How much does a child and adolescent therapist make?

The average child and adolescent therapist salary in the United States is $51,346. Child and adolescent therapist salaries typically range between $24,000 and $109,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for child and adolescent therapists is $24.69 per hour. Child and adolescent therapist salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Child and adolescent therapists earn the highest average salary in California.

Child and adolescent therapist salary

Q: What state pays Child And Adolescent Therapists the most?

California pays Child And Adolescent Therapists the most in the United States, with an average salary of $104,673 per year, or $50.32 per hour.

Q: How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as a child and adolescent therapist?

You know if you are being paid fairly as a child and adolescent therapist if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in Washington you should be paid close to $76,646 per year.

Quoted expert

Sarah Christa Butts MSW

Average child and adolescent therapist salary

$51,346

$24.69 hourly rate

Entry-level child and adolescent therapist salary

$24,000 yearly salary

Updated January 8, 2025

Overview of Child and Adolescent Therapist Salaries

As of October 2025, the average salary for a Child and Adolescent Therapist stands at $51,346 per year. Factors influencing this figure include geographical location, years of experience, and specific therapeutic specialties. For instance, therapists in metropolitan areas often see higher salaries due to increased demand and living costs.

Salary by Experience Level

Entry-level therapists may start at around $40,000, while those with significant experience or specialized training can earn upwards of $70,000 annually. This salary progression highlights the importance of continued education and professional development.

Top-Paying States

Therapists in states like California, New York, and Massachusetts typically earn higher wages compared to those in other states. Understanding these regional differences can help potential candidates make informed decisions about where to practice.

Job Opportunities

With a growing emphasis on mental health, job prospects for child and adolescent therapists are strong. Positions are available in private practices, schools, and community health organizations, providing various paths to advance your career.

On this page

Child and adolescent therapist salary by:

Let Zippia find your next child and adolescent therapist job

Let Zippia find your next child and adolescent therapist job

Where can a Child And Adolescent Therapist earn more?

Compare salary by location

141k

121k

101k

81k

61k

41k

21k

Columbus, OH$115,971

Richmond, IN$31,194

Compare salary by company

226k

206k

186k

166k

146k

126k

106k

86k

66k

46k

Anchor Counseling Center$198,424

Affinia Healthcare$76,414

Child and adolescent therapist salaries by experience level

Child and adolescent therapist salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Glassdoor and Comparably, the average salary for a child and adolescent therapist typically falls between $51,346 and $83,035.

zippia

$51,346yearly

glassdoor[1]

$83,035yearly

comparably[2]

$73,064yearly

Average child and adolescent therapist salary by state

The average child and adolescent therapist salary in California, Washington, and Nevada are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average child and adolescent therapist salary states are Missouri, Nebraska, and Vermont.

State view
County view

Average salary:

Highest paying states for child and adolescent therapists

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	California	$104,673	$50.32
2	Washington	$76,646	$36.85
3	Oregon	$68,127	$32.75
4	Nevada	$70,175	$33.74
5	Idaho	$55,475	$26.67
6	Alaska	$62,384	$29.99
7	Texas	$43,546	$20.94
8	Montana	$41,466	$19.94
9	North Dakota	$37,596	$18.07
10	New Mexico	$50,082	$24.08
11	Hawaii	$50,046	$24.06
12	Utah	$47,051	$22.62
13	North Carolina	$40,453	$19.45
14	New York	$40,849	$19.64
15	Kansas	$39,482	$18.98
16	Maine	$32,190	$15.48
17	Colorado	$39,187	$18.84
18	Oklahoma	$37,494	$18.03
19	Tennessee	$36,972	$17.77
20	New Jersey	$35,205	$16.93
21	Mississippi	$40,077	$19.27
22	Wyoming	$44,282	$21.29
23	Arizona	$39,968	$19.22
24	South Carolina	$34,073	$16.38
25	Louisiana	$40,161	$19.31
26	Kentucky	$35,330	$16.99
27	Georgia	$34,155	$16.42
28	Iowa	$34,874	$16.77
29	New Hampshire	$39,136	$18.82
30	Alabama	$35,916	$17.27
31	Ohio	$33,653	$16.18
32	Wisconsin	$33,331	$16.02
33	Minnesota	$35,677	$17.15
34	Michigan	$32,074	$15.42
35	Indiana	$31,609	$15.20
36	District of Columbia	$37,976	$18.26
37	Massachusetts	$26,966	$12.96
38	Delaware	$30,732	$14.78
39	Maryland	$30,848	$14.83
40	Connecticut	$33,417	$16.07
41	Nebraska	$28,615	$13.76
42	South Dakota	$34,671	$16.67
43	Illinois	$29,790	$14.32
44	Rhode Island	$30,178	$14.51
45	Arkansas	$26,866	$12.92
46	Pennsylvania	$25,242	$12.14
47	Virginia	$29,974	$14.41
48	Missouri	$28,675	$13.79
49	Florida	$32,638	$15.69
50	West Virginia	$30,184	$14.51
51	Vermont	$27,346	$13.15

