How much does a hospital social worker make?

The average hospital social worker salary in the United States is $54,774. Hospital social worker salaries typically range between $38,000 and $77,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for hospital social workers is $26.33 per hour. Hospital social worker salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Hospital social workers earn the highest average salary in Alaska.

Hospital social worker salary

Q: What state pays Hospital Social Workers the most?

Alaska pays Hospital Social Workers the most in the United States, with an average salary of $73,923 per year, or $35.54 per hour.

Q: How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as a hospital social worker?

You know if you are being paid fairly as a hospital social worker if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in Oregon you should be paid close to $72,722 per year.

Quoted expert

Sarah Christa Butts MSW

Average hospital social worker salary

$54,774

$26.33 hourly rate

Entry-level hospital social worker salary

$38,000 yearly salary

Updated January 8, 2025

Understanding Hospital Social Worker Salaries

The average hospital social worker salary is approximately $54,774 annually, equating to around $26 per hour. This figure can vary based on factors like geographic location, years of experience, and the specific healthcare facility. For instance, hospital social workers in metropolitan areas typically earn more due to higher living costs and demand.

Additionally, salaries can differ significantly across states. States like California and New York often offer higher salaries, reflecting the competitive job market and cost of living. As you gain experience, your earning potential increases, with senior roles earning upwards of $75,000.

Benefits and Opportunities

Aside from salary, many hospital social workers enjoy benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, and paid time off. Moreover, opportunities for advancement exist within the field, leading to specialized roles in clinical social work or healthcare administration.

For those considering a career as a hospital social worker, understanding these salary dynamics is crucial. It not only helps in making informed decisions about your career path but also prepares you for negotiations in the job market.

On this page

Hospital social worker salary by:

Let Zippia find your next hospital social worker job

Let Zippia find your next hospital social worker job

Where can a Hospital Social Worker earn more?

Compare salary by location

90k

70k

50k

30k

10k

Columbus, OH$79,353

Columbus, GA$39,907

Compare salary by company

89k

69k

49k

29k

Medical Billing$78,155

Vanderbilt University Medical Center$58,775

Hospital social worker salaries by experience level

Experience level	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
Entry-level hospital social worker	$39,900	$19.19
Mid-level hospital social worker	$60,700	$29.16
Senior-level hospital social worker	$80,700	$38.81

Hospital social worker salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter, SalaryExpert and Comparably, the average salary for a hospital social worker typically falls between $30,685 and $106,690.

zippia

$54,774yearly

glassdoor[1]

$73,202yearly

comparably[2]

$106,690yearly

ZipRecruiter[3]

$81,432yearly

SalaryExpert[4]

$30,685yearly

Average hospital social worker salary by state

The highest-paying states for hospital social workers are Alaska, Oregon, and California. The lowest average hospital social worker salary states are Kentucky, Arkansas, and Florida.

State view
County view

Average salary:

Highest paying states for hospital social workers

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Oregon	$72,722	$34.96
2	New Hampshire	$67,673	$32.54
3	Washington	$64,810	$31.16
4	Connecticut	$65,081	$31.29
5	Massachusetts	$63,505	$30.53
6	California	$71,750	$34.50
7	Alaska	$73,923	$35.54
8	Idaho	$60,892	$29.27
9	Utah	$62,114	$29.86
10	New Mexico	$54,890	$26.39
11	District of Columbia	$69,590	$33.46
12	Rhode Island	$58,133	$27.95
13	Vermont	$59,808	$28.75
14	West Virginia	$51,685	$24.85
15	Indiana	$57,486	$27.64
16	Nevada	$56,731	$27.27
17	Delaware	$55,289	$26.58
18	Pennsylvania	$54,228	$26.07
19	New Jersey	$57,561	$27.67
20	Wyoming	$54,291	$26.10
21	New York	$55,479	$26.67
22	Arizona	$54,123	$26.02
23	Tennessee	$48,246	$23.20
24	Oklahoma	$50,088	$24.08
25	Texas	$50,991	$24.51
26	Ohio	$52,482	$25.23
27	North Dakota	$53,050	$25.50
28	Maine	$47,001	$22.60
29	Colorado	$50,862	$24.45
30	Nebraska	$46,570	$22.39
31	Louisiana	$47,949	$23.05
32	Montana	$50,567	$24.31
33	Minnesota	$50,425	$24.24
34	Michigan	$48,005	$23.08
35	Mississippi	$48,782	$23.45
36	Hawaii	$52,811	$25.39
37	Iowa	$48,487	$23.31
38	South Carolina	$45,288	$21.77
39	Maryland	$48,195	$23.17
40	North Carolina	$45,370	$21.81
41	South Dakota	$40,519	$19.48
42	Missouri	$44,457	$21.37
43	Kansas	$47,023	$22.61
44	Wisconsin	$47,418	$22.80
45	Virginia	$44,605	$21.44
46	Florida	$40,954	$19.69
47	Illinois	$46,992	$22.59
48	Georgia	$40,120	$19.29
49	Kentucky	$44,336	$21.32
50	Alabama	$40,608	$19.52
51	Arkansas	$41,699	$20.05

Top hospital social worker jobs near you

Highest paying cities for hospital social workers

The highest-paying cities for hospital social workers are Santa Rosa, CA, Tacoma, WA, and Worcester, MA.

