SOC 21-1022.00Bright outlook

    Healthcare Social Workers

    Provide individuals, families, and groups with the psychosocial support needed to cope with chronic, acute, or terminal illnesses.

    Median pay
    $67,880
    Growth
    +8.5%
    Much faster than average
    Openings a year
    16,900
    Typical education
    Master's degree

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

    See the pathway

    Annual pay range

    Lowest 10% earn less than
    $46,220
    Median
    $67,880
    Highest 10% earn more than
    $100,360
    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    187,630 people work in this occupation.

    In short

    Healthcare social workers support patients and families dealing with chronic, acute, or terminal illnesses, earning a median annual salary of $67,880. They provide counseling, advise caregivers, and connect patients with essential medical and community services.

    Written with AI from the BLS, O*NET and CareerOneStop data on this page. Every figure is checked against that data before it is published.

    What healthcare social workers do

    Job Zone 5: Extensive preparation

    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.

    Most need a graduate degree, such as a master's, PhD, MD or JD.

    What the work is like

    These professionals spend their days assisting and caring for others in medical settings. They gather information about patients' needs, solve complex problems, and make critical decisions regarding patient care plans. A large part of the job involves establishing strong interpersonal relationships, resolving conflicts, and communicating with medical staff, families, and outside organizations. They must document all patient interactions and organize their daily tasks efficiently.

    To succeed, workers need strong skills in social perceptiveness, active listening, and service orientation. They must be clear speakers and writers who can coordinate care across different departments. This career is highly social and requires deep knowledge of psychology, therapy, counseling, and sociology. Because they work with people facing severe health crises, professionals must demonstrate empathy, sincerity, cooperation, and high stress tolerance while maintaining self-control and dependability.

    How to get there

    Entering this field typically requires a master's degree. Most professionals complete extensive preparation, often earning a graduate degree such as a master's or a doctorate. Common college majors that prepare students for this career include social work, mental and social health services, and thanatology.

    Depending on the employer and location, professionals may seek specific credentials. Available certifications include the Bachelors Social Work Licensing Examination from the Association of Social Work Boards, the Geriatric Diabetic Certified Professional credential, or the QAPI Certified Professional designation. Additionally, some states list a license for this type of work.

    Pay and outlook explained

    The median annual pay for these professionals is $67,880. Earnings vary based on experience and location, with the lowest 10% earning less than $46,220 and the highest 10% earning more than $100,360. With 187,630 people employed in this field, the occupation is growing rapidly. Employment is projected to increase by 8.5% from 2025 to 2035, which is much faster than average, resulting in an estimated 16,900 job openings each year.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R)
    16 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    54 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    22 / 100
    Social (S) · strongest
    99 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    26 / 100
    Conventional (C)
    35 / 100
    How strongly each interest area describes the work, from O*NET (scores rescaled to 0–100). The interest code lists the strongest areas in order.

    Interest code SIC. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Assisting and Caring for Others
    93
    Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
    88
    Getting Information
    87
    Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    86
    Documenting/Recording Information
    83
    Communicating with People Outside the Organization
    83
    Making Decisions and Solving Problems
    81
    Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others
    81
    Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
    79
    Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
    76
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Social Perceptiveness
    • Service Orientation
    • Speaking
    • Active Listening
    • Coordination
    • Critical Thinking
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Complex Problem Solving
    • Writing
    • Active Learning

    Knowledge

    • Psychology
    • Therapy and Counseling
    • English Language
    • Sociology and Anthropology
    • Customer and Personal Service
    • Education and Training
    • Philosophy and Theology
    • Administrative
    • Law and Government
    • Administration and Management

    Abilities

    • Oral Expression
    • Deductive Reasoning
    • Oral Comprehension
    • Problem Sensitivity
    • Speech Clarity
    • Speech Recognition
    • Written Comprehension
    • Inductive Reasoning
    • Written Expression
    • Fluency of Ideas

    Work styles

    • Cooperation
    • Empathy
    • Sincerity
    • Dependability
    • Social Orientation
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Integrity
    • Optimism
    • Self-Control
    • Adaptability

    Also called

    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 · Clinical Social Worker · Disability Advocate

    Career pathway

    From your interests to healthcare social workers

    Interests that fit the work, the career, majors that lead there and colleges whose graduates in those majors earn the most. Hover or focus a step to follow one path.

