Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between counselors and residential counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a counselor has an average salary of $36,225, which is higher than the $34,117 average annual salary of a residential counselor.
The top three skills for a counselor include patients, crisis intervention and substance abuse. The most important skills for a residential counselor are direct care, medication administration, and mental health.
| Counselor | Residential Counselor | |
| Yearly salary | $36,225 | $34,117 |
| Hourly rate | $17.42 | $16.40 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 77,536 | 81,287 |
| Job satisfaction | 2 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
Often, counselors are known to be the go-to person in times we are in need of emotional and psychological support. They help people to manage and overcome the issues which affect their mental health and well-being. Counselors face different kind of situations which may involve trauma, addiction, disabilities, abuse, suicide, anger management, career, and even personal relationships. They provide care, counseling, rehabilitation, and support services. Every counseling requires collaborative effort both from the counselor and client to become effective.
A residential counselor is responsible for guiding and providing the residents with their basic needs and other resources to support them in their daily living. Residential counselors' duties include maintaining the safety of the community by enforcing safety guidelines and procedures for the residents' compliance, organizing productive and engaging community activities, updating the residents of any changes and policies in the community, and resolving conflicts by counseling and understanding each resident's differences. A residential counselor must have excellent communication and decision-making skills to ensure the development of residents in a living facility.
Counselors and residential counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Counselor | Residential Counselor | |
| Average salary | $36,225 | $34,117 |
| Salary range | Between $19,000 And $67,000 | Between $27,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | - | The Evergreens |
| Best paying industry | Education | Education |
There are a few differences between a counselor and a residential counselor in terms of educational background:
| Counselor | Residential Counselor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between counselors' and residential counselors' demographics:
| Counselor | Residential Counselor | |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.5% Female, 61.5% | Male, 33.0% Female, 67.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 15.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 3.5% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 3.2% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 15% |