What is the Salary of a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)?
A licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) works in social and human services, providing aid in the fields of medicine, public health, substance abuse, mental health and family services. Your salary in this career is determined by years of experience, location and type of employer.
Salary Overview
The 10th-90th percentile salary range for LCSWs was $47,000-$83,000, according to Payscale.com in January 2023. The median wage at that time was $61,980. Salaries varied based on the number of years of experience, location, social work specialty and employer type.
<h3 id="section---ImportantFactsAboutThisOccupation">Important Facts About This Occupation</h3><p></p><table border="1"><tr><td>Required Education</td><td> Clinical social workers are required to earn a master's degree in social work</td></tr>
<tr><td>Key Skills</td><td> Organizational and listening skills; ability to work well with people, manage time efficiently, and solve problems</td></tr>
<tr><td>Work Environment</td><td> Office setting, schools, domestic environments</td></tr>
<tr><td>Similar Occupations</td><td> Health educator, community health worker, psychologist, school and career counselor</td></tr>
</table><h3 id="section---SalariesBasedOnExperience">Salaries Based on Experience</h3><p>January 2023 salary data from <i>PayScale.com</i> showed the following LCSW salary ranges according to experience:
</p><ul><li>Entry Level: $39,000-$69,000
</li><li>Early Career: $44,000-$73,000
</li><li>Mid Career: $49,000-$81,000
</li><li>Experienced: $52,000-$90,000
</li><li>Late Career: $52,000-$94,000
</li></ul><h3 id="section---SalariesBySpecialty">Salaries by Specialty</h3><p>The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that social workers can expect to see employment grow by up to 9% over the 2021-2031 decade (<i>www.bls.gov</i>). Overall, growth in the social work field is expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations with percentages varying by specialty.
</p><p>The BLS stated in May 2021 that the median annual earnings for various social worker specialties were:
</p><ul><li>Mental health and substance abuse social worker: $49,130
</li><li>Child, family, and school social worker: $49,150
</li><li>Healthcare social worker: $60,840
</li><li>All other social workers: $61,190
</li></ul><h3 id="section---SalariesByEmployerType">Salaries by Employer Type</h3><p>Mean salaries in social work also vary by the type of employer. In May 2021, the BLS reported social worker mean annual wages by employer for each specialty area. The top-paying industries for child, family, and school social workers were business organizations; junior colleges; elementary and secondary schools; local governments; and specialty and psychiatric hospitals with mean annual salaries of $64,040 to $81,610.
</p><p>In the field of healthcare social work, the top-paying industries were offices of dentists; insurance carriers; general and specialty hospitals; and scientific research. Salaries in these industries ranged from $71,440 to $93,030.
</p><p>If you work in mental health and substance abuse, the top-paying industry in 2021 was specialty hospitals, which offered a mean annual wage of $81,870. The second top-paying industry was other ambulatory health practitioners' office which paid employees a mean wage of $72,840. Agencies and brokerages were $71,250, and general medical and surgical hospitals were $70,440. Professionals working for insurance carriers made mean wages of $69,690.
</p><p>Social workers not falling into these categories had the top-paying industries listed as the federal government; insurance carriers; general medical and surgical hospitals; local government; educational support services; and management of companies. The mean annual salaries for these industries were $83,020, $71,890, $71,680, $62,450 and $59,620, respectively.
</p><h3 id="section---MeanSalariesByState">Mean Salaries by State</h3><p>In May 2021, the BLS reported that the states with the highest mean wages for child, family, and school social workers included New Jersey ($75,410), Connecticut ($70,690), the District of Columbia ($70,340), New York ($68,660), and California ($64,940). States with high mean wages for healthcare social workers included the District of Columbia ($83,000), California ($84,690), Oregon ($79,870), Hawaii ($73,960), and Rhode Island ($73,230).
</p><p>Some states that had the highest mean earnings for mental health and substance abuse social workers included New Jersey ($99,390), California ($79,450), New York ($75,700), the District of Columbia ($73,500) and Connecticut ($71,650).</p>