1,250+ Social Services & Counseling Jobs in Chicago, IL

Government data says the broad Chicago community-and-social-service family paid a $58,860 median and $64,720 mean in 2025, while the broader group benchmark was $31.11 per hour. Manager-track roles sit higher: social and community service managers averaged $84,340 in Chicago, and healthcare social workers showed a 2024 median of $75,280 with a 75th-percentile wage of $94,320. Proxy signals from recent postings are broadly consistent with that middle range: local posted salaries center on about $60k to $71k, hourly roles center on about $30 to $42 / hour, and Revelio Public Labor Statistics shows a mean offered salary on new Illinois openings of about $71,116 in September 2026 (n=613).

Full September 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 1,093 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $72,500 at the 25th percentile, $90,272 at the median and $102,554 at the 75th. These are advertised ranges, not earned pay.

Active openings as of October 16, 2026

Senior roles | Entry level | Remote | Posted this week

Live from the Callings.ai index of over 13 million postings, refreshed hourly and re-checked here nightly. Roles that close are dropped at the next refresh.

Showing 30 of 250+ openings.

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What our analysts see this month

Competitive market | next 3-6 months

Chicago is still a real hiring market for this field, but it is no longer an easy one. Chicago metro unemployment was 5.2% in August 2026, up 15.5556% year over year. At the same time, the metro's education and health services supersector grew 1.0453% year over year, and Revelio Public Labor Statistics shows Illinois employment in social services, counseling & community up 1.5% year over year even as statewide active postings were down 3.0%. Local hiring is broad rather than concentrated: more than 350 postings appeared across more than 175 companies over the last 90 days, with employers fragmented across hospitals, schools, nonprofits, and community providers.

Best positioned: The best odds right now go to candidates who can work on-site and show hospital or community-program experience in case management, crisis intervention, documentation, and discharge planning, especially if they already hold LSW or LCSW.

Main caution: The biggest mistake is assuming this is a flexible-entry market: about 70% of local postings skew mid-level, about 85% are on-site, and Chicago's cost of living is about 19% above the national average.

From the September 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 1,326 openings in this market. 10 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. Northwestern Memorial Hospital: 64 open roles
2. Athletico: 48 open roles
3. Advocate Health Care: 39 open roles
4. Hugh Chatham Health, Inc.: 36 open roles
5. Endeavor Health: 35 open roles
6. Advocate Health: 29 open roles
7. Enhance Rehab: 29 open roles
8. Illinois Bone & Joint Institute, LLC: 25 open roles
9. InHome Therapy: 23 open roles
10. Loyola Medicine: 23 open roles

Where the openings are

• Chicago: 346
• Naperville: 46
• Maywood: 45
• Libertyville: 37
• Wheaton: 32
• Elgin: 29
• Evanston: 26
• Arlington Heights: 25

Work arrangement

on-site 1,143 (90%), hybrid 88 (7%), remote 39 (3%)

Where the demand is

Opportunity is concentrated first in hospitals and health systems. In the recent local posting sample, hospitals and health care made up about 35% of category postings, another healthcare slice added about 20%, and the most consistently active employers included Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Advocate Health Care with more than 20 postings each, plus Endeavor Health at around 10. Separate employer guidance also names Northwestern Medicine, Advocate Health, University of Chicago Medicine, and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital as major regional employers for social workers and case managers. The market is not hospital-only, though. Education represented about 15% of local postings and nonprofits about 10%, which keeps school-based, outreach, and community-program roles in play. Chicago Public Schools showed around 10 postings in the sample, while Cook County added $4.2 million across nine community organizations for survivor services and the city's CARE crisis-response program expanded weekday coverage to 8 a.m.–10 p.m. while officials said they are actively hiring and plan more vans and employees. That demand is spread across many employers, not locked inside one giant system. The sample was fragmented, only about 10% of postings came from large employers, about 30% were entry level and about 70% mid level, and about 85% were on-site. That favors candidates who can run multiple targeted applications at once and who are realistic about commuting and in-person client work.

• Hospital and health-system case management (high): Hospitals and health care account for about 35% of postings, another healthcare slice adds about 20%, and leading names include Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Advocate Health Care, and Endeavor Health.
• School and youth-support settings (moderate): Education represents about 15% of postings, and Chicago Public Schools was around 10 in the recent sample.
• Community programs and violence-response services (moderate): Nonprofit organizations made up about 10% of postings, and Cook County's $4.2 million award to nine community organizations plus CARE expansion supports additional outreach, case-management, and crisis-response work.

Where to focus: Prioritize hospital-affiliated case management and discharge-planning roles first, then target community programs backed by recent public funding and crisis-response expansion.

