Child, Family, and School Social Workers in Ohio
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$42,876
after federal, FICA and Ohio tax
Tax takes
$8,644
16.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,700
Ohio costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Ohio — 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
$51,520
Kept after tax
$42,876
Worth in national money
$46,700
State rank
39
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Ohio is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $51,520, ranking 39 of 51 states — about 13.48% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 494 occupations Ohio reports figures for, this is number 279.
- Here is where Ohio does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $51,520 you keep $42,876, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $46,700 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $55,750, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Ohio ranks 39 of 51 for child, family, and school social workers, with a median of $51,520 — about 13.48% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- In Ohio's occupational distribution, child, family, and school social workers sits at 279 of 494 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and Ohio income tax, retained pay for child, family, and school social workers on $51,520 is $42,876. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $46,700 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 $55,750 sits above the median, the right skew typical of 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 | $39,810 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $51,520 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,850 |
| This salary | $51,520 |
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 Ohio | $42,876 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $43,576 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,857 |
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 | $50,648 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,245 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Ohio earn less than $51,520. The published range is $39,810 up to $75,850, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $42,876 take-home in Ohio comes from $51,520. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 279 of 494.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $46,700 uses one figure for the whole of Ohio. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 494 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 279.
- Reported values are medians; for child, family, and school social workers in Ohio the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $39,810 to $75,850. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $42,876, from $51,520, assumes a single Ohio filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 279 of 494 locally, and the state ranks 39 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $46,700, worked from $51,520, 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 Ohio address, on work sitting at 279 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $55,750, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $39,810 at the tenth percentile, $75,850 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $46,700.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Ohio adds its own income tax on top — which is why $42,876 of this wage survives to your account.
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 Ohio is $55,750. 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 ($39,810 to $75,850) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Ohio rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Ohio'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 $46,700 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 $42,876 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Ohio 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.