Skip to content

Mental health

Social worker salary in California

Open social worker jobs in California post a median of $53 an hour, the middle half $47–$60.50 (about $110,200 a year full time), $11.50 above the national posted median. From 108 jobs at 37 employers that state their pay.

$53
Median posted /hr
$47–$61
Middle half /hr
$110,200
A year, full time
estimate, 2,080 hours
$43.11
BLS median in CA
May 2025

The jobs themselves: Social worker jobs in California · Social worker pay nationwide

What 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 108 open jobs in California. Lowest posted $22.51, highest $83.60.

Posted on open jobs in California

$47–$60.50/hr

Middle half of 87 employer rates (each employer's advertised range once), median $53. 60% of the 181 open social worker jobs in California state an hourly rate.

Social worker alerts

Social worker in California: new openings every week

A weekly email with the newest Social worker openings in California, taken from the employers' own careers sites. Free, stop anytime.

Only job openings in your inbox. Leave anytime with one click.

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)
San Francisco$66$45–$83.6010 (2)
San Diego$52.50$36–$67.5710 (4)
Los Angeles$55.50$24.27–$78.589 (4)
Sacramento$54.50$24.27–$74.705 (3)
Mountain View$66$56.76–$75.474 (1)
Palo Alto$63$47.32–$76.224 (2)
Orange$49.25$24–$67.374 (2)
Santa Clara$66$56.78–$79.493 (2)
Rancho Mirage$50.50$37.19–$65.403 (1)
Redding$35$22.51–$55.633 (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.

Social worker pay by employer in California

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

EmployerMedian postedPosted rangeJobs stating pay
Providence$51.75$32.92–$75.5814
Sutter Health$65$43.99–$79.499
Kaiser Permanente$58$49.54–$75.909
UCSF Health$66$45–$83.607
CommonSpirit Health$48$22.51–$71.577
Sharp HealthCare$53.25$36–$67.576
El Camino Health$66$56.76–$75.474
Scripps Health$53.25$42.51–$64.714
Access TLC$52.50$24–$754
Stanford Medicine Children's Health$63$49.42–$66.623
Cedars-Sinai$53$48.27–$78.583
Emanate Health$52$41.58–$66.343
Eisenhower Health$46.75$37.19–$65.403
Montage Health$63.75$52.26–$75.922
Stanford Health Care$60.75$47.32–$76.222
BetterHelp$56.50$43–$702
Tenet Healthcare$46.25$35.32–$57.462
Florence Crittenton Services of Orange Country$42.50$28.06–$512
Riverside Family Physicians$37.25$25–$53.562
Prime Healthcare$30.50$30.572
Holt International Children's Services$28.50$27–$302
Alameda Health System$61.75$46.35–$77.251
MarinHealth$58.75$46.92–$70.391
Colusa Medical Center$55$45–$651
By the Bay Health$52.50$46.60–$58.301
Select Medical$52$521
Community Health Centers of America$50$40–$601
Community Memorial Hospital - Ventura$50$40.33–$59.651
San Antonio Regional Hospital$48.75$41.30–$56.121
Loma Linda University Health$46.75$36.71–$56.751
Snowline Hospice of El Dorado$45.50$37–$541
Cornerstone Healthcare$45$40–$501
Lompoc Valley Medical Center$44$38.57–$49.361
MemorialCare$43$431
Valor Healthcare$43$36–$501
Marshall Medical Center$42$38.15–$45.781
Elica Health Centers$39.25$37.50–$411

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 social workers nationwide when it has such a page.

Jobs that state a yearly salary

Measured on their own, never converted to hourly.

20 open jobs in California state a yearly salary: a median of $93,200, the middle half $79,500 to $113,300.

Best-paid open 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

Social worker salary in California: common questions

How much does a social worker make in California?

Open social worker jobs in California that state an hourly rate post a median of $53, the middle half $47–$60.50 (108 jobs from 37 employers). Full time that is about $110,200 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 social workers earn the most?

By the median rate open jobs post, in the towns with the most jobs stating pay: San Francisco ($66), San Diego ($52.50), Los Angeles ($55.50) and Sacramento ($54.50). The town table lists 10.

Which employers in California pay social workers the most?

Among employers stating a rate on at least three open jobs here: UCSF Health ($66), El Camino Health ($66) and Sutter Health ($65).

How does California compare with the rest of the country?

The posted median in California ($53) is $11.50 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: 108 of 181 open social worker jobs in California (60%) state an hourly rate. No pay is estimated for a job that states none; "up to" ceilings and weekly travel rates are left out.

Social worker pay in other states

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: Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers (SOC 21-1023), every state, published May 15, 2026
  4. BLS OEWS May 2025: Child, Family, and School Social Workers (SOC 21-1021), every state, published May 15, 2026
  5. BLS OEWS May 2025: Healthcare Social Workers, national, published May 15, 2026
  6. BLS OEWS May 2025: Healthcare Social Workers by metropolitan area, published May 15, 2026

Cite this page

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

How the board counts