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Medical social worker salary in California

Open medical social worker jobs in California post a median of $55.25 an hour, the middle half $51.25–$63.25 (about $114,900 a year full time), $13.75 above the national posted median. From 32 jobs at 13 employers that state their pay.

$55.25
Median posted /hr
$51–$63
Middle half /hr
$114,900
A year, full time
estimate, 2,080 hours
$43.11
BLS median in CA
May 2025

The jobs themselves: Medical social worker jobs in California · Medical social worker pay nationwide

What medical social workers are paid in California

Each bar counts the open jobs posting an hourly rate in its step of pay (a range at its midpoint).

Posted hourly rates of 32 open jobs in California. Lowest posted $35, highest $79.49.

Posted on open jobs in California

$51.25–$63.25/hr

Middle half of 28 employer rates (each employer's advertised range once), median $55.25. 70% of the 46 open medical social worker jobs in California state an hourly rate.

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Medical social worker pay by town in California

Towns where at least three open jobs state an hourly rate, the towns with the most such jobs first.

TownMedian postedPosted rangeJobs (employers)
Palo Alto$63$47.32–$76.224 (2)
San Francisco$66.50$54.08–$79.493 (1)

Median of employers' rates in the town, the lowest and highest rate posted, and the jobs and employers behind them. A town opens its own job page.

Medical social worker pay by employer in California

What each employer posts for medical social workers here, the employers with the most jobs stating pay first.

EmployerMedian postedPosted rangeJobs stating pay
Kaiser Permanente$66$49.54–$75.905
Sutter Health$65$43.99–$79.495
Sharp HealthCare$52.75$36–$62.704
Stanford Medicine Children's Health$63$49.42–$66.623
Providence$55.50$43.39–$75.583
Access TLC$55$35–$753
Stanford Health Care$60.75$47.32–$76.222
Cedars-Sinai$56$48.27–$78.582
By the Bay Health$52.50$46.60–$58.301
Community Memorial Hospital - Ventura$50$40.33–$59.651
Snowline Hospice of El Dorado$45.50$37–$541
Cornerstone Healthcare$45$40–$501
Marshall Medical Center$42$38.15–$45.781

Median of each employer's jobs in California (a range at its midpoint), and its lowest and highest rate here. An employer's name opens its pay for medical social workers nationwide when it has such a page.

Jobs that state a yearly salary

Measured on their own, never converted to hourly.

7 open jobs in California state a yearly salary: a median of $106,800, the middle half $95,600 to $119,700.

Best-paid open medical social worker jobs in California

The open jobs posting the highest hourly rates tonight, at most two from one employer.

What BLS measures in California

What people employed in the occupation earned in the state, at every level of experience, from the BLS survey. A posting advertises what a new hire is offered.

Hourly wages, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, California. Each figure opens its BLS page.
BLS occupation10th pct25th pctMedian75th pct90th pctEmployed
Healthcare Social Workers (21-1022)$26.07 (source: BLS OEWS, Healthcare Social Workers, opens in a new tab)$32.52 (source: BLS OEWS, Healthcare Social Workers, opens in a new tab)$43.11 (source: BLS OEWS, Healthcare Social Workers, opens in a new tab)$57.09 (source: BLS OEWS, Healthcare Social Workers, opens in a new tab)$64.85 (source: BLS OEWS, Healthcare Social Workers, opens in a new tab)17,690 (source: BLS OEWS, Healthcare Social Workers, opens in a new tab)

BLS median by metro area

Medical social worker salary in California: common questions

How much does a medical social worker make in California?

Open medical social worker jobs in California that state an hourly rate post a median of $55.25, the middle half $51.25–$63.25 (32 jobs from 13 employers). Full time that is about $114,900 a year. BLS measured a median of $43.11/hr ($89,660 a year) for people employed in the occupation in California (May 2025).

Where in California do medical social workers earn the most?

By the median rate open jobs post, in the towns with the most jobs stating pay: Palo Alto ($63) and San Francisco ($66.50). The town table lists 2.

Which employers in California pay medical social workers the most?

Among employers stating a rate on at least three open jobs here: Kaiser Permanente ($66), Sutter Health ($65) and Stanford Medicine Children's Health ($63).

How does California compare with the rest of the country?

The posted median in California ($55.25) is $13.75 above the national posted median of $41.50. In the BLS survey California ranks 2 of 52 by median wage.

Where do these figures come from?

From the pay open jobs state, read every night from each employer's own job board: 32 of 46 open medical social worker jobs in California (70%) state an hourly rate. No pay is estimated for a job that states none; "up to" ceilings and weekly travel rates are left out.

Medical social worker pay in other states

Medical social worker salary nationwide →Every healthcare salary →

Sources and method

Only pay a job states is used, a range at its midpoint. In the state's median and middle half each employer's advertised range counts once, so an employer posting one range in many towns does not set the figure; a town's median follows the same rule. "Up to" ceilings, weekly travel rates and rates far from the occupation's median are left out. A state has a page while at least 8 jobs from 3 employers state a rate there. The yearly estimate is the hourly rate times 2,080 hours. BLS figures are as published.
  1. CareJobs.Now job board: the pay open jobs state, read nightly from each employer's own careers site, published October 24, 2026
  2. BLS OEWS May 2025: Healthcare Social Workers (SOC 21-1022), every state, published May 15, 2026
  3. BLS OEWS May 2025: Healthcare Social Workers, national, published May 15, 2026
  4. BLS OEWS May 2025: Healthcare Social Workers by metropolitan area, published May 15, 2026

Cite this page

CareJobs.Now. (2026). Medical social worker salary in California. Data as of October 24, 2026. https://carejobs.now/salaries/medical-social-worker/california

How the board counts