Paralegals vs Social Workers
Social Workers earns $320 more at the middle. Every figure is US government data you can check.
| Paralegals | Social Workers | |
|---|---|---|
| Pay in the middle median annual wage, May 2024 | $61,010 | $61,330 |
| Pay range 10th to 90th percentile | $39,710 to $98,990 | $41,580 to $99,500 |
| Years of school you pay for our own estimate from published entry requirements, not a BLS figure | 2 | 4 |
| Typical entry education | Associate's degree | Bachelor's degree |
| Jobs opening up each year | 39,300 | 74,000 |
| Growth by 2034 | 0% | 6% |
| People doing it now | 376,200 | 810,900 |
| Where the pay is highest and lowest state medians, not adjusted for cost of living or taxes | $99,300 in Washington DC down to $39,120 in Mississippi | $78,940 in Connecticut down to $42,960 in Arkansas |
Also compared: Paralegals vs Real Estate Sales Agents Radiologic vs Social Workers Social Workers vs Substance Abuse
Jobs that use what you already know
Same skills, same knowledge, same daily tasks. Most of these are not on this site.
Social Workers covers 4 separate job codes. “3 of 4” means 3 of those 4 name that job as closely related.
Paralegals
- Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
- Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers
- Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners
- Court, Municipal, and License Clerks
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive
- Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants
What these usually take: A trade school course, an associate's degree, or one to two years on the job.
Social Workers
- Marriage and Family Therapists3 of 4
- Rehabilitation Counselors3 of 4
- Social and Human Service Assistants2 of 4
- Community Health Workers2 of 4
- Health Education Specialists2 of 4
- Mental Health Counselors2 of 4
O*NET 30.3 Database, U.S. Department of Labor. These are jobs that use similar skills, knowledge and daily tasks. It is a measure of how alike two jobs are — not a record of people moving between them.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational employment and wage data, May 2024, and employment projections 2024-34. Years of school is our own estimate from published entry requirements, not a BLS figure. State medians are not adjusted for cost of living or taxes, and that difference could be large either way. No advice, just data.