of Columbia | $92,600 |
| Oregon | $85,150 |
| Hawaii | $84,640 |
| Connecticut | $81,900 |
| New Jersey | $81,710 |
| Rhode Island | $79,460 |
| Vermont | $78,390 |
| New Hampshire | $78,000 |
| Alaska | $77,990 |
| Nevada | $76,280 |
| Washington | $75,670 |
| Maine | $72,520 |
| Utah | $72,370 |
| Minnesota | $72,330 |
| Massachusetts | $72,280 |
| Idaho | $71,240 |
| Texas | $69,960 |
| Illinois | $68,710 |
| Maryland | $67,970 |
| New York | $67,250 |
| Indiana | $67,220 |
| Florida | $67,090 |
| Arizona | $66,540 |
| Michigan | $66,440 |
| New Mexico | $66,090 |
| South Carolina | $65,760 |
| Wisconsin | $65,240 |
| North Carolina | $65,140 |
| Kentucky | $64,840 |
| Wyoming | $64,800 |
| Ohio | $64,750 |
| Louisiana | $64,380 |
| Kansas | $64,280 |
| Virginia | $64,200 |
| North Dakota | $63,660 |
| Iowa | $63,230 |
| Pennsylvania | $63,010 |
| Colorado | $62,740 |
| Delaware | $62,730 |
| Georgia | $62,090 |
| Arkansas | $62,040 |
| Tennessee | $61,910 |
| West Virginia | $60,670 |
| Nebraska | $60,300 |
| Guam | $59,900 |
| Virgin Islands | $59,360 |
| Montana | $58,760 |
| Alabama | $58,000 |
| Mississippi | $56,690 |
| Missouri | $53,060 |
| South Dakota | $51,960 |
| Oklahoma | $51,830 |
| Puerto Rico | $33,230 |
Where Healthcare Social Workers Earn the Most
Compensation for healthcare social workers differ across the country. Top regions by median wage:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Far Western US | $88,450 | 15.4% | 0.93 |
| New England | $74,744 | 6.2% | 1.43 |
| Middle Atlantic | $68,455 | 21.6% | 1.61 |
| Southwest | $66,815 | 9.3% | 0.76 |
| Great Lakes | $66,292 | 14.5% | 1.07 |
| Rocky Mountains | $65,810 | 4.1% | 1.04 |
| Southeast | $63,537 | 22.1% | 0.97 |
| Plains States | $60,418 | 6.3% | 0.99 |
Top Metro Areas
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Napa, CA | CA | $141,490 | 180 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | CA | $132,790 | 180 |
| Vallejo, CA | CA | $115,930 | 170 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | CA | $114,480 | 190 |
| Chico, CA | CA | $110,030 | 90 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $106,000 | 790 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $103,440 | 2,730 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | CA | $97,370 | 1,020 |
Top Industries Employing Healthcare Social Workers
The bulk of healthcare social workers work in these industries:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 156,060 | $69,330 |
| Finance and Insurance | 4,650 | $78,910 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 3,410 | $59,050 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 3,100 | $63,510 |
| Educational Services | 2,540 | $70,800 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 2,530 | $53,320 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 1,620 | $58,940 |
| Retail Trade | 160 | $55,700 |
Healthcare Social Workers work in the following industries:
Tech Stack
- Medical software: MEDITECH software (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology)
- Project management software: Microsoft Teams (hot technology)
- Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
- Video conferencing software: Zoom (hot technology)
- Video conferencing software: Google Meet (in demand)
Work Environment
The work environment for healthcare social workers tends to involve the following characteristics:
- Telephone Conversations
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Contact With Others
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
Education and Training
Most healthcare social workers positions require a doctoral or professional degree as the typical entry-level education. This occupation sits in Extensive Preparation Needed (Job Zone 5), indicating the level of preparation typically expected.
Related Careers
Similar Occupations
- Social and Community Service Managers (Supplemental)
- Clinical and Counseling Psychologists (Primary-Long)
- Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors (Primary-Long)
- Marriage and Family Therapists (Primary-Short)
- Mental Health Counselors (Primary-Short)
- Rehabilitation Counselors (Primary-Short)
- Child, Family, and School Social Workers (Primary-Short)
- Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers (Primary-Short)
Degree Programs
Students preparing for healthcare social workers typically earn programs in:
Public Administration and Social Service Professions
3 programs across 1 majors
Health Professions and Related Programs
3 programs across 1 majors
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
1 programs across 1 majors
References
Data on this page comes from the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 21-1022.00 (Healthcare Social Workers).
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