SalaryExplorer

SOC 21-1022 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Healthcare Social Workers — Oregon

Oregon · 8 metro areas compared

$84,350 /year
$40.55per hour
2,320jobs in area
+24.3%vs US median

The median wage for Healthcare Social Workers in Oregon is $84,350 per year, 24.3% above the national median of $67,880.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $67,88010TH$60,48025TH$67,170MEDIAN$84,35075TH$101,64090TH$111,720

How pay has moved

$88,240$69,7002019202020212022202320242025$84,350
$72,790 in 2019 to $84,350 in 2025, +15.9% 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 faster than average

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
+7.7%
Openings per year
18,400
Typical entry-level education
Master's degree
On-the-job training
Internship/residency

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 Oregon.

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 Healthcare Social Workers in Oregon is $84,350 per year, 24.3% above the national median of $67,880. Pay ranges from under $60,480 at the tenth percentile to more than $111,720 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $67,170 to $101,640.

Employment stands at 2,320, or 1.2 jobs per thousand held locally. Among the 51 states with published data for this occupation, Oregon ranks 4th by median wage. Portland leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $85,790. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 206th of 727 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Oregon · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$60,480−10.9%
25th$67,170−1.0%
Median (50th)$84,350+24.3%
75th$101,640+49.7%
90th$111,720+64.6%
Mean$85,830+26.4%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Highest-paying metro areas in Oregon

Median annual wage for Healthcare Social Workers, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Portland$85,7901,460
2Eugene$83,040170
3Medford$80,590110
4Salem$80,020180
5Bend$79,090100
6Grants Pass$79,05050
7Corvallis$77,27040
8Albany$75,88070

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Oregon run 3.4% above the national average, so the median of $84,350 buys what $81,576 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way the gap against the national median narrows to 20.2% above the national median in real terms.

Published median

$84,350as reported by BLS

Local price level

103.4US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$81,576US average = 100 · BEA 2024

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

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $84,350 a year, 24.3% above the national median.
  • Published pay spans $60,480 to $111,720 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 2,320 jobs in this occupation.
  • It ranks 4th of 51 states for this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Portland, at $85,790.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Healthcare Social Workers in Oregon?

The median annual wage is $84,350, or $40.55 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 $67,880, so pay in Oregon is 24.3% 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 Oregon earns more than $111,720 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $60,480 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 Portland, at $85,790 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 2,320 jobs in this occupation in Oregon. 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.

Healthcare Social Workers in Oregon Earn $84,350 — 24.3% Above the US Median (2025) | Salary Explorer