SalaryExplorer

SOC 21-1021 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Child, Family, and School Social Workers — La Crosse

La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN · 10 metro areas compared

$63,480 /year
$30.52per hour
140jobs in area
+6.6%vs US median

At $63,480, median pay for Child, Family, and School Social Workers in La Crosse, WI tracks the national median of $59,550 closely.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $59,55010TH$41,81025TH$47,520MEDIAN$63,48075TH$76,34090TH$85,170

How pay has moved

$69,638$32,6932019202020212022202320242025$63,480
$39,960 in 2019 to $63,480 in 2025, +58.9% 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 La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN.

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

At $63,480, median pay for Child, Family, and School Social Workers in La Crosse, WI tracks the national median of $59,550 closely. The middle half of workers in this occupation earn between $47,520 and $76,340. The lowest tenth earn under $41,810, while the highest tenth earn more than $85,170.

Employment stands at 140, or 1.7 jobs per thousand held locally. Oshkosh leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $64,020. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 124th of 311 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$41,810−29.8%
25th$47,520−20.2%
Median (50th)$63,480+6.6%
75th$76,340+28.2%
90th$85,170+43.0%
Mean$62,350+4.7%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in Wisconsin

Median annual wage for Child, Family, and School Social Workers, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Oshkosh$64,020280
2Eau Claire$63,930190
3Madison$62,020790
4Appleton$59,840200
5Milwaukee$59,1801,530
6Wausau$57,72090
7Racine$57,550200
8Green Bay$57,140340
9Fond du Lac$56,98080
10Kenosha$55,590160

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in La Crosse run 8.2% below the national average, so the median of $63,480 goes as far as $69,150 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 16.1% above the national median in real terms.

Published median

$63,480as reported by BLS

Local price level

91.8US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$69,150US average = 100 · BEA 2024

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

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $63,480 a year, 6.6% above the national median.
  • Published pay spans $41,810 to $85,170 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 140 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Oshkosh, at $64,020.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Child, Family, and School Social Workers in La Crosse, WI?

The median annual wage is $63,480, or $30.52 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 La Crosse, WI is 6.6% higher. 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 La Crosse, WI earns more than $85,170 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $41,810 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 Oshkosh, at $64,020 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 140 jobs in this occupation in La Crosse, WI. 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.