These Are The 10 Best States For Counselors

Counselors are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as counselors in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.

Since counselors are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where counselors have it the best: where there are plenty of jobs to go around and people get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.

To that end, we dove into the numbers from the BLS to figure out which states have the best opportunities for counselors.

After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s counselors:

1. Texas
2. Delaware
3. Virginia
4. Wyoming
5. Georgia
6. Kentucky
7. Nebraska
8. Arkansas
9. Ohio
10. Illinois

So there you have it — Educational, Guidance, School, And Vocational Counselors is the best of the best when it comes to being a counselor.

How did Educational, Guidance, School, And Vocational Counselors end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for counselors and for more on the top ten states.

If you’re interested, you can read more about the job scene here:

• 20 Best Companies To Work For In Houston
• These Are The 10 Best Small Companies To Work For In McKinney
• Top 11 Best Start-Ups to Work For in Austin, TX

How we determined the best states to be a counselor

Here at Zippia, we talk to a lot of people of all different backgrounds looking for jobs. Our research has concluded that there are two common things people want in a job:

• Availability of jobs
• Higher Pay

So in order to find out the best states for counselors in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well counselors get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2016:

• Location quotient. A measure of how common a job is a given state.
• Average annual salary.
• Average annual salary for entry level work.
• Average annual salary for experienced professionals.

To make all the salary numbers more apples to apples across states, we compared the salary data relative to the state’s cost of living.

Applying this standardization allows us to account for that fact that it costs more to live in certain in states. For example, the average salary for counselors in California is $64,600 and the average salary in Illinois is $57,300, but the Illinois salary actually goes further in paying for life’s essentials.

In order to develop and overall ranking, we ranked each state for each criteria from 1 to 50 where 1 was the best.

We then averaged all the rankings for a state into a Job Score with the state having the lowest overall Job Score earning the distinction of being the best state for counselors in America.

So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for counselors.

1. Texas

Total Jobs: 23,890
Average Annual Salary: $57,980
Average Entry Level Salary: $34,200
Average Experienced Salary: $79,910
Location Quotient: 1.1

2. Delaware

Total Jobs: 1,030
Average Annual Salary: $60,740
Average Entry Level Salary: $38,190
Average Experienced Salary: $83,020
Location Quotient: 1.26

3. Virginia

Total Jobs: 6,610
Average Annual Salary: $64,250
Average Entry Level Salary: $37,250
Average Experienced Salary: $100,350
Location Quotient: 0.95

4. Wyoming

Total Jobs: 600
Average Annual Salary: $54,560
Average Entry Level Salary: $36,450
Average Experienced Salary: $75,520
Location Quotient: 1.17

5. Georgia

Total Jobs: 9,550
Average Annual Salary: $54,660
Average Entry Level Salary: $31,840
Average Experienced Salary: $80,590
Location Quotient: 1.22

6. Kentucky

Total Jobs: 3,540
Average Annual Salary: $56,680
Average Entry Level Salary: $32,140
Average Experienced Salary: $81,210
Location Quotient: 1.02

7. Nebraska

Total Jobs: 1,640
Average Annual Salary: $57,780
Average Entry Level Salary: $34,640
Average Experienced Salary: $80,420
Location Quotient: 0.91

8. Arkansas

Total Jobs: 1,960
Average Annual Salary: $53,550
Average Entry Level Salary: $34,910
Average Experienced Salary: $73,870
Location Quotient: 0.89

9. Ohio

Total Jobs: 9,490
Average Annual Salary: $55,650
Average Entry Level Salary: $32,540
Average Experienced Salary: $85,840
Location Quotient: 0.96

10. Illinois

Total Jobs: 10,340
Average Annual Salary: $57,300
Average Entry Level Salary: $30,150
Average Experienced Salary: $98,120
Location Quotient: 0.94

There You Have It – The Best States To Be A Counselor

If you’re looking to start out your career as a counselor these are the states that should be at the top of your list. You’ll find high pay, available jobs, and chances for career advancement.

If you’re curious, here are the worst states to be a counselor in America:

1. Nevada
2. South Dakota
3. Hawaii

For more reading, check out:

• These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Austin
• These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Dallas
• These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Fort Worth
• These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Houston
• These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In San Antonio
• These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Texas
• These Are The 100 Largest Companies In Texas

Detailed List Of The Best States For counselors

Rank	State	Average Salary	Entry Level Salary	# Of People
1	Texas	$57,980	$34,200	23,890
2	Delaware	$60,740	$38,190	1,030
3	Virginia	$64,250	$37,250	6,610
4	Wyoming	$54,560	$36,450	600
5	Georgia	$54,660	$31,840	9,550
6	Kentucky	$56,680	$32,140	3,540
7	Nebraska	$57,780	$34,640	1,640
8	Arkansas	$53,550	$34,910	1,960
9	Ohio	$55,650	$32,540	9,490
10	Illinois	$57,300	$30,150	10,340
11	New Jersey	$72,200	$45,450	6,800
12	Louisiana	$54,070	$37,910	3,710
13	Michigan	$54,030	$31,600	5,800
14	Missouri	$47,580	$26,790	6,610
15	Alaska	$71,630	$41,720	790
16	New Mexico	$53,770	$26,500	1,570
17	Indiana	$51,950	$32,710	3,960
18	Alabama	$51,830	$33,390	3,360
19	Pennsylvania	$59,110	$33,040	8,790
20	Kansas	$50,460	$32,140	2,190
21	North Dakota	$54,370	$37,560	780
22	Iowa	$50,920	$31,450	2,550
23	Mississippi	$48,640	$28,850	1,990
24	Washington	$59,660	$42,080	4,740
25	New York	$66,350	$34,400	22,630
26	South Carolina	$51,330	$31,610	4,500
27	Maryland	$63,230	$37,110	6,130
28	Arizona	$51,940	$25,760	7,710
29	Utah	$48,400	$23,650	2,910
30	Minnesota	$56,300	$34,470	4,020
31	Rhode Island	$60,800	$40,020	1,020
32	Tennessee	$48,500	$29,390	4,150
33	Connecticut	$62,680	$27,150	4,650
34	Wisconsin	$50,790	$29,040	4,290
35	Florida	$53,300	$28,040	11,230
36	New Hampshire	$57,910	$38,220	1,190
37	North Carolina	$48,400	$34,260	6,400
38	Vermont	$55,070	$34,490	770
39	Oklahoma	$42,920	$23,770	3,620
40	Massachusetts	$65,890	$34,460	7,240
41	West Virginia	$44,430	$26,840	1,490
42	Maine	$49,330	$32,740	1,320
43	Colorado	$50,880	$33,010	4,220
44	Idaho	$43,760	$20,390	1,440
45	Oregon	$57,380	$32,810	2,340
46	Montana	$49,010	$24,370	790
47	California	$64,600	$30,620	28,560
48	Hawaii	$53,620	$34,050	1,510
49	South Dakota	$42,520	$30,530	780
50	Nevada	$51,310	$19,920	2,010