SOC 21-1021 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS
Child, Family, and School Social Workers — New York
New York · 10 metro areas compared
Median pay for this occupation in New York comes to $65,100 a year, ahead of the national median of $59,550 by 9.3%.
Wage distribution · annual
Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners
How pay has moved
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 New York.
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
Median pay for this occupation in New York comes to $65,100 a year, ahead of the national median of $59,550 by 9.3%. Pay ranges from under $48,400 at the tenth percentile to more than $100,100 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $56,230 to $79,510.
Employment stands at 30,170, or 3.1 jobs per thousand held locally. New York ranks number 13th out of 51 states by median pay for this occupation. Within the state, Kiryas Joel records the highest median at $77,260. Of the 776 occupations with published wages in this area, it sits 411th.
Percentile breakdown
| Percentile | Annual | vs US median |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $48,400 | −18.7% |
| 25th | $56,230 | −5.6% |
| Median (50th) | $65,100 | +9.3% |
| 75th | $79,510 | +33.5% |
| 90th | $100,100 | +68.1% |
| Mean | $72,150 | +21.2% |
Highest-paying metro areas in New York
| # | Metro area | Median | Jobs | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kiryas Joel | $77,260 | 870 | |
| 2 | Kingston | $67,670 | 250 | |
| 3 | Buffalo | $66,620 | 1,570 | |
| 4 | Albany | $66,540 | 1,980 | |
| 5 | New York | $66,540 | 24,350 | |
| 6 | Syracuse | $63,120 | 1,080 | |
| 7 | Binghamton | $62,160 | 380 | |
| 8 | Rochester | $62,030 | 1,560 | |
| 9 | Ithaca | $60,120 | 120 | |
| 10 | Utica | $59,090 | 550 |
What the pay is worth locally
Prices in New York run 7.9% above the national average, so the median of $65,100 buys what $60,334 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way the gap against the national median narrows to 1.3% above the national median in real terms.
Published median
$65,100as reported by BLSLocal price level
107.9US average = 100 · BEA 2024Adjusted for local prices
$60,334US average = 100 · BEA 2024Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest
Key takeaways
- Median pay is $65,100 a year, 9.3% above the national median.
- Published pay spans $48,400 to $100,100 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
- The area has 30,170 jobs in this occupation.
- It ranks 13th of 51 states for this occupation.
- The highest-paying metro area covered is Kiryas Joel, at $77,260.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median wage for Child, Family, and School Social Workers in New York?
The median annual wage is $65,100, or $31.30 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 New York is 9.3% 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 New York earns more than $100,100 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.
What is the starting range?
The tenth percentile wage is $48,400 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 Kiryas Joel, at $77,260 per year.
How many jobs are there in this occupation here?
The survey estimates 30,170 jobs in this occupation in New York. 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.
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