Substance Abuse Counselors vs Healthcare Social Workers
Median pay is about $9k higher for Healthcare Social Workers. Pay for Substance Abuse Counselors is not a BLS figure for that job alone; the table marks it. The usual entry education is bachelor's plus cert for Substance Abuse Counselors and master's for Healthcare Social Workers.
marks the higher pay or growth. Education, difficulty and the AI rows depend on what you want, so they are not marked.
| Measure | Substance Abuse Counselors | Healthcare Social Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Pay | ||
| Median pay | $59,350 BLS, related | $67,880 |
| Entry pay 25th percentile | $47,100 BLS, related | $56,710 |
| Experienced pay 75th percentile | $76,530 BLS, related | $82,240 |
| Outlook, 2025 to 2035 | ||
| Projected growth | +18% Growing fast BLS, related | +8.5% Growing fast |
| Openings a year | 50,500 BLS, related | 16,900 |
| Getting in | ||
| Typical education | Bachelor's plus cert | Master's |
| Difficulty modeled | 3.2 / 5 | 3.6 / 5 |
| AI | ||
| Displacement risk modeled | Moderate | Low |
| AI exposure modeled, percentile | 81st pct | 47th pct |
Where the skills differ
Only Substance Abuse Counselors
- Monitoring
Only Healthcare Social Workers
- Active Learning
Both lean on active listening, speaking, critical thinking, reading comprehension, writing.
More comparisons
Compare Substance Abuse Counselors with
Compare Healthcare Social Workers with
Pay and outlook: BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035), except the figures marked in the table. Skills: O*NET 30.3. Difficulty, displacement risk and AI exposure are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.