Healthcare Social Workers in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,806
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$12,194
20.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,135
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — 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
$60,000
Kept after tax
$47,806
Worth in national money
$53,135
State rank
46
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for healthcare social workers is on the low side in Alabama. The middle earner gets $60,000. That is 46 of 51 states, and about 11.61% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against other work in Alabama, this sits in the middle: 196 of 482 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where Alabama does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $60,000 you keep $47,806, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $53,135 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $58,360, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For healthcare social workers, Alabama sits in the lower band at $60,000, ranking 46 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 11.61%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Healthcare social workers ranks 196 of 482 occupations in Alabama by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- After federal, FICA and Alabama income tax, retained pay for healthcare social workers on $60,000 is $47,806. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $53,135 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 $58,360 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Healthcare Social Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $40,020 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,000 |
| Top tenth earn over | $74,440 |
| This salary | $60,000 |
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 Alabama | $47,806 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,390 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,281 |
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 | $56,784 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,549 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
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 healthcare social workers in Alabama earn under $60,000 and half over. The published range runs $40,020 at the tenth percentile to $74,440 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $47,806 take-home in Alabama comes from $60,000. 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 196 of 482.
- One number stands for prices across all of Alabama, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $53,135, the adjusted value of that $60,000 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 196 of 482 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for healthcare social workers in Alabama, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $40,020 to $74,440; 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.
- Retained pay of $47,806, from $60,000, assumes a single Alabama 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 196 of 482 locally, and the state ranks 46 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Alabama, so $53,135 — the adjusted value of that $60,000 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 196 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $40,020 at the bottom tenth to $74,440 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Alabama sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $53,135 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Alabama's own levy, $47,806 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($40,020 to $74,440) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama'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 $53,135 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 $47,806 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama 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.