Roles worth searching next

• Patient navigator: It uses the same client-advocacy, referral, follow-up, and system-navigation strengths but sits closer to healthcare support and operations.
• Behavioral health intake or admissions coordinator: It keeps you near behavioral health while shifting emphasis from ongoing caseloads to assessment intake, scheduling, eligibility, and documentation.
• Utilization review or authorization specialist: This is a good pivot for people who already understand discharge planning, payer language, and care coordination but want a more administrative healthcare role.
• Nonprofit grants or program operations coordinator: It preserves mission-driven work while moving toward budgets, reporting, partner coordination, and program delivery.

What postings ask for

• Case management (table_stakes | immediate): Case management appears in about 45% of local postings, making it the clearest baseline screen-in skill in this market. Who: Everyone in this category, especially entry-level applicants and career switchers.
• Crisis intervention (differentiator | immediate): Crisis intervention shows up in about 35% of local postings and lines up with current growth signals in survivor services and crisis-response programs. Who: Candidates targeting hospitals, community programs, behavioral health intake, and violence-response work.
• Documentation and clinical documentation (table_stakes | immediate): Documentation appears in about 20% of local postings and clinical documentation in about 10%, which makes written case quality a core hiring filter rather than back-office detail. Who: All candidates, but especially people trying to move from volunteer-style work into paid professional roles.
• Discharge planning and interdisciplinary collaboration (differentiator | immediate): Discharge planning and interdisciplinary collaboration each appear in about 15% of local postings and fit the market's heavy concentration in hospitals and health systems. Who: Mid-career professionals aiming at hospital social work, care transitions, or utilization-linked roles.
• Epic EHR and DSM-5 documentation fluency (differentiator | near-term): Regional employer guidance identifies Epic EHR and DSM-5 diagnostic coding as core competencies for social workers and mental health counselors in Chicago-area hiring. Who: Candidates targeting health systems, integrated behavioral health, or documentation-heavy settings.
• Illinois LSW or LCSW (premium | near-term): LSW and LCSW are the licenses most often named in local postings, even if each is explicitly required in only about 5% of the sample, and they help employers screen faster for regulated client-facing work. Who: Applicants with qualifying education who want hospital, counseling-adjacent, or supervisor-track options.

Questions about this market

What do Social Services, Counseling & Community roles pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

Government data says the broad Chicago community-and-social-service family paid a $58,860 median and $64,720 mean in 2025, while the broader group benchmark was $31.11 per hour. Manager-track roles sit higher: social and community service managers averaged $84,340 in Chicago, and healthcare social workers showed a 2024 median of $75,280 with a 75th-percentile wage of $94,320. Proxy signals from recent postings are broadly consistent with that middle range: local posted salaries center on about $60k to $71k, hourly roles center on about $30 to $42 / hour, and Revelio Public Labor Statistics shows a mean offered salary on new Illinois openings of about $71,116 in September 2026 (n=613). This is moderate pay for Chicago rather than standout pay. Chicago's cost of living is about 19% above the national average, and the local home price index was up 6.0% year over year, so a decent offer can still feel tight unless it comes with hospital-scale benefits or a clear advancement path.

Where is demand for Social Services, Counseling & Community roles in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN concentrated?

Opportunity is concentrated first in hospitals and health systems. In the recent local posting sample, hospitals and health care made up about 35% of category postings, another healthcare slice added about 20%, and the most consistently active employers included Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Advocate Health Care with more than 20 postings each, plus Endeavor Health at around 10. Separate employer guidance also names Northwestern Medicine, Advocate Health, University of Chicago Medicine, and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital as major regional employers for social workers and case managers. The market is not hospital-only, though. Education represented about 15% of local postings and nonprofits about 10%, which keeps school-based, outreach, and community-program roles in play. Chicago Public Schools showed around 10 postings in the sample, while Cook County added $4.2 million across nine community organizations for survivor services and the city's CARE crisis-response program expanded weekday coverage to 8 a.m.–10 p.m. while officials said they are actively hiring and plan more vans and employees. That demand is spread across many employers, not locked inside one giant system. The sample was fragmented, only about 10% of postings came from large employers, about 30% were entry level and about 70% mid level, and about 85% were on-site. That favors candidates who can run multiple targeted applications at once and who are realistic about commuting and in-person client work.

Which employers are hiring the most Social Services, Counseling & Community talent in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

Recent postings show the most activity from Northwestern Memorial Hospital (20 postings), Advocate Health Care (20 postings), ASSOCIATION FOR INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT (15 postings), Chicago Public Schools (10 postings), Endeavor Health (10 postings). See the full market report for the complete employer landscape.

Can Social Services, Counseling & Community roles in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN be done remotely?

Of recent postings, 5% are remote and 10% hybrid, with 85% on-site. Use the Remote filter above to see only remote openings.

How current are these listings?

Openings come from the Callings.ai live index of over 13 million jobs, refreshed hourly. This page searches postings from the last 30 days; run the search yourself to filter by anything else in plain language.

Browse Illinois openings by job title

• General Manager: 152 open roles statewide
• Senior Manager: 77 open roles statewide

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