Occupations · Community and Social Service
Child, Family, and School Social Workers
Provide social services and assistance to improve the social and psychological functioning of children and their families and to maximize the family well-being and the academic functioning of children. May assist parents, arrange adoptions, and find foster homes for abandoned or abused children. In schools, they address such problems as teenage pregnancy, misbehavior, and truancy. May also advise teachers.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 21-1021.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 73% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $76,600 | 23,100 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $72,750 | 21,590 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | $64,600 | 12,150 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $57,580 | 7,510 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $75,780 | 6,800 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $68,450 | 6,300 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | $59,950 | 6,270 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | $71,810 | 5,700 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $72,950 | 5,560 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $54,850 | 5,360 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $64,270 | 5,270 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | $50,150 | 5,260 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: Bachelor's degree · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Place children in foster or adoptive homes, institutions, or medical treatment centers.
- Maintain case history records and prepare reports.
- Recommend temporary foster care and advise foster or adoptive parents.
- Interview clients individually, in families, or in groups, assessing their situations, capabilities, and problems to determine what services are required to meet their needs.
- Counsel students whose behavior, school progress, or mental or physical impairment indicate a need for assistance, diagnosing students' problems and arranging for needed services.
- Serve as liaisons between students, homes, schools, family services, child guidance clinics, courts, protective services, doctors, and other contacts to help children who face problems, such as disabilities, abuse, or poverty.
- Develop and review service plans in consultation with clients and perform follow-ups assessing the quantity and quality of services provided.
- Counsel parents with child rearing problems, interviewing the child and family to determine whether further action is required.
- Address legal issues, such as child abuse and discipline, assisting with hearings and providing testimony to inform custody arrangements.
- Evaluate personal characteristics and home conditions of foster home or adoption applicants.
- Consult with parents, teachers, and other school personnel to determine causes of problems, such as truancy and misbehavior, and to implement solutions.
- Arrange for medical, psychiatric, and other tests that may disclose causes of difficulties and indicate remedial measures.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2018-08
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2018-08
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
Get this as a personal report
The same sourced evidence, recut for the closest published view of your city, state or industry, as a dated PDF.
Free page vs. the $29 report
The page above is a public national reference: it is the same for every reader. The $29 report uses the location or industry you name, states the exact BLS cut used, and packages five decision-focused sections as a PDF. Choose $49 when you need a broader comparison of industries, places, changes and next moves.
What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning. 1 entries that were only relabelled between releases are left out.
Now listed 2
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| family social worker | 2635.3.13 | broader |
| family support worker | 3412.4.5 | broader |
| child care social worker | 2635.3.2 | broader |
| child welfare worker | 3412.4.3 | broader |
| education welfare officer | 2635.3.10 | broader |
| foster care support worker | 3412.4.6 | broader |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
Keep exploring
See labor-market evidence in motion.
Watch short Tamhu stories about pay, growth and how work changes — then return to the source data here.
Watch this occupation
This job has changed before and it will change again. We'll email you when the data moves — a tool appears, a skill gains weight, the pay distribution shifts. Free, and one click to stop.
Check your inbox — your watch starts only after you confirm.
We send data, not advice. No sharing, no resale. Privacy