Annual Salary, Salary Range, and Highest Paying States and Industries
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Mental Health Counselors
Mental Health Counselors counsel and advise individuals and groups to promote optimum mental and emotional health, with an emphasis on prevention. May help individuals deal with a broad range of mental health issues, such as those associated with addictions and substance abuse; family, parenting, and marital problems; stress management; self-esteem; or aging.
Table of contents
- Average salary
- Starting salary
- Salary rank
- Salary range
- Highest paying states
- Highest paying industries
Average salary
Starting salary
Entry-level Mental Health Counselors with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $30,590 to $36,950 per year or $15 to $18 per hour. Similar to any other job, their salary will increase as they gain experience.
Salary rank
We wanted to make it easy for our readers to compare the salary of Mental Health Counselors to all the other careers out there. So we created Salary Rank. We compared the salary of all careers then we gave them a rank of A, B, C, or D depending on where their average salary sit in comparison to other careers.
Salary range
| Level | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Highest (Top 10%) | $38 | $78,700 |
| Senior (Top 25%) | $30 | $61,760 |
| Middle (Mid 50%) | $23 | $47,660 |
| Junior (Bottom 25%) | $18 | $36,950 |
| No experience (Bottom 10%) | $15 | $30,590 |
Highest paying states
| State | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| NV | $33 | $68,560 |
| UT | $30 | $62,250 |
| AK | $30 | $61,980 |
| NJ | $29 | $61,310 |
| OR | $29 | $59,800 |
| NY | $28 | $57,210 |
| HI | $27 | $57,170 |
| CA | $27 | $56,860 |
| ND | $27 | $56,280 |
| DC | $27 | $56,200 |
Another simple way to increase your salary as a Mental Health Counselor is to move to a higher paying state. However moving to a higher paying state like NV doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the expenses at NV might be much higher than where you are currently living at right now.
According to BLS, the highest paid Mental Health Counselors are in the states of NV, UT, AK, NJ and OR.
Highest paying industries
| Salary by industry | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Insurance Carriers | $71460 | $34.35 |
| Other Ambulatory Health Care Services | $71030 | $34.15 |
| Specialty Hospitals | $70240 | $33.77 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | $65530 | $31.50 |
| Offices of Other Health Practitioners | $65040 | $31.27 |
| Local Government | $60790 | $29.23 |
| State Government | $60670 | $29.17 |
| Offices of Physicians | $60400 | $29.04 |
| Educational Support Services | $59650 | $28.68 |
| Office Administrative Services | $58630 | $28.19 |
| Grantmaking and Giving Services | $58420 | $28.09 |
| Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals | $57840 | $27.81 |
| Child Day Care Services | $56630 | $27.23 |
| Scientific Research and Development Services | $56530 | $27.18 |
| Employment Services | $56530 | $27.18 |
| Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities | $56450 | $27.14 |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools | $56150 | $27.00 |
| Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) | $55360 | $26.62 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools | $54910 | $26.40 |
| Outpatient Care Centers | $54380 | $26.15 |
| Civic and Social Organizations | $52040 | $25.02 |
| Home Health Care Services | $51550 | $24.78 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | $50000 | $24.04 |
| Individual and Family Services | $48550 | $23.34 |
| Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services | $48260 | $23.20 |
| Other Residential Care Facilities | $48010 | $23.08 |
| Social Advocacy Organizations | $47620 | $22.89 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly | $47450 | $22.81 |
| Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services | $45070 | $21.67 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services | $41920 | $20.15 |
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