Key Factors That Influence Social Work Assistant Salaries
A Social Work Assistant's salary isn't a fixed number. It's shaped by several important factors.
Below, we'll explore how your years of experience, geographic location, skills
and company size
can directly affect your earning potential.
How Experience Level Affects Social Work Assistant Salaries?
Experience is a primary driver of a Social Work Assistant's salary. As you build your skills and take on more complex tasks, your compensation generally increases. Here's how the average salary grows at different career stages:
Salaries can also vary between different cities.
Major metropolitan areas or cities with a high demand for technicians often offer more competitive pay.
Here are a few examples of average annual salaries in different U.S. cities:
San Jose: $78,766
San Francisco: $77,904
Oakland: $76,262
San Jose, CA$78,766
San Francisco, CA$77,904
Oakland, CA$76,262
New York, NY$71,902
Paramus, NJ$71,028
Queens Village, NY$71,025
Passaic, NJ$70,966
Bergenfield, NJ$70,960
Stamford, CT$70,823
Huntington, NY$70,797
Newark, NJ$70,336
Bridgeport, CT$70,204
Vallejo, CA$70,079
New Brunswick, NJ$70,055
Petaluma, CA$70,017
Middlesex, NJ$69,898
Somerset, NJ$69,855
Santa Cruz, CA$69,773
Boston, MA$69,393
Monterey, CA$69,173
Seattle, WA$69,030
Santa Rosa, CA$69,018
Los Angeles, CA$68,999
Juneau, AK$68,837
Washington, DC$68,768
Orange, CA$68,546
Santa Ana, CA$68,381
Long Beach, CA$68,318
Anaheim, CA$68,306
Anchorage, AK$68,275
Santa Maria, CA$68,087
Everett, WA$68,075
Danbury, CT$67,855
Bremerton, WA$67,769
Tacoma, WA$67,544
New Suffolk, NY$67,543
Sacramento, CA$67,525
Santa Barbara, CA$67,457
Trenton, NJ$67,388
San Diego, CA$67,388
Brockton, MA$67,319
Fairbanks, AK$67,166
Lompoc, CA$67,007
Lowell, MA$66,956
Ventura, CA$66,945
Nashua, NH$66,932
Stockton, CA$66,926
Modesto, CA$66,470
Poughkeepsie, NY$66,333
Olympia, WA$66,214
Kennewick, WA$66,214
New Haven, CT$66,189
Lawrence, MA$65,964
Hartford, CT$65,902
Riverside, CA$65,889
New Bedford, MA$65,827
Richland, WA$65,827
Bakersfield, CA$65,739
San Bernardino, CA$65,714
New Britain, CT$65,708
Atlantic City, NJ$65,708
New London, CT$65,683
Norwich, CT$65,664
Portsmouth, NH$65,652
Boulder, CO$65,520
Portland, OR$65,433
Worcester, MA$65,427
Minneapolis, MN$65,233
Philadelphia, PA$65,146
Honolulu, HI$64,940
Saint Paul, MN$64,910
Vineland, NJ$64,896
Providence, RI$64,715
Chicago, IL$64,534
Bellingham, WA$64,459
Springfield, MA$64,409
Baltimore, MD$64,390
Chico, CA$64,234
Pittsfield, MA$64,066
Manchester, NH$63,947
Spokane, WA$63,672
Denver, CO$63,666
Albany, NY$63,373
Troy, NY$63,348
Nassau, NY$63,281
Schenectady, NY$63,216
Wilmington, DE$63,166
Burlington, VT$63,079
Salem, OR$63,054
Portland, ME$62,860
Yakima, WA$62,798
Rochester, MN$62,604
Reno, NV$62,573
Fresno, CA$62,573
Milwaukee, WI$62,517
Detroit, MI$62,455
Ann Arbor, MI$62,444
Allentown, PA$62,436
Colorado Springs, CO$62,330
Syracuse, NY$62,298
Carson City, NV$62,298
Houston, TX$62,211
Eugene, OR$62,180
Gary, IN$62,105
Springfield, OR$62,055
Bismarck, ND$62,042
Galveston, TX$61,999
Medford, OR$61,905
Fort Collins, CO$61,880
Concord, NH$61,849
Austin, TX$61,830
Mesa, AZ$61,699
Reading, PA$61,693
Phoenix, AZ$61,686
Dallas, TX$61,668
Saint Cloud, MN$61,608
Madison, WI$61,524
Utica, NY$61,355
Rochester, NY$61,256
Des Moines, IA$61,249
