Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, aged to 2026 using compounded market movement. State selections show BLS state-level figures where published. Actual pay varies with experience, industry, and organization size.
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers salary by state
Base salary plus target annual bonus. Target bonus opportunity scales with role level, so a higher base carries a higher target percentage.
Base salary
$70,500
National baseline
Target bonus
$7,500
10.5% of base
Total target cash
$78,000
Base plus target bonus
Bonus percentiles:25th$4,50050th$7,50075th$12,500
Long-term incentive is not shown for this role. Equity awards are only disclosed publicly for the named executive officers of public companies, so no market figure exists for most jobs. See executive pay disclosures.
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About this role
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers is a professional role within the function in the Community and Social Service job family.
Typical entry preparation: Master's Degree and 2 to 5 years of related work experience, per O*NET occupational data. Advancement typically requires additional years in role.
What Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workerss do
Typical education: Master's Degree
Counsel clients in individual or group sessions to assist them in dealing with substance abuse, mental or physical illness, poverty, unemployment, or physical abuse.
Collaborate with counselors, physicians, or nurses to plan or coordinate treatment, drawing on social work experience and patient needs.
Monitor, evaluate, and record client progress with respect to treatment goals.
Interview clients, review records, conduct assessments, or confer with other professionals to evaluate the mental or physical condition of clients or patients.
Supervise or direct other workers who provide services to clients or patients.
Top skills:Social PerceptivenessSpeakingActive ListeningReading ComprehensionMonitoringCritical Thinking
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers pay by experience level
Entry level$41,000
Typical starting pay (about the 10th percentile)
Early career$48,500
A few years in (about the 25th percentile)
Experienced$62,500
Mid-career median pay
Senior$82,500
Seasoned professionals (about the 75th percentile)
Top earners$108,000
Highest earners (about the 90th percentile)
Experience tiers are derived from the BLS wage percentile distribution for this occupation, aged to 2026. Actual pay varies by employer, location, and specialization.
Job outlook
+9.7%
projected change in jobs, 2024–2034
13,500
projected openings per year
Growing faster than average
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program (2024–2034). Openings include growth and replacement needs.
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers salary by industry
Ambulatory Health Care Services
50,650 workers
$74,000
Outpatient Care Centers
28,670 workers
$69,500
Social Assistance
20,660 workers
$62,500
Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Schools and Hospitals and USPS
19,510 workers
$75,000
Individual and Family Services
17,790 workers
$63,000
Offices of Other Health Practitioners
17,540 workers
$79,500
Hospitals
17,150 workers
$77,000
Nursing and Residential Care Facilities
15,750 workers
$58,000
Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
13,940 workers
$71,500
Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Facilities
13,280 workers
$57,000
National sector-level figures, BLS OEWS May 2025, aged to 2026.
Pay trend
National median annual wage, 2020 to 2025: $48,720 to $60,280.
+23.7% over this period
Medians as published each May in the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics national estimates. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS.
Pay by experience level
How annual pay for this occupation spreads from newcomers to the highest paid, aged to 2026.
Entry10th percentile
$41,000
Early career25th percentile
$48,500
Median50th percentile
$62,500
Experienced75th percentile
$82,500
Top earners90th percentile
$108,000
Bands are the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentile annual wages for this occupation nationally. Percentiles reflect the full mix of tenure, employer, and location, so they approximate but do not equal years of experience. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS national estimates.
Where this job pays most
Top-paying states for this occupation, average annual wage aged to 2026.
State averages for this occupation from the BLS OEWS state estimates. Cost of living differs by state; a higher wage does not always mean more buying power.
The abilities employers and analysts most associate with this occupation.
Social PerceptivenessSpeakingActive ListeningReading ComprehensionMonitoringCritical Thinking
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, O*NET occupational database.
Typical duties and FLSA status
Core duties
Counsel clients in individual or group sessions to assist them in dealing with substance abuse, mental or physical illness, poverty, unemployment, or physical abuse.
Collaborate with counselors, physicians, or nurses to plan or coordinate treatment, drawing on social work experience and patient needs.
Monitor, evaluate, and record client progress with respect to treatment goals.
Interview clients, review records, conduct assessments, or confer with other professionals to evaluate the mental or physical condition of clients or patients.
Supervise or direct other workers who provide services to clients or patients.
FLSA classification (typical)
Typically Exempt · Professional, Administrative, or Executive exemption
Occupations in this SOC group are typically classified as Exempt when paid above the salary threshold, provided they satisfy the duties test for one of the FLSA exemption categories. Actual classification depends on the specific job duties, salary basis, and any applicable state or local rules. The current federal salary threshold for exemption is $684 per week ($35,568 per year), per the 2020 Department of Labor rule; the 2024 rule that would have raised the threshold was struck down by federal court in November 2024.
Pay outlook
Five-year pay outlook for this title
2026$70,500
2027$73,000
2028$75,500
2029$78,000
2030$81,000
2031$83,500
Projection assumes market wages keep rising about 3.5% a year, consistent with recent wage growth measured by the BLS Employment Cost Index. It reflects market movement for the title, not individual raises or promotions, which vary.
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Sources and assumptions
Modeled market estimate, aged to 2026. Underlying source families are BLS OEWS May 2025 for BLS-mapped occupations and the 2018–19 collection for corporate titles. Annual aging is compounded at approximately 3–4%; geographic, industry and company-size repricing are modeled. See the role details and methodology for the applicable source and assumptions.
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How much does a Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers make?
The median market pay for a Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers in the United States is about $70,500 per year in 2026, based on WePayFairly's market model.
What is the salary range for a Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers?
Most Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers pay falls between about $48,500 (25th percentile) and $82,500 (75th percentile), with top earners above $108,000.
What does a Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers do?
Core responsibilities include: counsel clients in individual or group sessions to assist them in dealing with substance abuse, mental or physical illness, poverty, unemployment, or physical abuse; and collaborate with counselors, physicians, or nurses to plan or coordinate treatment, drawing on social work experience and patient needs.
Is pay for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers roles growing?
Yes. The national median wage for this occupation moved from $48,720 in 2020 to $60,280 in 2025, a change of +23.7% in nominal dollars.
How this role compares
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers pays 6% above the average across 17 roles in the Community and Social Service job family (family average $66,500).
Similar-paying roles in Community and Social Service
Need Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers pay benchmarked for your organization, or defensible compensation analysis for a dispute or valuation? Grahall builds it from primary sources, backed by an expert who testifies.
