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The differences between residential counselors and youth counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a residential counselor and a youth counselor. Additionally, a youth counselor has an average salary of $36,754, which is higher than the $34,117 average annual salary of a residential counselor.
The top three skills for a residential counselor include direct care, medication administration and mental health. The most important skills for a youth counselor are direct care, mental health, and crisis intervention.
| Residential Counselor | Youth Counselor | |
| Yearly salary | $34,117 | $36,754 |
| Hourly rate | $16.40 | $17.67 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 81,287 | 78,461 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
A Youth Counselor's role is to provide guidance and interact with children or teenagers in need of care and counseling. The duty of a Youth Counselor is diverse, and it highly depends on the organization or employer. However, the responsibilities mostly revolve around establishing rapport with the youngster while trying to work on their issues, ensuring their welfare by monitoring their emotional and physical state, coordinating with families or other facilities, suggesting treatments, and performing crisis intervention if necessary.
Residential counselors and youth counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Residential Counselor | Youth Counselor | |
| Average salary | $34,117 | $36,754 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $42,000 | Between $27,000 And $49,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Jose, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | The Evergreens | New York State Restaurant Association |
| Best paying industry | Education | Professional |
There are a few differences between a residential counselor and a youth counselor in terms of educational background:
| Residential Counselor | Youth Counselor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between residential counselors' and youth counselors' demographics:
| Residential Counselor | Youth Counselor | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 33.0% Female, 67.0% | Male, 43.8% Female, 56.2% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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 | 15% | 15% |