Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of youth counselor salary by state for the United States:
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California has the highest youth counselor salary of $50,100
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Arkansas has the lowest youth counselor salary of $28,507
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The national average salary for youth counselors is $36,754
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The national hourly pay for youth counselors is $17.67
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 youth 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 youth 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 youth counselors after this adjustment? That would be California.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for youth counselor salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Youth Counselors By State
| Rank | State | Average Youth Counselor Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $50,100 | $33,000 | $73,000 |
| 2 | Washington | $41,815 | $33,000 | $52,000 |
| 3 | West Virginia | $40,513 | $30,000 | $54,000 |
| 4 | Illinois | $40,306 | $31,000 | $51,000 |
| 5 | New York | $40,275 | $29,000 | $55,000 |
| 6 | New Mexico | $39,711 | $28,000 | $55,000 |
| 7 | Rhode Island | $39,683 | $30,000 | $51,000 |
| 8 | Nevada | $38,971 | $26,000 | $56,000 |
| 9 | Virginia | $38,393 | $27,000 | $54,000 |
| 10 | Pennsylvania | $38,342 | $27,000 | $53,000 |
| 11 | Tennessee | $38,274 | $28,000 | $51,000 |
| 12 | Georgia | $38,138 | $27,000 | $52,000 |
| 13 | Connecticut | $37,742 | $28,000 | $50,000 |
| 14 | Ohio | $37,462 | $28,000 | $49,000 |
| 15 | Utah | $36,988 | $28,000 | $48,000 |
| 16 | Kansas | $36,728 | $28,000 | $48,000 |
| 17 | Oregon | $36,656 | $28,000 | $47,000 |
| 18 | Massachusetts | $36,540 | $29,000 | $45,000 |
| 19 | Hawaii | $36,532 | $32,000 | $41,000 |
| 20 | Vermont | $36,324 | $29,000 | $44,000 |
| 21 | New Jersey | $36,311 | $26,000 | $50,000 |
| 22 | North Dakota | $36,170 | $29,000 | $43,000 |
| 23 | Louisiana | $36,148 | $25,000 | $51,000 |
| 24 | Maine | $36,135 | $29,000 | $43,000 |
| 25 | Minnesota | $36,112 | $29,000 | $44,000 |
| 26 | Maryland | $36,084 | $25,000 | $51,000 |
| 27 | Wisconsin | $35,821 | $28,000 | $44,000 |
| 28 | Colorado | $35,727 | $27,000 | $46,000 |
| 29 | Nebraska | $35,040 | $27,000 | $44,000 |
| 30 | New Hampshire | $34,875 | $28,000 | $43,000 |
| 31 | Delaware | $34,791 | $24,000 | $49,000 |
| 32 | Alabama | $34,082 | $24,000 | $47,000 |
| 33 | Texas | $33,820 | $23,000 | $48,000 |
| 34 | Arizona | $33,535 | $23,000 | $47,000 |
| 35 | South Carolina | $33,342 | $24,000 | $46,000 |
| 36 | Iowa | $32,737 | $26,000 | $41,000 |
| 37 | Alaska | $31,431 | $27,000 | $35,000 |
| 38 | Michigan | $30,886 | $23,000 | $39,000 |
| 39 | Missouri | $30,602 | $23,000 | $39,000 |
| 40 | Idaho | $30,362 | $23,000 | $38,000 |
| 41 | Kentucky | $30,118 | $22,000 | $39,000 |
| 42 | Mississippi | $29,847 | $21,000 | $41,000 |
| 43 | Wyoming | $29,546 | $23,000 | $37,000 |
| 44 | Indiana | $29,462 | $22,000 | $38,000 |
| 45 | Montana | $29,398 | $24,000 | $35,000 |
| 46 | South Dakota | $29,276 | $23,000 | $36,000 |
| 47 | Oklahoma | $28,990 | $21,000 | $39,000 |
| 48 | North Carolina | $28,789 | $20,000 | $39,000 |
| 49 | Florida | $28,641 | $20,000 | $40,000 |
| 50 | Arkansas | $28,507 | $21,000 | $38,000 |
Methodology: Youth Counselor Salary By State
To better understand youth 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 youth counselors by state.
We took the average annual salary data for youth counselors from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for youth counselors.
Youth Counselor Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for youth counselors?
The highest-paid state for youth counselors is California with an average salary of $50,100 per year.
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What city pays youth counselors the most?
San Jose, CA pays youth counselors the most with an average salary of $51,461 per year.
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What is the worst state for youth counselors?
The worst state for youth counselors is Arkansas with an average salary of $28,507 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.
