Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers in Georgia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,989
after federal, FICA and Georgia tax
Tax takes
$10,041
19.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,422
Georgia costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Georgia — 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
$52,030
Kept after tax
$41,989
Worth in national money
$43,422
State rank
30
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Georgia is 30 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $52,030. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations Georgia reports figures for, this is number 256.
- Georgia is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $52,030 the take-home is $41,989; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $43,422 would nationally. The average comes to $57,470, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Georgia ranks 30 of 51 for mental health and substance abuse social workers at $52,030. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Georgia's occupational distribution, mental health and substance abuse social workers sits at 256 of 492 — 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.
- Post-tax income for mental health and substance abuse social workers in Georgia, on $52,030, is $41,989 — equivalent to $43,422 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $57,470 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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: Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $32,990 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $52,030 |
| Top tenth earn over | $83,500 |
| This salary | $52,030 |
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 Georgia | $41,989 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $43,986 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,843 |
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 | $49,544 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,229 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
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 Georgia earn under $52,030 and half over. The published range runs $32,990 at the tenth percentile to $83,500 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Georgia's $41,989, worked from $52,030. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 256 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $43,422 uses one figure for the whole of Georgia. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 256.
- Figures are distribution medians for mental health and substance abuse social workers in Georgia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $32,990 to $83,500; 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.
- The Georgia take-home of $41,989, on $52,030 for work ranking 256 of 492 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 256 of 492 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $43,422, worked from $52,030, 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 Georgia address, on work sitting at 256 of 492 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 $57,470, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $32,990 at the bottom tenth to $83,500 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Georgia is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $43,422 in national terms.
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 Georgia's own levy, $41,989 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 Georgia is $57,470. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($32,990) and the ninetieth ($83,500) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Georgia'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 $43,422 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 $41,989 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Georgia 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.