Marriage and Family Therapists vs Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers: $67K vs $60K Median Pay

Marriage and Family Therapists vs Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers: what changes?

Consider Marriage and Family Therapists if you want to diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders, whether cognitive, affective, or behavioral, within the context of marriage and family systems. 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. Both list master's degree; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Marriage and Family Therapists 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

Marriage and Family Therapists

National median pay (2025): $66,940
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: Encourage individuals and family members to develop and use skills and strategies for confronting their problems in a constructive manner.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 6,900

Know before you choose

Training continues through internship/residency after the degree path.

See the full Marriage and Family Therapists 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 annual openings

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers is at 12,500 annual openings, compared with 6,900 annual openings for Marriage and Family Therapists.

Marriage and Family Therapists has the edge on median pay

Marriage and Family Therapists is at $66,940, compared with $60,280 for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers.

Marriage and Family Therapists has the edge on projected growth

Marriage and Family Therapists is at 13.5% projected growth, compared with 10.3% projected growth for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers.

60.5/ 100

Marriage and Family Therapists

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

Marriage and Family Therapists vs Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

Dimension	Marriage and Family Therapists	Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers
Median pay (2025)	$66,940	$60,280
Pay percentile	58.6 percentile	48.5 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	13.5%	10.3%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	6,900	12,500
2025 employment	76,300	138,900
How you qualify	Master's degree; Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements	Master's degree; Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 5	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	Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements.	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 Marriage and Family Therapists brief Read Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers brief

Marriage and Family Therapists vs Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Marriage and Family Therapists

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

How the national numbers differ

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

Marriage and Family Therapists has the edge on median pay

Marriage and Family Therapists has the edge on projected growth

Marriage and Family Therapists vs Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

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