Los Angeles County / Social Worker
Role across Los Angeles County
Social Worker
Assess client needs, develop service plans, and connect people with support resources.
771 people hold the Social Worker role across 2 departments in Los Angeles County, with a median total compensation of $143,711. Among 23 jurisdictions where this role is reported, Los Angeles County ranks #1 by median pay.
- Employees
- 771
- Median pay
- $143,711
- Departments
- 2
- Cross-jurisdiction
- #1 of 23
Compared with the local labor market
Social Worker pay vs. the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area
Across all employers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area, the median wage for Social Workers, All Other — about 1,410 people — is $68,630. Los Angeles County pays a median base salary of $84,968 for this role, 24% above that figure — about the 61st percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Los Angeles County sits in the local pay range
The bar is the range of annual wages for Social Workers, All Other across every employer in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Los Angeles County’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Social Workers, All Other — about 62,930 people — is $71,900. Los Angeles County’s median base salary is 18% above that national figure, about the 63rd percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA range relative to the national one.
Computed over the 741 of 771 people in this role paid at least $25,000 in base salary. The rest are part-year or part-time records, whose actual pay isn’t comparable to a full-time annual wage.
Median total compensation for this role at Los Angeles County is $143,711, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare jurisdictions
Social Worker pay in other jurisdictions
Where Social Workers are paid most
Median total compensation for comparable Social Worker roles in other jurisdictions (highest first). Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not by identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for this role.
Within Los Angeles County
Departments with this role
Largest Los Angeles County departments for this role
Departments in Los Angeles County employing the most people in this role. Each bar links to that department’s page for the role.