Child, Family, and School Social Workers in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,501
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$10,299
18.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,636
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$56,800
Kept after tax
$46,501
Worth in national money
$52,636
State rank
27
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Louisiana sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $56,800, ranking 27 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 222 among 484 occupations Louisiana publishes pay for.
- Here is where Louisiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $56,800 you keep $46,501, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $52,636 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $54,450, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Louisiana occupies the middle band for child, family, and school social workers: a median of $56,800, ranking 27 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Position 222 of 484 in Louisiana places child, family, and school social workers in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and Louisiana income tax, retained pay for child, family, and school social workers on $56,800 is $46,501. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $52,636 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $54,450 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Child, Family, and School Social Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,260 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $56,800 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,110 |
| This salary | $56,800 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Louisiana | $46,501 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $47,819 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,427 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $55,160 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,144 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of child, family, and school social workers in Louisiana earn under $56,800 and half over. The published range runs $35,260 at the tenth percentile to $75,110 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Louisiana the take-home figure of $46,501, from $56,800, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 222 of 484 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $52,636 uses one figure for the whole of Louisiana. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 484 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 222.
- Figures are distribution medians for child, family, and school social workers in Louisiana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,260 to $75,110; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Louisiana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $46,501 from $56,800. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 222 of 484 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $52,636, worked from $56,800, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Louisiana address, on work sitting at 222 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $54,450, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $35,260 at the tenth percentile, $75,110 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Louisiana sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $52,636 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Louisiana then takes its own share, leaving $46,501.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Louisiana is $54,450. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($35,260 to $75,110) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Louisiana rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Louisiana's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $52,636 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $46,501 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.