    1. Interests

    2. This career

      • Healthcare Social Workers$67,880 median pay

    3. Majors

    4. Colleges

    College Scorecard program outcomes

    Colleges with strong outcomes

    Programs that lead to this career, ranked by what their graduates earn four years after finishing. Earnings are for graduates who received federal aid.

    1. 1University of Pennsylvania UPENN logo
      University of Pennsylvania UPENN

      Philadelphia, PA · Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $70,054
      4 yrs after
      $76,395
      Median debt
      $13,021
    2. 2Providence College logo
      Providence College

      Providence, RI · Social Work · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      Not reported
      4 yrs after
      $70,356
      Median debt
      Not reported
    3. 3
      CUNY Hunter College

      New York, NY · Social Work · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $46,845
      4 yrs after
      $70,273
      Median debt
      $11,000
    4. 4California State University-San Bernardino logo
      California State University-San Bernardino

      San Bernardino, CA · Social Work · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $59,991
      4 yrs after
      $69,201
      Median debt
      $11,000
    5. 5
      San Francisco State University

      San Francisco, CA · Social Work · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $44,889
      4 yrs after
      $68,524
      Median debt
      $21,763
    6. 6
      California State University-Long Beach

      Long Beach, CA · Social Work · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $45,614
      4 yrs after
      $68,448
      Median debt
      $11,000
    7. 7Pacific Lutheran University logo
      Pacific Lutheran University

      Tacoma, WA · Social Work · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      Not reported
      4 yrs after
      $67,458
      Median debt
      $18,862
    8. 8University of California-Berkeley CAL logo
      University of California-Berkeley CAL

      Berkeley, CA · Social Work · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $51,615
      4 yrs after
      $67,393
      Median debt
      $8,893

    Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data, 2025. Programs with few graduates are not listed.

    NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk

    Majors that lead here

    Related programs by four-digit CIP code. They are common routes in, not the only ones.

    CareerOneStop

    Certifications, licenses and pay by state

    What healthcare social workers may need beyond a degree, where a license is required, and what the work pays in each state.

    Certifications

    Core certifications employers recognise for this work.

    Search all certifications on CareerOneStop

    Training

    Programs of study that prepare people for this work.

    • Clinical/Medical Social Work
    • Forensic Social Work
    • Hospice and Palliative Care
    • Medical Family Therapy/Therapist
    • Social Work
    • Social Work, Other
    • Thanatology

    Find training near you on CareerOneStop

    Licenses by state

    51 states list a license for this work. Open your state for the license and the agency that issues it.

    Check license requirements on CareerOneStop

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 6, 2026.

    Your plan

    Build my pathway plan

    Courses, majors, colleges, scholarships and a timeline for this career, built from your profile.

    Related careers

    Careers with similar work, interests or skills.

    All careers

    Questions about healthcare social workers

    Written with AI from the BLS, O*NET and CareerOneStop data on this page. Every figure is checked against that data before it is published.

    What are some alternative job titles for this career?

    People in this field are also known as clinical social workers, case managers, bereavement counselors, and client advocates. Other titles include disability advocates, AIDS social workers, and certified social workers in health care.

    What are the main educational requirements?

    Most workers need a graduate degree to enter this field, with a master's degree being the typical entry-level requirement. Students usually major in social work, thanatology, or mental and social health services.

    How fast is this occupation growing?

    The field is expanding much faster than the average career. Employment is projected to grow by 8.5% between 2025 and 2035, leading to about 16,900 job openings annually.

    Sources and attribution

    Every figure on this page comes from these public datasets. Missing values are shown as not reported, never estimated.

    O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 6, 2026.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.