Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of residential counselor salary by state for the United States:
-
Washington has the highest residential counselor salary of $42,905
-
North Carolina has the lowest residential counselor salary of $25,057
-
The national average salary for residential counselors is $34,117
-
The national hourly pay for residential counselors is $16.4
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 residential 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 residential 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 residential counselors after this adjustment? That would be Washington.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for residential counselor salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Residential Counselors By State
| Rank | State | Average Residential Counselor Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $42,905 | $33,000 | $54,000 |
| 2 | California | $39,508 | $29,000 | $52,000 |
| 3 | North Dakota | $39,344 | $31,000 | $49,000 |
| 4 | New Mexico | $38,644 | $28,000 | $51,000 |
| 5 | Utah | $38,165 | $28,000 | $50,000 |
| 6 | Minnesota | $38,067 | $29,000 | $48,000 |
| 7 | Iowa | $37,500 | $28,000 | $49,000 |
| 8 | Oregon | $36,815 | $28,000 | $47,000 |
| 9 | Alaska | $36,627 | $32,000 | $41,000 |
| 10 | Kansas | $36,125 | $27,000 | $48,000 |
| 11 | Colorado | $36,074 | $27,000 | $47,000 |
| 12 | West Virginia | $35,430 | $26,000 | $47,000 |
| 13 | Nevada | $35,252 | $26,000 | $47,000 |
| 14 | Wisconsin | $34,921 | $26,000 | $45,000 |
| 15 | Tennessee | $34,901 | $26,000 | $46,000 |
| 16 | Ohio | $33,995 | $25,000 | $45,000 |
| 17 | Vermont | $33,644 | $27,000 | $41,000 |
| 18 | Massachusetts | $33,525 | $26,000 | $42,000 |
| 19 | Maine | $33,164 | $27,000 | $40,000 |
| 20 | Louisiana | $32,677 | $24,000 | $43,000 |
| 21 | New Hampshire | $32,513 | $26,000 | $40,000 |
| 22 | Texas | $32,407 | $24,000 | $43,000 |
| 23 | New York | $32,381 | $24,000 | $42,000 |
| 24 | Hawaii | $32,363 | $27,000 | $38,000 |
| 25 | Connecticut | $32,243 | $25,000 | $41,000 |
| 26 | Montana | $32,042 | $25,000 | $40,000 |
| 27 | Idaho | $31,745 | $24,000 | $41,000 |
| 28 | Wyoming | $31,537 | $24,000 | $41,000 |
| 29 | Missouri | $31,467 | $23,000 | $41,000 |
| 30 | Virginia | $31,466 | $23,000 | $41,000 |
| 31 | South Dakota | $31,199 | $24,000 | $40,000 |
| 32 | Arizona | $30,931 | $23,000 | $41,000 |
| 33 | Alabama | $30,852 | $23,000 | $41,000 |
| 34 | Nebraska | $30,831 | $23,000 | $40,000 |
| 35 | Pennsylvania | $30,331 | $23,000 | $39,000 |
| 36 | New Jersey | $30,031 | $22,000 | $39,000 |
| 37 | South Carolina | $29,555 | $22,000 | $39,000 |
| 38 | Florida | $29,539 | $22,000 | $39,000 |
| 39 | Maryland | $29,470 | $22,000 | $39,000 |
| 40 | Michigan | $29,146 | $22,000 | $38,000 |
| 41 | Rhode Island | $29,110 | $22,000 | $36,000 |
| 42 | Illinois | $28,870 | $21,000 | $38,000 |
| 43 | Delaware | $28,183 | $21,000 | $37,000 |
| 44 | Oklahoma | $28,116 | $21,000 | $37,000 |
| 45 | Indiana | $27,448 | $20,000 | $36,000 |
| 46 | Mississippi | $27,297 | $20,000 | $36,000 |
| 47 | Kentucky | $27,278 | $20,000 | $36,000 |
| 48 | Arkansas | $26,898 | $20,000 | $35,000 |
| 49 | Georgia | $26,468 | $19,000 | $35,000 |
| 50 | North Carolina | $25,057 | $18,000 | $33,000 |
Methodology: Residential Counselor Salary By State
To better understand residential 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 residential counselors by state.
We took the average annual salary data for residential counselors from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for residential counselors.
Residential Counselor Salary By State FAQs
-
What is the highest-paid state for residential counselors?
The highest-paid state for residential counselors is Washington with an average salary of $42,905 per year.
-
What city pays residential counselors the most?
Seattle, WA pays residential counselors the most with an average salary of $42,921 per year.
-
What is the worst state for residential counselors?
The worst state for residential counselors is North Carolina with an average salary of $25,057 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.