Raleigh, NC$61,243
Atlanta, GA$61,149
Battle Creek, MI$61,131
Salt Lake City, UT$61,112
Lancaster, PA$61,018
Harrisburg, PA$60,931
Kansas City, MO$60,868
Champaign, IL$60,856
Kansas City, KS$60,856
Fort Worth, TX$60,850
Columbus, OH$60,839
Boca Raton, FL$60,825
Pittsburgh, PA$60,800
Richmond, VA$60,775
Indianapolis, IN$60,762
Cleveland, OH$60,756
Las Vegas, NV$60,681
Cincinnati, OH$60,681
Petersburg, VA$60,587
Huntsville, AL$60,494
Lansing, MI$60,452
Lebanon, PA$60,444
Pueblo, CO$60,437
Appleton, WI$60,419
Buffalo, NY$60,394
Dayton, OH$60,375
Racine, WI$60,363
Charlotte, NC$60,356
Saint Louis, MO$60,338
York, PA$60,300
Elkhart, IN$60,300
Gastonia, NC$60,288
Billings, MT$60,273
Beaumont, TX$60,256
Lorain, OH$60,244
Benton Harbor, MI$60,231
Toledo, OH$60,219
Binghamton, NY$60,188
Rock Hill, SC$60,181
Rockford, IL$60,150
Springfield, IL$60,125
Elyria, OH$60,119
Fargo, ND$60,119
Flagstaff, AZ$60,075
Fort Lauderdale, FL$60,038
Duluth, MN$60,000
Miami, FL$60,000
Cheyenne, WY$59,957
Grand Forks, ND$59,957
Bangor, ME$59,819
Cedar Rapids, IA$59,751
Durham, NC$59,724
Louisville, KY$59,719
Grand Rapids, MI$59,707
Hialeah, FL$59,701
Casper, WY$59,613
Scranton, PA$59,538
New Orleans, LA$59,519
Virginia Beach, VA$59,513
Akron, OH$59,482
Peoria, IL$59,401
Sarasota, FL$59,388
Nashville, TN$59,345
Omaha, NE$59,345
Green Bay, WI$59,345
Baton Rouge, LA$59,313
Charleston, SC$59,301
Jamestown, NY$59,270
Davenport, IA$59,270
Tucson, AZ$59,238
Saint Petersburg, FL$59,201
Tampa, FL$59,188
Evansville, IN$59,151
Port Arthur, TX$59,151
Bradenton, FL$59,126
Santa Fe, NM$59,014
Orlando, FL$58,901
Clearwater, FL$58,883
Canton, OH$58,751
La Crosse, WI$58,751
Albuquerque, NM$58,714
Newport News, VA$58,708
High Point, NC$58,689
Ogden, UT$58,664
Corpus Christi, TX$58,614
Norfolk, VA$58,577
Laramie, WY$58,577
Rock Island, IL$58,539
Saginaw, MI$58,527
Jacksonville, FL$58,520
Salisbury, NC$58,508
Boise, ID$58,495
Moline, IL$58,464
Fort Myers, FL$58,445
Memphis, TN$58,433
Tulsa, OK$58,402
Waterloo, IA$58,364
Spartanburg, SC$58,302
Lincoln, NE$58,271
Fort Wayne, IN$58,258
Provo, UT$58,252
Cedar Falls, IA$58,177
San Antonio, TX$58,152
Greensboro, NC$58,127
South Bend, IN$58,121
Savannah, GA$58,052
Muskegon, MI$58,027
Birmingham, AL$58,021
Winston Salem, NC$57,990
Lake Charles, LA$57,840
Anderson, IN$57,827
Lexington, KY$57,808
Augusta, GA$57,790
Greenville, SC$57,790
Lima, OH$57,740
Wichita, KS$57,733
Tuscaloosa, AL$57,733
Columbia, SC$57,677
Springfield, OH$57,665
Asheville, NC$57,565
Bloomington, IN$57,521
Knoxville, TN$57,296
Shreveport, LA$57,290
Wilmington, NC$57,209
Roanoke, VA$57,209
Topeka, KS$57,096
Frankfort, KY$57,090
Oklahoma City, OK$57,047
Chillicothe, OH$57,022
Longview, TX$57,015
Melbourne, FL$57,009
Sioux Falls, SD$56,909
Mobile, AL$56,903
Terre Haute, IN$56,878
Altoona, PA$56,840
Amarillo, TX$56,797
Killeen, TX$56,778
Fayetteville, AR$56,728
Chattanooga, TN$56,709
Sioux City, IA$56,653
Idaho Falls, ID$56,641
Lynchburg, VA$56,591
Gainesville, FL$56,509
Portsmouth, OH$56,478
Little Rock, AR$56,466
Lafayette, LA$56,441
Youngstown, OH$56,441
Daytona Beach, FL$56,403
Clarksville, TN$56,397
Pensacola, FL$56,391
Temple, TX$56,386
Hopkinsville, KY$56,203
Erie, PA$56,191
Florence, SC$56,166
Charleston, WV$56,066
Great Falls, MT$56,035
Macon, GA$55,947
Tallahassee, FL$55,941
Fayetteville, NC$55,929
Waco, TX$55,916
