Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,689
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$7,691
16.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,266
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — 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
$46,380
Kept after tax
$38,689
Worth in national money
$38,266
State rank
44
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Arizona pays this job a middle wage of $46,380, 44 of 51 states and about 23.06% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 362 among 491 occupations Arizona publishes pay for.
- No great distortion either way. Arizona costs about what the country costs, so from $46,380, take-home of $38,689 is worth roughly $38,266 in national money. The average comes to $50,630, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Arizona's $46,380 median for mental health and substance abuse social workers places it 44 of 51 states, about 23.06% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Position 362 of 491 in Arizona places mental health and substance abuse 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.
- Price parity in Arizona is near the national base, so for mental health and substance abuse social workers, whose median is $46,380, the adjusted figure of $38,266 differs little from $38,689 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $50,630 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $40,810 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,380 |
| Top tenth earn over | $64,350 |
| This salary | $46,380 |
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 Arizona | $38,689 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,446 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,327 |
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 | $45,438 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,814 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
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 mental health and substance abuse social workers in Arizona earn under $46,380 and half over. The published range runs $40,810 at the tenth percentile to $64,350 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $38,689 take-home in Arizona comes from $46,380. 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 362 of 491.
- Two cautions on $38,266, the adjusted value of that $46,380 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Arizona. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 362 of 491 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for mental health and substance abuse social workers in Arizona, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $40,810 to $64,350; 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 $38,689, from $46,380, assumes a single Arizona 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 362 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 44 of 51 for it.
- This $38,266 adjusted figure, worked from $46,380, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 362 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 362 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $50,630, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $40,810 and the top tenth $64,350, so most people doing this work in Arizona sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Arizona run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $38,266 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 Arizona's own levy, $38,689 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.
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 Arizona is $50,630. 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 ($40,810 to $64,350) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Arizona rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $38,266 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $38,689 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona 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.