Gaining a realistic sense of your future salary is an important part of preparing for a long-lasting social work career. After all, those who are taking the time and effort to pursue advanced degrees have career longevity in mind, and assuring that you will cover all your bases financially is a crucial step in building sustainable plans.
If you’re considering becoming a social worker in Texas, good news: the state offers plentiful opportunities for social workers of all types.
Texas is one of the top employers of social workers in three of the four social work categories designated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics: child, family, and school social workers; healthcare social workers; and all other social workers outside of the mental health field.
This is a sign that employment opportunities will be plentiful for those looking to launch their social work careers in the state. But what does a Master of Social Work salary in Texas look like? Read on for detailed information to learn everything you need to know about the salaries of social workers in the Lone Star State.
Living in Texas on a Social Worker Salary
Most people go into the social work profession because they are moved to help our society’s most vulnerable. Those who join the field in Texas will find numerous opportunities to do so, as the state is home to an incredibly diverse population with a wide variety of needs. This means there is a consistently high demand for social workers in Texas, who can devote their careers to any number of local causes.
Beyond its breadth of opportunities, one of the biggest advantages of becoming a social worker in Texas is its relatively low cost of living in comparison with other parts of the country.
This helps make it possible to maintain a high quality of life on an MSW salary in Texas, no matter what branch of the field you work in.
Further, due to its top-ranking employment level of social workers, there are many opportunities for professional development in Texas, from networking opportunities to skill-building initiatives that can help social workers develop and refine areas of expertise, in turn enhancing their ability to get advanced social work positions.
Because of these different factors, Texas is an excellent choice of location to launch a social work career. Whether you already reside in the state or wish to move there to start your social work journey, you’ll find abundant opportunities to make a difference in the lives of Texans who need your support.
Salary of a Social Worker in Texas
The data on social worker salaries in Texas, compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, organizes its findings by social work category. This makes it possible for incoming social workers to get a sense of average salary for a Master of Social Work in each major subfield of the profession.
That said, the BLS only divides up its data into four main categories. This means that one cannot find focused data on, for example, crisis social worker salaries, gerontology social worker salaries, forensic social worker salaries, etc. Still, you can use this information as a general guideline to get a sense of the salary range for social workers in each broader field, which should give a fairly strong picture of the salary of a social worker with a master’s degree in Texas.
It is also worth noting that BLS data does not organize its findings by license type. This means it is not possible to separate clinical social worker salaries in Texas from non-clinical social workers.
Child, Family, and School Social Worker Salary
Child, family, and school social workers hold jobs such as school counselor, child welfare social worker, family therapist, foster care social worker, and more. According to the BLS, they are most frequently employed in the following environments:
- Individual and family services
- Local government agencies
- State government agencies
- Elementary and secondary schools
- Community food and housing, and other relief services
Some of these positions involve providing direct counseling services to children and families, meaning social workers will hold their clinical licensing (LCSW). Other roles that take a more administrative or case management focus do not require clinical licensing and may be held by LMSWs.
In Texas, the mean child, family, and school social worker salary is $49,810 per year. This means that the average social worker salary per hour in these fields is $23.95.
Healthcare Social Worker Salary
As you might have guessed, healthcare social workers assist those in the medical system who can have a variety of needs, from navigating the complexities of U.S. healthcare to dealing with the emotional and psychological difficulties of having an illness or health condition. The BLS reports that healthcare social workers’ top employers include the following:
- General medical and surgical hospitals
- Home health care services
- Individual and family services
- Nursing care facilities
- Outpatient care centers
This means that this data includes information on hospital social worker salaries, hospice social worker salaries, oncology social worker salaries, emergency response social worker salaries, palliative care social worker salaries, and more. These jobs include a mix of LCSW and LMSW positions.
The mean annual salary for medical social workers in Texas is $62,500. This breaks down to an average hourly social worker salary of $30.05.
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker Salary
Social workers in the field of mental health are often – though not always – LCSWs, as many of their jobs include providing direct counseling and therapeutic services to individuals dealing with emotional and psychological issues, as well as their families and loved ones who may deal with the fallout of these concerns. According to the BLS, they are most frequently employed in the following places:
- Outpatient care centers
- Individual and family services
- Local government agencies
- Residential intellectual and developmental disability, mental health, and substance abuse facilities
- Offices of other health practitioners
This means that this data encompasses psychiatric social work salaries, substance abuse social worker salaries, behavioral health specialist salaries, and more.
