Community Health Workers vs Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers: $52K vs $60K Median Pay

Community Health Workers vs Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers: what changes?

Consider Community Health Workers if you want to promote health within a community by assisting individuals to adopt healthy behaviors. Consider Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers if you would rather assess and treat individuals with mental, emotional, or substance abuse problems, including abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and/or other drugs. Entry credentials differ: Community Health Workers, high school diploma or equivalent; Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers, master's degree.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Community Health Workers and Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Community Health Workers

National median pay (2025): $51,850
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Maintain updated client records with plans, notes, appropriate forms, or related information.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 7,000

Know before you choose

The work routinely happens in close physical proximity to other people; personal space is limited.

See the full Community Health Workers brief

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

National median pay (2025): $60,280
Route into the job: Master's degree; Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements.
Work to investigate: Counsel clients in individual or group sessions to assist them in dealing with substance abuse, mental or physical illness, poverty, unemployment, or physical abuse.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 12,500

Know before you choose

Training continues through internship/residency after the degree path.

See the full Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers brief

How the national numbers differ

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers has the edge on median pay

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers is at $60,280, compared with $51,850 for Community Health Workers.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers has the edge on annual openings

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers is at 12,500 annual openings, compared with 7,000 annual openings for Community Health Workers.

Typical preparation differs.

Community Health Workers: High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers: Master's degree; Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements Preparation categories do not establish admission difficulty, calendar time, tuition, time without earnings, or licensing difficulty.

Community Health Workers has the edge on projected growth

Community Health Workers is at 12.7% projected growth, compared with 10.3% projected growth for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers.

56.5/ 100

Community Health Workers

59.7/ 100

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Community Health Workers vs Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

Dimension	Community Health Workers	Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers
Median pay (2025)	$51,850	$60,280
Pay percentile	36.4 percentile	48.5 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	12.7%	10.3%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	7,000	12,500
2025 employment	64,700	138,900
How you qualify	High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing	Master's degree; Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 4	Job Zone 5
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.	Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Community Health Workers brief Read Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers brief

Community Health Workers vs Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Community Health Workers

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

How the national numbers differ

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers has the edge on median pay

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers has the edge on annual openings

Typical preparation differs.

Community Health Workers has the edge on projected growth

Community Health Workers vs Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

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