Average Social Worker Salary in Ghana for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Social Worker salary for 2024 in Ghana and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the Ghanaian cedi. To keep things simple, we are using the GHS currency code instead of the currency symbol โ‚ต.

How Much Does a Social Worker Make in Ghana?

A Social Worker working in Ghana will typically earn around 15,920 GHS per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 7,800 GHS to the highest average salary of 26,500 GHS.

Average Annual Salary
15,920 GHS
Average Monthly Salary
1,326 GHS

Lowest Annual Salary
7,800 GHS
Lowest Monthly Salary
650 GHS

Highest Annual Salary
26,500 GHS
Highest Monthly Salary
2,208 GHS

These are average salaries for a Social Worker in Ghana and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Social Worker to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Social Worker salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Social Worker Salaries in Ghana

So we've looked at the average salaries a Social Worker will earn in Ghana. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Social Worker can earn between 7,800 GHS and 26,500 GHS on average in Ghana. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Social Worker in Ghana is 17,560 GHS. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 17,560 GHS, and 50% of the population earn more than 17,560 GHS.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Social Worker salary in Ghana, 25% of the population are earning less than 13,660 GHS while 75% of the population earn more than 13,660 GHS.

75% of the population earn less than 20,000 GHS, and 25% of the population earn more than 20,000 GHS.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Social Worker Salary by Experience Level in Ghana

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average social worker salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Social Worker in Ghana that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 9,980 GHS.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Social Worker salary would increase to 13,780 GHS.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Social Worker, the average salary would be 17,760 GHS.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 23,380 GHS.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Social Worker with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 23,480 GHS.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Social Worker with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 24,200 GHS.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
9,980 GHS
2-5 Years +31%
13,780 GHS
5-10 Years +40%
17,760 GHS
10-15 Years +20%
23,380 GHS
15-20 Years +9%
23,480 GHS
20+ Years +8%
24,200 GHS

Social Worker Salary by Education Level in Ghana

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Social Worker in Ghana based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • High School. A Social Worker in Ghana with a high school education can earn an average salary of 12,520 GHS.

  • Certificate or Diploma. A Social Worker in Ghana with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 16,720 GHS.

  • Bachelor's Degree. A Social Worker in Ghana with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 24,720 GHS.

Average Salary by Education Chart

High School
12,520 GHS
Certificate or Diploma +47%
16,720 GHS
Bachelor's Degree +54%
24,720 GHS

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in Ghana is around 25,300 to 76,000 GHS and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Social Worker Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In Ghana, a male social worker will earn an average of 18,260 GHS, while a female social worker will earn around 20,300 GHS.

This means that a male social worker earns approximately 10% less than a female social worker for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Ghana

Male
18,260 GHS
Female +10%
20,300 GHS

Social Worker Average Pay Raise in Ghana

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Social Worker in Ghana is around 8% every 20 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in Ghana is around 8% every 19 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 8 ÷ 20 ) × 12  = 5%

What this means is that a Social Worker in Ghana can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 5% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Ghana for 2024

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in Ghana.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking
1%
Energy
2%
Information Technology
3%
Healthcare
4%
Travel
5%
Construction
6%
Education
7%

Social Worker Bonus and Incentive Rates in Ghana

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Social Worker is a low bonus based job, with 24% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

76% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 1% to 3%.

Received Bonus
24%
No Bonus
76%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in Ghana earn approximately 8% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
62,460 GHS
Private Sector -8%
57,620 GHS

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Social Worker

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Social Worker in Ghana.

Job Title Category Salary
Activity Aide Fundraising and Non Profit 23,520 GHS
Activity Coordinator Fundraising and Non Profit 18,780 GHS
Activity Leader Fundraising and Non Profit 35,300 GHS
Adoption Specialist Fundraising and Non Profit 60,460 GHS
Assistant Programme Officer Fundraising and Non Profit 35,420 GHS
Campaign Manager Fundraising and Non Profit 73,980 GHS
Charities Administrator Fundraising and Non Profit 42,040 GHS
Charities Fundraiser Fundraising and Non Profit 48,160 GHS
Civil Servant Fundraising and Non Profit 17,740 GHS
Civil Service Administrator Fundraising and Non Profit 26,400 GHS
Community Health Worker Fundraising and Non Profit 18,280 GHS
Community Relations Representative Fundraising and Non Profit 29,600 GHS
Community Service Manager Fundraising and Non Profit 67,560 GHS
Community Volunteer Fundraising and Non Profit 19,220 GHS
Community Worker Fundraising and Non Profit 16,980 GHS
Custodial Worker Fundraising and Non Profit 23,520 GHS
Education Planning Specialist Fundraising and Non Profit 60,600 GHS
Foundation Assistant Fundraising and Non Profit 26,780 GHS
Foundation Director Fundraising and Non Profit 89,800 GHS
Foundation Program Coordinator Fundraising and Non Profit 52,380 GHS
Fundraiser Fundraising and Non Profit 45,580 GHS
Fundraising Coordinator Fundraising and Non Profit 31,540 GHS
Fundraising Director Fundraising and Non Profit 86,760 GHS
Fundraising Manager Fundraising and Non Profit 83,200 GHS
Grant Writer Fundraising and Non Profit 26,080 GHS
Healthcare Social Worker Fundraising and Non Profit 19,980 GHS
Homeless Shelter Worker Fundraising and Non Profit 18,280 GHS
Major Gift Officer Fundraising and Non Profit 20,500 GHS
Orphan Program Coordinator Fundraising and Non Profit 31,520 GHS
Rehab Aide Fundraising and Non Profit 22,540 GHS
Rehabilitation Aide Fundraising and Non Profit 23,380 GHS
Sponsorship Coordinator Fundraising and Non Profit 28,820 GHS
Volunteer Coordinator Fundraising and Non Profit 23,260 GHS

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in Ghana, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

City Average Salary
Accra 18,280 GHS
Kumasi 19,160 GHS

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