The mean annual mental health social worker salary in Texas is $44,100. Broken down hourly, this comes out to $21.20.
Social Workers – All Other Salaries
The final category provided by the BLS is Social Workers – all other. This is a wide-ranging group that brings together the miscellaneous fields not accounted for in the categories above. The BLS reports that these varied social workers are employed in the following organizations (among others):
- Federal government agencies
- Local government agencies
- State government agencies
- Individual and family services
- Community food and housing, and emergency and other relief services
From this list alone, it may be difficult to ascertain who is encompassed within this group. One can assume it extends to forensic social worker salaries (also known as prison workers and criminal justice social workers), military social worker salaries, air force social worker salaries, emergency response social worker salaries, and more. The numbers include a mix of licensed clinical social worker salaries and LMSW salaries.
According to the BLS, social workers in the “all other” category in Texas earn a mean annual salary of $68,500, amounting to an hourly wage of $32.93.
Top Social Worker Salaries Across Industries
On average, Texas social work salaries fall slightly lower than nationwide averages, but the numbers are close enough that findings from national data can be instructive for Texas-based social workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides the following salary data for the top 90th percentile of each social work industry:
- Child, family, and school social workers: $81,920
- Medical and healthcare social workers: $87,830
- Mental health and substance abuse social workers: $97,660
- Social workers, all other: $95,560
These numbers can provide a guideline and a goal for social workers who hope to earn top salaries in their field. They serve as a reminder that with commitment and effort, you can secure a dependable salary as a social worker.
How to Earn a Top Social Worker Salary with a Master’s
It’s no secret that social workers are not typically highly paid, despite their work being so instrumental to the wellbeing of individuals and families and in turn, communities as a whole.
Most who are drawn to the field of social work are motivated not by money but by the immaterial rewards of making change in other lives. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t strive for a high salary as a social worker.
Across social work industries, social workers are more likely to receive high salaries if they hold senior-level positions. Most social workers achieve this by working their way up the ladder, amassing expertise and experience that qualifies them for leadership roles in their organizations. This goes to show that hard work and commitment to social work practice will pay off in the long run.
For those who are eager to start earning top salaries for social workers sooner, Texas offers a unique certification intended to help accelerate one’s path through the profession. This credential, known as a Licensed Master Social Worker-Advanced Practice (LMSW-AP), requires 3,000 supervised field work hours that build advanced skills, making those who hold these certificates qualified for higher-level roles in whatever branch of social work they work in. If you’re anxious about your social work salary and want to take steps to ensure the highest pay possible as quickly as possible, this is a great way to pursue it.
Accounting for your needs while providing the instrumental services of the social work profession should not just be a goal for social workers but a reality. With careful planning and hard work, motivated social workers in Texas can make this happen, ensuring a stable career and a lifetime of dedicated service.
FAQs
How do social work salaries in Texas compare to the rest of the country?
On average, social work salaries in Texas are slightly lower than national averages. However, the cost of living in many parts of Texas is lower than other places, meaning one can do more with their salary than would be possible elsewhere.
Who are candidates for top social work salaries in Texas?
Social workers who earn the highest salaries are typically those in high-ranking roles within their organizations. These roles can be gained through seniority – by working the way up the ranks in your field over the course of your career – or by acquiring an LMSW-AP credential, which asserts your competence for more advanced social work positions.
Does one’s social work specialty impact their salary?
It can. This is because social workers in different branches of the field are employed by a variety of different agencies and organizations, in turn affecting their pay. Take a look at the salary averages listed above to get a general sense of pay in each of the main subfields of the social work profession.
Does one’s social work license impact their salary? Am I likely to make more as an LCSW?
Unfortunately, the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not offer data specifically documenting pay for LCSWs, making it impossible to say conclusively that LCSWs will make more than LMSWs. However, LCSWs bring additional skills to their career that in many cases will make them eligible for more advanced roles, in turn potentially improving their salaries.