Occupation salary profile

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

SOC 21-1023 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

Assess and treat individuals with mental, emotional, or substance abuse problems, including abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and/or other drugs. Activities may include individual and group therapy, crisis intervention, case management, client advocacy, prevention, and education.

National median · BLS
$60,280
▲ +0.37% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$61,000
▲ +1.67% YoY · 113 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$68,030
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
132,810
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 Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 113 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$39,740$50,000
25th$47,070$50,918
Median (50th)$60,280$61,000
75th$79,730$79,040
90th — top pay$104,170$91,187
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $61,000 for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers — 1.2% above the BLS national median of $60,280.

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

Job outlook for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

BLS projects employment of mental health and substance abuse social workers to grow 10.3% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 12,500 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
138,900 → 153,200
+14,300 jobs
Projected change
+10.3%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
12,500
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Master's degree
No related experience required
On-the-job training
Internship/residency
Self-employed
2.4% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 5)
Extensive Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Fastest-growing jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a master'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 $61,000
Change vs prior year +1.67%
After inflation (CPI-U) -1.42%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 49 43.4% $50,000 $52,541 $57,595
Level II 36 31.9% $60,000 $64,484 $80,694
Level III 13 11.5% $77,792 $82,430 $91,187
H-1B job titles

Salaries by job title in Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

The 1 most-filed job titles inside SOC 21-1023, from 113 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
Outpatient Therapist 17 15.04% $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 —

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 Mental Health and Substance Abuse 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
  • Social Perceptiveness4.3
  • Active Listening4.1
  • Speaking4.1
  • Critical Thinking4.0
  • Monitoring4.0
  • Reading Comprehension4.0
  • Complex Problem Solving3.9
  • Coordination3.9
  • Service Orientation3.9
  • Learning Strategies3.8
Top knowledge areas
  • Therapy and Counseling4.8
  • Psychology4.7
  • English Language3.9
  • Customer and Personal Service3.8
  • Education and Training3.7
  • Sociology and Anthropology3.6
  • Public Safety and Security3.3
  • Medicine and Dentistry3.0
Software and technology used
Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookAdobe AcrobatMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft SharePointMicrosoft WordAdobe PageMakerClient records softwareCorel WordPerfect Office SuiteDatabase softwareEmail softwareInformation presentation softwareJames Frazier Associates DataStartMedical condition coding softwareMedical procedure coding softwareMicrosoft Internet ExplorerMicrosoft Publisher

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 mental health and substance abuse social workers do

  • 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.
  • Modify treatment plans according to changes in client status.
  • Assist clients in adhering to treatment plans, such as setting up appointments, arranging for transportation to appointments, or providing support.
  • Educate clients or community members about mental or physical illness, abuse, medication, or available community resources.
Also called
Case ManagerMental Health TherapistSocial WorkerTherapistClinical Social WorkerClinical TherapistClinicianCounselorLicensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)
More job titles for this occupation (46)
Addictions CounselorAlcoholism WorkerAssessment SpecialistBehavior SpecialistBehavioral Case ManagerBehavioral ClinicianBehavioral Health Care Manager (BHCM)Behavioral Health Case ManagerBehavioral Health Social WorkerBehavioral Health Utilization Management Representative (Behavioral Health Utilization Management Rep)Behavioral Health WorkerBehavioral TechnicianBHC (Behavioral Health Consultant)Case TherapistChemical Dependency CounselorCommunity Mental Health Social WorkerCommunity Mental Health WorkerCommunity Support WorkerCrisis Intervention CounselorCrisis Intervention SpecialistCrisis WorkerDirect Care CounselorDirect Service ProviderDrug Abuse Social WorkerDrug Abuse WorkerGroup Home CounselorLBHC (Licensed Behavioral Health Clinician)Licensed Mental Health Professional (LMHP)Licensed Social WorkerLTSS Service Coordinator (Long Term Services and Supports Service Coordinator)LTTS Service Clinician (Long Term Services and Supports Service Clinician)Mental Health Case ManagerMental Health ClinicianMental Health PractitionerMental Health ProfessionalMental Health Social WorkerMental Health WorkerOutpatient ClinicianOutpatient TherapistPsychiatric Social WorkerPsychotherapist Social WorkerQualified Mental Health Professional (QMHP)Residential Case ManagerSubstance Abuse ClinicianSubstance Abuse SpecialistTreatment Coordinator

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.