Marriage & Family Therapists vs Licensed Clinical Social Workers
Median pay is about $7k higher for Marriage & Family Therapists. Both usually start with the same education: master's plus license.
marks the higher pay or growth. Education, difficulty and the AI rows depend on what you want, so they are not marked.
| Measure | Marriage & Family Therapists | Licensed Clinical Social Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Pay | ||
| Median pay | $66,940, higher | $60,280 |
| Entry pay 25th percentile | $50,070, higher | $47,070 |
| Experienced pay 75th percentile | $93,840, higher | $79,730 |
| Outlook, 2025 to 2035 | ||
| Projected growth | +14% Growing fast, higher | +10% Growing fast |
| Openings a year | 6,900 | 12,500 |
| Getting in | ||
| Typical education | Master's plus license | Master's plus license |
| Difficulty modeled | 3.8 / 5 | 3.6 / 5 |
| AI | ||
| Displacement risk modeled | Moderate | Moderate |
| AI exposure modeled, percentile | 80th pct | 61st pct |
Where the skills differ
Only Marriage & Family Therapists
- Active Learning
Only Licensed Clinical Social Workers
- Monitoring
Both lean on active listening, speaking, reading comprehension, writing, critical thinking.
More comparisons
Compare Marriage & Family Therapists with
Compare Licensed Clinical Social Workers with
Pay and outlook: BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills: O*NET 30.3. Difficulty, displacement risk and AI exposure are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.