Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2003

21-1093 Social and Human Service Assistants

Assist professionals from a wide variety of fields, such as psychology, rehabilitation, or social work, to provide client services, as well as support for families. May assist clients in identifying available benefits and social and community services and help clients obtain them. May assist social workers with developing, organizing, and conducting programs to prevent and resolve problems relevant to substance abuse, human relationships, rehabilitation, or adult daycare. Exclude "Rehabilitation Counselors" (21-1015), "Personal and Home Care Aides" (39-9021), "Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs" (43-4061), and "Psychiatric Technicians" (29-2053).

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
300,310 2.0 % $12.24 $25,450 0.5 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $7.50 $9.16 $11.47 $14.40 $18.27
Annual Wage (2) $15,600 $19,060 $23,860 $29,950 $38,010

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Individual and family services 56,570 $11.30 $23,510 1 36
Local government (OES designation) 46,260 $13.64 $28,370 2 11
State government (OES designation) 32,320 $15.48 $32,190 3 5
Residential mental health facilities 31,170 $10.34 $21,500 4 42
Emergency and other relief services 17,240 $10.85 $22,570 5 39

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Management and technical consulting services (6) $23.72 $49,330 (6) 1
Commercial equip. merchant wholesalers (6) $23.07 $47,980 (6) 2
Insurance carriers (6) $20.81 $43,280 (6) 3
Federal government (OES designation) 1,020 $15.75 $32,770 23 4
State government (OES designation) 32,320 $15.48 $32,190 3 5

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Vermont 2,660 $12.52 $26,040 0.916% 363
Maine 3,270 $11.30 $23,500 0.555% 478
Wyoming 1,250 $9.56 $19,890 0.519% 420
Minnesota 13,120 $12.35 $25,690 0.505% 574
Rhode Island 2,330 $12.36 $25,710 0.491% 429

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
District of Columbia 1,970 $17.97 $37,380 0.331% 281
Connecticut 7,610 $16.31 $33,930 0.464% 405
Alaska 1,170 $14.40 $29,950 0.400% 376
Massachusetts 11,750 $13.95 $29,020 0.370% 539
California 27,320 $13.92 $28,950 0.188% 535

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Wheeling, WV-OH MSA 490 $8.35 $17,370 0.805%
Baltimore, MD PMSA 9,310 $10.93 $22,730 0.761%
Lewiston-Auburn, ME MSA 340 $12.11 $25,190 0.729%
Fitchburg-Leominster, MA PMSA 370 $13.01 $27,070 0.707%
Yuba City, CA MSA 260 $14.76 $30,700 0.691%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Hartford, CT MSA 2,770 $16.94 $35,230 0.464%
Reno, NV MSA 100 $16.91 $35,170 0.051%
New London-Norwich, CT-RI MSA 650 $16.54 $34,410 0.452%
Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV PMSA 4,340 $16.34 $33,980 0.161%
San Jose, CA PMSA 900 $16.24 $33,770 0.103%

About May 2003 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(6) Estimates not released.

All Community and Social Services Occupations

2003 May National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2003 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: May 7, 2004