Rank	City	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Santa Rosa, CA	$79,353	$38.15
2	Tacoma, WA	$65,421	$31.45
3	Worcester, MA	$63,767	$30.66
4	Ogden, UT	$62,424	$30.01
5	Las Vegas, NV	$55,914	$26.88
6	Albany, NY	$54,728	$26.31
7	Erie, PA	$53,879	$25.90
8	Austin, TX	$51,073	$24.55
9	Denver, CO	$50,920	$24.48
10	Charleston, WV	$50,710	$24.38
11	Maplewood, MN	$50,452	$24.26
12	Jackson, MS	$48,871	$23.50
13	Baltimore, MD	$48,403	$23.27
14	Memphis, TN	$48,264	$23.20
15	Saint Louis, MO	$44,292	$21.29
16	Columbus, GA	$39,907	$19.19

Hospital social worker salary details

A hospital social worker's salary ranges from $38,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $77,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average hospital social worker salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a hospital social worker's salary?

Percentile	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate
90th Percentile	$77,000	$6,417	$37
75th Percentile	$65,000	$5,417	$31
Average	$54,774	$4,565	$26
25th Percentile	$45,000	$3,750	$22
10th Percentile	$38,000	$3,167	$18

Highest paying hospital social worker jobs

The highest paying types of hospital social workers are clinical social worker, psychiatric social worker, and medical social worker.

Job title	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
Family Therapist	$50,774	$4,231	$24.41	106,982
Substance Abuse Counselor	$43,069	$3,589	$20.71	78,643
Service Counselor	$35,402	$2,950	$17.02	44,284
Family Counselor	$41,510	$3,459	$19.96	93,253
Alcohol And Drug Counselor	$45,758	$3,813	$22.00	77,461
Mental Health Counselor	$49,471	$4,123	$23.78	110,752

How would you rate the starting salaries for hospital social workers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?

Sarah Christa Butts MSW

Director of Public Policy, National Association of Social Workers

Social workers are required to have a high level of education. Usually, a Master's degree and starting salaries are often far too low. Still, social workers can increase their wages over time, and there are many opportunities and positions available. Increasing reimbursement and compensation for social workers and reducing student loan debt are advocacy priorities for NASW.

Top companies hiring hospital social workers now:

Which companies pay hospital social workers the most?

Hospital social worker salaries at Medical Billing and Highmark are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average hospital social worker salary at companies like Health First and Careerstaff Unlimited - A Genesis Healthcare Company are highly competitive.

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Medical Billing	$78,155	$37.57
2	Highmark	$76,916	$36.98
3	Health First	$75,550	$36.32
4	Careerstaff Unlimited - A Genesis Healthcare Company	$67,719	$32.56
5	Brigham and Women's Hospital	$66,251	$31.85
6	Maine Health/maine Mental Health Partners	$65,866	$31.67
7	Baptist Health Care	$65,188	$31.34
8	UofL Hospital	$64,672	$31.09
9	Sharp HealthCare	$63,722	$30.64
10	Tenet Healthcare	$63,314	$30.44
11	Providence Health & Services	$63,006	$30.29
12	Mission Regional Medical Center	$62,171	$29.89
13	LCMC Health	$61,707	$29.67
14	Northwestern Medicine	$61,638	$29.63
15	UnitedHealth Group	$61,619	$29.62
16	Wellpath	$60,235	$28.96
17	Grand View Health	$60,025	$28.86
18	Sodexo Management, Inc.	$59,478	$28.60
19	Prime Healthcare	$59,007	$28.37
20	Vanderbilt University Medical Center	$58,775	$28.26

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$55,000$54,800$54,600$54,400$54,200$54,000

MaleFemale

Hospital social worker salary trends

The average hospital social worker salary has risen by $8,563 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average hospital social worker earned $46,211 annually, but today, they earn $54,774 a year. That works out to a 7% change in pay for hospital social workers over the last decade.

Compare hospital social worker salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average hospital social worker salary over time

Compare hospital social worker salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Hospital social worker salary by year

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2025	$54,800	$26.33	+1.5%
2024	$53,900	$25.93	+1.0%
2023	$53,400	$25.68	+2.4%
2022	$52,200	$25.07	+2.0%
2021	$51,100	$24.57	+2.6%

Recently added hospital social worker salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date added	Salary
Trinity Health	Social Worker Lmsw-Samaritan Hospital, Emergency Department and Acute Care Med/Surg Units	Troy, NY	06/30/2025	$62,610
Sharp Healthplan	Psych Social Worker/Unlicensed-Social Services-Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital--Day Shift	San Diego, CA	06/29/2025	$126,827
Sodexo S A	Hospitality Workers at Tanglewood	Lenox, MA	06/27/2025	$31,305
Multicare Health System	Hospital Social Worker PRN-Deaconess	Spokane, WA	06/26/2025	$69,268
Sodexo S A	Hospitality Workers-Belleayre Mountain	Pine Hill, NY	06/26/2025	$32,349
Peopleready	Hospitality Worker	Fort Wayne, IN	06/25/2025	$31,305
Sodexo S A	Hospitality Workers @ Illinois State University	Normal, IL	06/25/2025	$29,218
ECMC	Hospital Social Worker--Evening Shift	Buffalo, NY	06/24/2025	$64,029
Peopleready	Hospitality Worker	Tulsa, OK	06/24/2025	$31,305
Peopleready	Hospitality Worker	El Paso, TX	06/24/2025	$25,044

Hospital social worker salary FAQs

What state pays Hospital Social Workers the most?

How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as a hospital social worker?

Have more questions? See all answers to common community and social services questions.

Search for hospital social worker jobs

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse community and social services jobs