SalaryExplorer

SOC 21-1021 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Child, Family, and School Social Workers — Detroit

Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI · 10 metro areas compared

$59,270 /year
$28.49per hour
6,540jobs in area
−0.5%vs US median

The median wage for Child, Family, and School Social Workers in Detroit, MI is $59,270 per year, close to the national median of $59,550 for the same occupation.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $59,55010TH$40,64025TH$47,800MEDIAN$59,27075TH$74,27090TH$82,200

How pay has moved

$62,628$46,5632019202020212022202320242025$59,270
$52,130 in 2019 to $59,270 in 2025, +13.7% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to grow about as fast as average

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
+3.4%
Openings per year
35,100
Typical entry-level education
Bachelor's degree

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

The median wage for Child, Family, and School Social Workers in Detroit, MI is $59,270 per year, close to the national median of $59,550 for the same occupation. Pay ranges from under $40,640 at the tenth percentile to more than $82,200 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $47,800 to $74,270.

The area has 6,540 jobs in this occupation, which works out to 3.4 of every thousand jobs. Jackson leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $70,350. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 352nd of 671 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$40,640−31.8%
25th$47,800−19.7%
Median (50th)$59,270−0.5%
75th$74,270+24.7%
90th$82,200+38.0%
Mean$61,390+3.1%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in Michigan

Median annual wage for Child, Family, and School Social Workers, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Jackson$70,350210
2Ann Arbor$60,940480
3Lansing$60,900660
4Flint$60,160720
5Niles$59,790160
6Traverse City$59,550220
7Muskegon$58,970260
8Monroe$58,710180
9Saginaw$58,700270
10Battle Creek$57,000240

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Detroit sit close to the national average, so $59,270 is worth roughly its face value against pay elsewhere.

Published median

$59,270as reported by BLS

Local price level

100.3US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$59,093US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $59,270 a year, 0.5% below the national median.
  • Published pay spans $40,640 to $82,200 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 6,540 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Jackson, at $70,350.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Child, Family, and School Social Workers in Detroit, MI?

The median annual wage is $59,270, or $28.49 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $59,550, so pay in Detroit, MI is 0.5% lower. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Detroit, MI earns more than $82,200 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $40,640 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Jackson, at $70,350 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 6,540 jobs in this occupation in Detroit, MI. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.