Helena, MT$55,872
Pine Bluff, AR$55,849
Vincennes, IN$55,773
Lubbock, TX$55,748
Alamogordo, NM$55,710
Twin Falls, ID$55,654
Rapid City, SD$55,635
Jackson, MS$55,523
Huntington, WV$55,518
Greenville, MS$55,517
Parkersburg, WV$55,453
Montgomery, AL$55,442
Wichita Falls, TX$55,379
Springfield, MO$55,379
Biloxi, MS$55,348
Monroe, LA$55,285
Johnstown, PA$55,242
Sumter, SC$55,217
Columbus, GA$55,211
Pascagoula, MS$55,092
Abilene, TX$55,092
Kingsport, TN$54,930
Albany, GA$54,930
Gulfport, MS$54,911
Alexandria, LA$54,705
Fort Smith, AR$54,549
El Paso, TX$54,380
Las Cruces, NM$54,099
Harlingen, TX$53,940
Pocatello, ID$53,930
Florence, AL$53,849
Brownsville, TX$53,837
Mcallen, TX$53,706
Dothan, AL$53,618
Columbus, MS$53,247
Altus, OK$52,956
Lawton, OK$52,838
Pierre, SD$52,613
What Skills Can Increase a Social Work Assistant's Salary?
Demanded Skills for the Role:
Planning (Mentioned in 8.84% Job Postings): An act or process of making or carrying out plans. Establishment of goals, policies, and procedures for a social or economic unit city planning business planning.
Patient Care (Mentioned in 2.49% Job Postings): Patient care refers to the prevention, treatment, and management of illness and the preservation of physical and mental well-being through services offered by health professionals.
Geriatrics (Mentioned in 1.28% Job Postings): Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty focused on providing care for the unique health needs of older adults. The term geriatrics originates from the Greek geron meaning "old man", and iatros meaning "healer".
Mastering certain specialized skills can lead to a significant increase in pay.
Here are examples of skills and the potential impact they can have on a Social Work Assistant's salary.
Coaching: Can increase your salary by up to 4%.
Psychiatric: Can increase your salary by up to 3%.
Verbal Communication: Can increase your salary by up to 3%.
Social Work Assistant Salary by Industry: Top Paying Sectors
For Social Work Assistant roles, the industry you choose can impact your earning potential
by as much as 20% (the gap between the highest and lowest paying industries).
Data shows that the highest-paying industry, Healthcare.,
offers compensation 5% above the average. Conversely,
Social Work Assistant positions in Edu., Gov't. & Nonprofit typically offer lower base pay,
as this sector often view Social Work Assistant as a support function rather than a direct revenue driver.
The top paying industry for a Social Work Assistant
Industry Sector
Average Annual Salary
Average Hourly Rate
Pay vs.Avg
Healthcare.
$59,413
$29.0
5%
Social Work Assistant Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay
Understanding how a Social Work Assistant's annual salary breaks down can help with budgeting.
Below, you can see the average hourly rate, weekly pay, and monthly pay for this role.
Use the buttons to switch between different pay periods.
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Where Does Our Salary Data Come From?
Salary.com salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third-party data sources.
We also provide multiple percentiles of salary information for your reference, click here to know Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial to Getting Pay Equity Right.
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