How much do school counselors make in 2026?
School counselors are reported in SOC 21-1012, educational, guidance and career counselors and advisors, which BLS OEWS May 2025 puts at a national median of $64,330 a year, or $30.93 an hour, with a P10 to P90 range of $45,020 to $104,770 across 353,310 workers. The code is an exact match for the occupation, though it spans several settings: K–12 school counselors, college and university academic and career advisors, and career counselors in other institutional contexts all report into it. Entry requires a master's degree in school counseling or a closely related field plus state licensure or certification through the state education agency, which places this among the graduate-credential occupations rather than the ones entered directly from a bachelor's degree. In public schools, pay usually runs on a district salary schedule alongside teachers, sometimes with an extended contract that adds days beyond the teaching year and lifts the annual figure. Higher education advising is typically paid on a university grade structure and sits lower on average. The professional standard for caseload is a ratio well below what most counselors actually carry, and that gap is the defining feature of the job. BLS projects 3.5% growth through 2034 with roughly 31,000 openings a year. → Full school counselor career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $64,330 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- School Counselors earn a national median $64,330/yr ($30.93/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 21-1012); the P10 to P90 range is $45,020 to $104,770.
- Entry requires a master's degree in school counseling plus state licensure, so this is a graduate-credential profession and the cost of that degree belongs in any assessment of the pay.
- The SOC row spans K–12 school counselors and higher education academic and career advisors, and the two settings are paid on different structures with school districts generally above university advising.
- Caseload rather than salary is the defining working condition, and most counselors carry substantially more students than the profession's recommended ratio.
US School Counselor Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do school counselors earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 21-1012; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 21-1012, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a school counselor earn at each career stage?
School counseling pay follows the district schedule, contract length and setting. Each median below is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 21-1012.
By State
Which states pay school counselors the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates, not BLS state observations: the national median for SOC 21-1012 scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index. School counselor licensure requirements, including whether prior teaching experience is required, are set by each state education agency and differ genuinely, and district salary schedules are published locally, so check both for the state and district you are considering.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($73,980), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
school counselor pay by state — all 1 state guide
By Metro
Which cities pay school counselors the most?
Metro figures are modeled, national median times state wage index times published metro index, not BLS metropolitan observations. Within a metro, the difference between districts in both salary schedule and caseload ratio is frequently larger than the difference between metros.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a school counselor’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does school counselor pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. School Counselors sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify school counselor wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a school counselor actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
School Counselor Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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