Tool · free, no account
Where is it easiest to open: Residential Mental Health and Substance Abuse Facilities
51 states, side by side. Operator counts and wages from Census and BLS; licence records matched on “SOC 21-1023” (soc) for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers. A blank gate means NO RECORD MATCHED, which is not the same as no licence.
| State | Operators | Avg staff | Pay / employee | Gate | Licence titles matched |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CA | 1,260 | 22.7 | $53,894 | not matched | — |
| NY | 579 | 25.8 | $47,184 | exam | Licensed Master Social Worker |
| MA | 473 | 24.3 | $50,208 | exam | SOCIAL WORKER ASSISTANT; SOCIAL WORKER, LICENSED |
| AZ | 408 | 21.4 | $49,841 | exam | Licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker; Licensed Master Social Worker |
| PA | 396 | 33.2 | $49,068 | exam | Licensed Social Worker; Provisional Social Worker |
| FL | 376 | 37.2 | $52,229 | exam | Certified Master Social Worker |
| MN | 324 | 20.8 | $44,385 | exam | Licensed Graduate Social Worker; Licensed Independent Social Worker |
| OH | 257 | 27.4 | $46,019 | exam | Independent Social Worker; Social Worker |
| MD | 250 | 21.6 | $47,603 | exam | Licensed Bachelor Social Worker; Licensed Certified Social Worker |
| TX | 243 | 27.1 | $44,416 | licence | Licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker; Licensed Master Social Worker |
| IL | 221 | 25.1 | $49,784 | exam | LICENSED SOCIAL WORKER |
| OR | 218 | 16.4 | $55,667 | licence | Baccalaureate Social Worker - Registra; Licensed Master's Social Worker (LMSW) |
| NC | 177 | 23.1 | $42,108 | exam | Certified Master Social Worker; Certified Social Worker |
| NJ | 168 | 32.0 | $49,691 | exam | Certified Social Worker; Licensed Social Worker |
| ME | 155 | 13.1 | $44,213 | exam | Social Worker, Licensed; Social Worker, Licensed Clinical |
| CT | 145 | 32.4 | $51,373 | exam | Master's Level Social Worker; Master's Level Social Worker - Tempora |
| WA | 143 | 28.0 | $59,633 | not matched | — |
| TN | 142 | 44.3 | $54,370 | exam | LICENSED ADVANCED PRACTICE SOCIAL WORK; LICENSED BACCALAUREATE SOCIAL WORKER |
| MI | 136 | 26.3 | $42,907 | exam | Licensed Bachelor Social Worker; Licensed Master Social Worker - Macro |
| VA | 123 | 29.0 | $47,248 | exam | Associate Social Worker/Social Worker ; Baccalaureate Social Worker License |
| MO | 123 | 20.9 | $44,390 | exam | Licensed Advanced Macro Social Worker; Licensed Bachelors Social Worker |
| UT | 115 | 52.2 | $40,868 | exam | Certified Social Worker; SOCIAL SERVICE WORKER |
| IN | 112 | 26.0 | $49,507 | exam | Licensed Bachelor Social Worker; Licensed Social Worker |
| WI | 103 | 16.2 | $45,456 | exam | SOCIAL WORKER; SOCIAL WORKER, ADVANCED PRACTICE |
| CO | 100 | 22.9 | $53,262 | exam | Licensed Social Worker; Provisional Social Worker |
| KY | 76 | 22.5 | $43,687 | exam | Certified Alcohol and Drug Conselor As; Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor A |
| LA | 65 | 40.4 | $41,570 | not matched | — |
| WV | 60 | 16.4 | $43,696 | not matched | — |
| GA | 54 | 35.4 | $47,804 | exam | Master Social Worker |
| HI | 53 | 21.5 | $42,083 | exam | Licensed Bachelor Social Worker; Licensed Social Worker |
| AR | 46 | 38.8 | $45,549 | exam | Licensed Master Social Worker |
| AL | 45 | 29.8 | $40,521 | licence | Certified Advanced Alcohol & Drug Coun; Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) |
| RI | 44 | 17.1 | $46,173 | exam | Licensed Clinical Social Worker |
| VT | 44 | 22.6 | $47,010 | licence | Licensed Independent Clinical Social W; Licensed Master Social Worker |
| NH | 36 | 19.6 | $50,747 | not matched | — |
| NV | 34 | 19.6 | $52,964 | not matched | — |
| AK | 34 | 23.1 | $41,083 | exam | Licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker; Licensed Master Social Worker |
| IA | 30 | 40.7 | $42,134 | exam | Licensed Bachelor Social Worker; Licensed Master Social Worker |
| OK | 28 | 29.3 | $41,842 | exam | Master’s Social Worker, Licensed; Social Worker Associate, Licensed |
| SC | 28 | 11.3 | $29,972 | licence | Licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker; Licensed Independent Social Worker - A |
| ID | 27 | 27.2 | $43,688 | exam | Masters Social Worker; Social Workers |
| NE | 25 | 27.6 | $41,081 | not matched | — |
| DC | 21 | 20.3 | $43,650 | exam | Licensed Graduate Social Worker; Licensed Independent Social Worker |
| KS | 21 | 24.7 | $45,441 | exam | Licensed Bachelor Social Worker; Licensed Master Social Worker |
| DE | 18 | 21.4 | $49,613 | exam | Licensed Bachelors Social Worker; Licensed Masters Social Worker |
| MT | 18 | 38.8 | $42,447 | exam | Board of Behavioral Health - Baccalaur; Board of Behavioral Health - Baccal So |
| NM | 14 | 20.4 | $54,214 | licence | Licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker; Licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker ( |
| SD | 13 | 43.5 | $44,520 | licence | Certified Social Worker; Certified Social Worker--Private or In |
| ND | 11 | 31.8 | $35,789 | exam | Licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker; Licensed Master Social Worker |
| MS | 10 | 30.0 | $39,497 | exam | Licensed Certified Social Worker; Licensed Master Social Worker |
| WY | 4 | 5.8 | $43,565 | exam | CERTIFIED SOCIAL WORKER |
Axes are shown side by side and deliberately NOT collapsed into a ranking. A composite would be a score with no measured interval, and an unmeasured score is the thing this product exists to argue against. A high licence gate is a cost to enter and a moat once cleared — which of those matters more is the operator's call, not ours.
Licence data courtesy of CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor. Free to read, no account, always — a condition of the data licence as well as our own position.