Top child and adolescent therapist jobs near you

Highest paying cities for child and adolescent therapists

The highest-paying cities for child and adolescent therapists are San Rafael, CA, Seattle, WA, and Portland, OR.

Rank	City	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	San Rafael, CA	$115,971	$55.76
2	Seattle, WA	$77,963	$37.48
3	Portland, OR	$67,524	$32.46
4	Salt Lake City, UT	$46,696	$22.45
5	San Antonio, TX	$44,054	$21.18
6	Asheville, NC	$41,248	$19.83
7	Phoenix, AZ	$40,258	$19.35
8	New York, NY	$39,608	$19.04
9	Colorado Springs, CO	$39,306	$18.90
10	Manchester, NH	$37,410	$17.99
11	Memphis, TN	$37,302	$17.93
12	Tulsa, OK	$36,570	$17.58
13	Cincinnati, OH	$35,922	$17.27
14	Madison, AL	$34,875	$16.77
15	Atlanta, GA	$34,021	$16.36
16	Madison, WI	$33,669	$16.19
17	Altamonte Springs, FL	$33,346	$16.03
18	Jersey City, NJ	$33,183	$15.95
19	Bridgeport, CT	$31,711	$15.25
20	Richmond, IN	$31,194	$15.00

Child and adolescent therapist salary details

A child and adolescent therapist's salary ranges from $24,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $109,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average child and adolescent therapist salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a child and adolescent therapist's salary?

Percentile	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate
90th Percentile	$109,000	$9,083	$52
75th Percentile	$76,000	$6,333	$37
Average	$51,346	$4,279	$25
25th Percentile	$34,000	$2,833	$16
10th Percentile	$24,000	$2,000	$12

Highest paying child and adolescent therapist jobs

The highest paying types of child and adolescent therapists are counselor/art therapist, outpatient physical therapist, and clinician.

Job title	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
Intensive In-Home Counselor	$51,428	$4,286	$24.73	122,300
Clinician	$60,150	$5,012	$28.92	105,023
Family Counselor	$41,510	$3,459	$19.96	93,253
Licensed Social Worker	$57,005	$4,750	$27.41	66,130
Case Planner	$43,496	$3,625	$20.91	36,065
Therapeutic Support Staff	$34,086	$2,841	$16.39	192,172

How would you rate the starting salaries for child and adolescent therapists, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?

Sarah Christa Butts MSW

Director of Public Policy, National Association of Social Workers

Social workers are required to have a high level of education. Usually, a Master's degree and starting salaries are often far too low. Still, social workers can increase their wages over time, and there are many opportunities and positions available. Increasing reimbursement and compensation for social workers and reducing student loan debt are advocacy priorities for NASW.

Top companies hiring child and adolescent therapists now:

Which companies pay child and adolescent therapists the most?

