Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of counselor salary by state for the United States:
-
California has the highest counselor salary of $41,223
-
Wyoming has the lowest counselor salary of $28,158
-
The national average salary for counselors is $36,225
-
The national hourly pay for counselors is $17.42
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do counselors get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for counselor by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for counselors after this adjustment? That would be California.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for counselor salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Counselors By State
| Rank | State | Average Counselor Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $41,223 | $23,000 | $72,000 |
| 2 | Hawaii | $41,191 | $34,000 | $49,000 |
| 3 | New Jersey | $39,911 | $20,000 | $76,000 |
| 4 | Connecticut | $39,779 | $20,000 | $75,000 |
| 5 | New York | $39,761 | $20,000 | $76,000 |
| 6 | Rhode Island | $39,339 | $20,000 | $74,000 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | $38,507 | $20,000 | $72,000 |
| 8 | Pennsylvania | $38,462 | $20,000 | $73,000 |
| 9 | Delaware | $38,407 | $19,000 | $73,000 |
| 10 | Nevada | $37,700 | $21,000 | $65,000 |
| 11 | New Hampshire | $37,204 | $20,000 | $68,000 |
| 12 | Arizona | $37,039 | $21,000 | $63,000 |
| 13 | Maryland | $36,781 | $19,000 | $69,000 |
| 14 | Maine | $34,996 | $19,000 | $63,000 |
| 15 | Vermont | $34,941 | $19,000 | $62,000 |
| 16 | Virginia | $34,936 | $19,000 | $64,000 |
| 17 | Texas | $33,932 | $19,000 | $59,000 |
| 18 | New Mexico | $33,457 | $19,000 | $56,000 |
| 19 | Louisiana | $33,339 | $18,000 | $59,000 |
| 20 | Michigan | $32,785 | $19,000 | $55,000 |
| 21 | Florida | $32,706 | $18,000 | $59,000 |
| 22 | Oregon | $32,277 | $20,000 | $50,000 |
| 23 | West Virginia | $32,240 | $18,000 | $55,000 |
| 24 | Ohio | $32,006 | $18,000 | $54,000 |
| 25 | North Carolina | $31,905 | $18,000 | $54,000 |
| 26 | Mississippi | $31,692 | $18,000 | $54,000 |
| 27 | South Carolina | $31,355 | $18,000 | $53,000 |
| 28 | Alabama | $31,318 | $18,000 | $53,000 |
| 29 | Georgia | $31,221 | $18,000 | $52,000 |
| 30 | Washington | $30,946 | $20,000 | $46,000 |
| 31 | Wisconsin | $30,725 | $19,000 | $48,000 |
| 32 | Kentucky | $30,600 | $18,000 | $49,000 |
| 33 | Tennessee | $30,492 | $18,000 | $49,000 |
| 34 | North Dakota | $30,440 | $21,000 | $43,000 |
| 35 | Minnesota | $30,391 | $20,000 | $45,000 |
| 36 | Indiana | $30,319 | $18,000 | $48,000 |
| 37 | Idaho | $30,051 | $19,000 | $45,000 |
| 38 | Illinois | $30,047 | $19,000 | $47,000 |
| 39 | Arkansas | $30,000 | $18,000 | $48,000 |
| 40 | Oklahoma | $29,836 | $18,000 | $48,000 |
| 41 | Utah | $29,831 | $19,000 | $46,000 |
| 42 | Missouri | $29,325 | $18,000 | $45,000 |
| 43 | Alaska | $29,269 | $23,000 | $36,000 |
| 44 | Iowa | $29,158 | $19,000 | $44,000 |
| 45 | Kansas | $28,979 | $18,000 | $45,000 |
| 46 | Montana | $28,831 | $20,000 | $41,000 |
| 47 | South Dakota | $28,624 | $19,000 | $42,000 |
| 48 | Nebraska | $28,505 | $18,000 | $43,000 |
| 49 | Colorado | $28,397 | $18,000 | $43,000 |
| 50 | Wyoming | $28,158 | $18,000 | $41,000 |
Methodology: Counselor Salary By State
To better understand counselor pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for counselors by state.
We took the average annual salary data for counselors from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for counselors.
Counselor Salary By State FAQs
-
What is the highest-paid state for counselors?
The highest-paid state for counselors is California with an average salary of $41,223 per year.
-
What city pays counselors the most?
nan pays counselors the most with an average salary of $0 per year.
-
What is the worst state for counselors?
The worst state for counselors is Wyoming with an average salary of $28,158 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
