Studying Social Work in Jacksonville
Jacksonville gives BSW students a large, spread-out city with a strong base in healthcare, the military, and public services. As the most populous city in Florida and the largest by land area in the contiguous United States, it offers a wide range of practice settings across a broad region of Northeast Florida.
For a baccalaureate student, that means field placements and entry-level jobs across hospitals, county schools, child-welfare and behavioral-health agencies, and military-family programs tied to the city’s large Navy presence. The cost of living is lower than in South Florida, which many students appreciate.
Jacksonville is also home to the University of North Florida’s CSWE-accredited BSW program, which feeds graduates into the city’s hospitals, schools, and agencies.
The Best BSW Programs in Jacksonville, FL
Accredited programs with a campus in Jacksonville, ranked by our five-factor model. A Jacksonville program shows a national or online rank badge only if it places in that list's top 25.
- #1 In Jacksonville
University of North Florida
Jacksonville, FL · CSWE-accredited since 2012 · On-Campus
5.2
On-campus Full or part-time Carnegie R2Why it ranks near Jacksonville
University of North Florida teaches the BSW in Jacksonville itself. All students complete 400 hours of field education during the second year of the program, paired with two semesters of field seminar. Placement agencies commonly require local, state and federal background screening and drug tests, and the program states directly that students who cannot secure a placement for those reasons will not complete the degree. Recent social work students have studied abroad in Indonesia, Iceland and the United Kingdom through the UNF International Center, and the program sends students to the two-day NASW Florida Legislation Education Day in Tallahassee. A student advisory council gives student representatives a standing role in program initiatives. In-state tuition runs $3,996 a year against $16,799 for nonresidents, in line with the local median of $3,996.
Five-factor score breakdown
- Accreditation longevity (40%) 4.2
- Delivery flexibility (22%) 4.0
- Prestige (Carnegie research tier) (15%) 7.5
- Schedule flexibility (12%) 10.0
- Program breadth (11%) 3.0
Online BSW Programs Open to Jacksonville Students
Florida-based CSWE-accredited programs with an online option, which Jacksonville residents can complete from home. Programs based outside Florida that also take Jacksonville students are in the national online BSW ranking.
| Institution | Accredited | Format | Natl. |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Central Florida | 1974 | Online or On-Campus | #5 |
| University of South Florida | 1976 | Online or On-Campus | #36 |
| Florida Memorial University | 2004 | Online or On-Campus | #347 |
| Warner University | 2010 | Online or On-Campus | #455 |
What Social Workers Earn in the Jacksonville Area in 2026
Jacksonville, Florida sits within the Jacksonville, FL metro area, the labor market that sets pay and demand for its social-service workforce. The labor market Jacksonville draws on employs roughly 2,750 social workers across the specialties , and the most common BSW-level specialty there, child, family, and school social work, pays a $55,630 median. These figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS program (May 2025) for the area around Jacksonville.
| Occupation | Employed | Median wage | Typical range (10th–90th) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Child, family & school social workers | 1,050 | $55,630 | $39,760 to $79,490 |
| Social & human service assistants (entry-level) | 1,710 | $44,420 | $35,120 to $57,160 |
| Healthcare social workers | 960 | $66,300 | $34,200 to $87,570 |
| Mental health & substance abuse social workers | 360 | $54,420 | $38,820 to $74,380 |
| Social workers, all other | 380 | $56,140 | $41,660 to $108,990 |
| Social & community service managers (macro) | 680 | $75,660 | $48,370 to $131,010 |
How local pay compares
Child, family & school social workers around Jacksonville earn a median of $55,630 versus $56,550 statewide in Florida and $59,550 nationally. That is below the Florida median.
Where do social workers work in Jacksonville in 2026?
Jacksonville’s social-work landscape is shaped by its size and a strong healthcare and military presence. As the largest city by land area in the contiguous United States, it spans a wide service region anchored by UF Health Jacksonville, Baptist Health, Mayo Clinic, and Nemours Children’s Health, which employ medical and pediatric social workers across Northeast Florida.
Public systems add scale: Duval County Public Schools, the Florida Department of Children and Families Northeast Region, and the managing entity LSF Health Systems coordinate child-welfare and behavioral-health services. Jacksonville’s large Navy presence, including Naval Station Mayport and NAS Jacksonville, also supports military-family and veterans programs, while nonprofits such as Jewish Family & Community Services hire BSW graduates into case-management roles.