Child and adolescent therapist salaries at Anchor Counseling Center and Kaiser Permanente are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average child and adolescent therapist salary at companies like Terros Health and Thriveworks are highly competitive.

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Anchor Counseling Center	$198,424	$95.40
2	Kaiser Permanente	$195,785	$94.13
3	Terros Health	$148,083	$71.19
4	Thriveworks	$132,804	$63.85
5	Hca Hospital Services Of San Diego	$125,835	$60.50
6	HealthRIGHT 360	$125,389	$60.28
7	Community Health Connections	$121,623	$58.47
8	Baptist Health	$118,256	$56.85
9	East Alabama Health	$95,187	$45.76
10	Northwell Health	$95,164	$45.75
11	Novant Health	$91,272	$43.88
12	University of California-Berkeley	$89,967	$43.25
13	Meridian Health Services	$89,908	$43.23
14	National Medical Association	$89,162	$42.87
15	Magellan Health	$83,422	$40.11
16	Legacy Community Health	$81,500	$39.18
17	Crossroads Center Rescue Mission	$80,527	$38.71
18	Spring Care	$79,331	$38.14
19	Summit Health Oregon	$77,605	$37.31
20	Affinia Healthcare	$76,414	$36.74

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$50,000$49,400$48,800$48,200$47,600$47,000

MaleFemale

Child And Adolescent Therapist salary by industry

The average child and adolescent therapist salary varies across industries:

The average child and adolescent therapist salary in the health care industry is $66,413, the highest of any industry.
The average child and adolescent therapist salary in the finance industry is $61,852.
Child and adolescent therapists in the non profits industry earn an average salary of $48,644, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for child and adolescent therapists

Rank	Industry	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Health Care	$66,413	$31.93
2	Government	$61,852	$29.74
3	Finance	$60,295	$28.99
4	Professional	$49,695	$23.89
5	Non Profits	$48,644	$23.39

High paying child and adolescent therapist jobs

Child and adolescent therapist salary trends

The average child and adolescent therapist salary has risen by $10,002 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average child and adolescent therapist earned $41,344 annually, but today, they earn $51,346 a year. That works out to a 14% change in pay for child and adolescent therapists over the last decade.

Compare child and adolescent therapist salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average child and adolescent therapist salary over time

Compare child and adolescent therapist salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Child and adolescent therapist salary by year

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2025	$51,300	$24.69	+4.2%
2024	$49,200	$23.64	+3.9%
2023	$47,300	$22.72	+3.5%
2022	$45,600	$21.91	+1.3%
2021	$45,000	$21.64	+1.2%

Recently added child and adolescent therapist salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date added	Salary
Centerstone	Child/Youth Trauma Therapist	Bradenton, FL	06/30/2025	$41,700
Thriveworks	Licensed Child and Adolescent Therapist	Midland, TX	06/30/2025	$105,400
Thriveworks	Licensed Child and Adolescent Therapist	Sunnyvale, CA	06/30/2025	$125,400
Thriveworks	Licensed Child and Adolescent Therapist	Allentown, PA	06/30/2025	$108,300
Thriveworks	Licensed Child and Adolescent Therapist	Watertown Town, MA	06/30/2025	$137,200
Thriveworks	Licensed Child and Adolescent Therapist	Providence, RI	06/30/2025	$120,900
Fort Hudson Health System	NJ Licensed Child & Adolescent Therapist (Remote)	Downe, NJ	06/29/2025	$85,000
Get It-Healthcare	Child & Adolescent Behavioral Therapist-(IL License)-Remote	Chicago, IL	06/29/2025	$73,800
Counseling & Recovery Services, LLC	Child & Adolescent Therapist	Tulsa, OK	06/29/2025	$74,000
Acendahealth	Child Therapist	Cape May Court House, NJ	06/28/2025	$55,000

Child and adolescent therapist salary FAQs

What state pays Child And Adolescent Therapists the most?

How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as a child and adolescent therapist?

Have more questions? See all answers to common community and social services questions.

Search for child and adolescent therapist jobs

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse community and social services jobs