Occupation salary profile

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

SOC 21-1021 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

Provide social services and assistance to improve the social and psychological functioning of children and their families and to maximize the family well-being and the academic functioning of children. May assist parents, arrange adoptions, and find foster homes for abandoned or abused children. In schools, they address such problems as teenage pregnancy, misbehavior, and truancy. May also advise teachers.

National median · BLS
$59,550
▲ +1.67% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$60,000
▲ +5.62% YoY · 72 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$64,000
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
392,550
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.

Pay range for Child, Family, and School Social Workers

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 72 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS) H-1B sponsored
10th — entry pay$42,280$48,171
25th$48,270$51,022
Median (50th)$59,550$60,000
75th$76,070$70,806
90th — top pay$95,530$79,961
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $60,000 for Child, Family, and School Social Workers — 0.8% above the BLS national median of $59,550.

Hourly ⇄ annual pay

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Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Child, Family, and School Social Workers

BLS projects employment of child, family, and school social workers to grow 4.4% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 33,900 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
405,100 → 422,900
+17,800 jobs
Projected change
+4.4%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
33,900
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
No related experience required
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 4)
Considerable Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Fastest-growing jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a bachelor's degree →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

H-1B sponsored pay

Pay by H-1B wage level

Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.

H-1B median $60,000
Change vs prior year +5.62%
After inflation (CPI-U) +2.41%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 35 48.6% $49,920 $51,022 $54,129
Level II 16 22.2% $60,474 $67,768 $72,972
H-1B job titles

Salaries by job title in Child, Family, and School Social Workers

The 1 most-filed job titles inside SOC 21-1021, from 72 H-1B filings. Seniority words and level numbers are grouped (“Senior Data Engineer II” counts as Data Engineer). Tap a title for its full range, wage levels and the exact titles employers used.

Job title LCAs Share P25 Median P75 YoY
Social Worker 11 15.28% $63,550 $68,578 $70,255 +27%

Titles are cleaned from the employer's own LCA text (codes and typos removed, nothing invented). Rows need 10+ filings in this SOC.

Skills & tools

Skills needed for Child, Family, and School Social Workers

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Active Listening4.9
  • Speaking4.5
  • Critical Thinking4.1
  • Social Perceptiveness4.1
  • Judgment and Decision Making4.0
  • Reading Comprehension4.0
  • Service Orientation4.0
  • Complex Problem Solving3.9
  • Monitoring3.9
  • Coordination3.8
Top knowledge areas
  • Customer and Personal Service4.3
  • Psychology4.1
  • Therapy and Counseling4.1
  • English Language3.8
  • Administrative3.6
  • Sociology and Anthropology3.4
  • Education and Training3.3
  • Law and Government3.1
Software and technology used
Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft WordEasyCBMPatient electronic medical record EMR softwareStudent information systems SIS softwareWeb browser software

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: 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. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What child, family, and school social workers do

  • Maintain case history records and prepare reports.
  • Interview clients individually, in families, or in groups, assessing their situations, capabilities, and problems to determine what services are required to meet their needs.
  • Serve as liaisons between students, homes, schools, family services, child guidance clinics, courts, protective services, doctors, and other contacts to help children who face problems, such as disabilities, abuse, or poverty.
  • Develop and review service plans in consultation with clients and perform follow-ups assessing the quantity and quality of services provided.
  • Address legal issues, such as child abuse and discipline, assisting with hearings and providing testimony to inform custody arrangements.
  • Counsel parents with child rearing problems, interviewing the child and family to determine whether further action is required.
  • Consult with parents, teachers, and other school personnel to determine causes of problems, such as truancy and misbehavior, and to implement solutions.
  • Arrange for medical, psychiatric, and other tests that may disclose causes of difficulties and indicate remedial measures.
Also called
Case ManagerFamily Protection SpecialistFamily Service WorkerSchool Social WorkerAdoption Social WorkerCase WorkerChild Protective Services Social Worker (CPS Social Worker)Family Resource CoordinatorFoster Care Social WorkerYouth Services Specialist
More job titles for this occupation (61)
Adolescent CounselorAdoption AgentAdoption CoordinatorAdoption CounselorAdoption SpecialistAdoption WorkerCasework SupervisorCaseworkerCertified Child, Youth, and Family Social Worker (C-CYFSW)Certified Children, Youth, and Family Social Worker (C-CYFSW)Child Abuse WorkerChild AdvocateChild and Family Services WorkerChild and Family SpecialistChild Care CounselorChild Development ConsultantChild Protection SpecialistChild Protective InvestigatorChild Protective Services SpecialistChild Welfare CaseworkerChild Welfare ConsultantChild Welfare CounselorChild Welfare Social WorkerChild Welfare SpecialistChild Welfare WorkerChildren's CounselorCommunity Organization WorkerDelinquency Prevention Social WorkerEarly Intervention SpecialistEarly InterventionistFamily AdvocateFamily CaseworkerFamily Intervention SpecialistFamily ManagerFamily Preservation CaseworkerFamily Preservation WorkerFamily Service CaseworkerFamily Services SpecialistFamily Support SpecialistFamily Support WorkerField RepresentativeField Service RepresentativeFoster Care WorkerGroup WorkerIncome Maintenance CaseworkerInterventionistJuvenile CounselorJuvenile OfficerJuvenile SpecialistLicensed Social WorkerLMSW (Licensed Medical Social Worker)Parent EducatorProgram Support SpecialistProtective Services Social WorkerPublic Housing Community Relations and Services AdvisorSchool TherapistSocial WorkerYouth AdvocateYouth Care SpecialistYouth Development SpecialistYouth Specialist

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.