Jacksonville, Florida sits in Duval County. Representative organizations in and around the city that commonly employ social workers and BSW-level human-service staff include:
- UF Health Jacksonville, Baptist Health, and Mayo Clinic
- Nemours Children’s Health
- LSF Health Systems and the Florida Department of Children and Families, Northeast Region
- Duval County Public Schools
- Naval Station Mayport and NAS Jacksonville military-family programs
- Jewish Family & Community Services of Jacksonville
An illustrative list of employers known to operate around Jacksonville, not an exhaustive or BLS-sourced one.
Beyond Jacksonville, BLS projects national social worker employment to grow 7% from 2024 to 2034, faster than the average for all occupations, with healthcare and mental-health settings leading. Pay by role for Jacksonville graduates to compare against is in our salary guides.
Source for Jacksonville: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025) for Jacksonville, FL, with projections from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook. The medians include every worker in each occupation, so BSW-level pay in Jacksonville usually sits toward the low end of each range.
Who Social Workers Serve in Jacksonville
Jacksonville social workers serve a diverse, growing population that includes a large military and veteran community tied to Naval Station Mayport and NAS Jacksonville, along with Black, Hispanic, and immigrant communities spread across a wide geographic area. The city’s size means transportation and access can be real barriers for clients.
Major fields include healthcare and pediatric social work, child welfare through the state’s Northeast Region, and behavioral health. Military-connected families add demand for workers who understand deployment, relocation, and veterans’ services.
Field Placements and Agencies Around Jacksonville
Because CSWE requires at least 400 hours of supervised field education, Jacksonville students train across UF Health, Baptist Health, Nemours Children’s Health, Duval County Public Schools, child-welfare agencies, and military-family programs. The breadth of healthcare employers is a particular strength.
The University of North Florida maintains field partnerships across the metro, and placements frequently lead into first jobs, especially in hospital case management and county human services.
Micro Social Work Jobs in Jacksonville
Micro social work, direct practice with individuals and families, is the core of Jacksonville’s BSW job market. Micro roles include hospital and clinic case management, intake and assessment, child-welfare casework, benefits and resource navigation, and military-family support, and the city’s hospitals, county agencies, and military programs hire heavily for this one-on-one work.
A BSW is the standard qualification for non-clinical micro roles. The limit, in Florida, is clinical micro practice: providing therapy or a formal diagnosis requires a master’s and an LCSW, so BSW-level micro work in Jacksonville centers on support, coordination, and connecting people to care rather than treatment.
Can I work with veterans and military families with a BSW in Jacksonville?
Yes, and Jacksonville’s large Navy footprint makes it a strong place for this work. With Naval Station Mayport, NAS Jacksonville, and a sizable veteran population, the city has military-family support programs, Fleet and Family Support Centers, and veterans services that hire caseworkers, family-support staff, and benefits navigators.
A BSW qualifies you for these support and coordination roles, helping service members and families through relocation, deployment, and the transition to civilian life. Clinical counseling within the military and VA systems generally requires a master’s, but BSW-level positions are a common and meaningful way into the field.
Are social workers in demand in Jacksonville?
Jacksonville’s growth, its large healthcare sector, and its military presence create steady demand for social workers and BSW-level human-service staff. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects faster-than-average growth nationally for social workers through 2034, and Jacksonville’s hospitals, child-welfare agencies, and veterans programs all hire consistently.
Because Florida does not license at the bachelor level, many employers hire BSW graduates into case-management and human-service titles rather than licensed positions, and graduates who want to provide clinical services typically continue to an MSW.
Can I get a Social Work license with a BSW in Jacksonville, Florida?
Florida licenses social workers statewide, so the rules a Jacksonville graduate follows are the state's, taken here from the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) regulatory database as captured in 2026.
From a Jacksonville BSW, the license ladder continues to the master's level (CMSW) , and the clinical, independent-practice level (LCSW, RCSW-I). A recent BSW from an accredited Jacksonville-area program also opens Advanced Standing admission to a master's.
Common Questions About BSW Programs in Jacksonville
How many CSWE-accredited BSW programs are in Jacksonville?
How much do social workers earn in Jacksonville?
Can I earn a BSW online from Jacksonville?
Does Florida license social workers at the bachelor level?
BSW programs in other Florida cities
Sources
- CSWE Directory of Accredited Programs for the accreditation, campuses, and structure of each Jacksonville-area program.
- U.S. Census Bureau 2023 Gazetteer and Population Estimates Program for Jacksonville's coordinates and population.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS (May 2025) for Jacksonville, FL wages; ASWB regulatory database for Florida license requirements.
This Jacksonville page was published 2026-06-29 and last updated 2026-08-05. "Near" means a campus within 60 straight-line miles of central Jacksonville.