School Counselor Salary And Career Outlook

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School Counselor Salary and Career Outlook

Careers in school counseling are some of the most unique and rewarding in public education. School counselors work with all stakeholders in the educational ecosystem to help create a culture of success, safety, and learning for students, their families, and the educators who serve them.

Some of the primary responsibilities of a school counselor include:

• Providing social and emotional support for students in individual and group sessions.
• Aiding students with issues related to study skills and time management.
• Encouraging and fostering student strengths (both in and out of the classroom).
• Collaborating with families and other school faculty to address individual student needs.
• Helping students and families respond to crises.
• Identifying students’ social, behavioral or learning issues.
• Working as part of a child study team to develop and implement interventions for students with special needs and other at-risk students.
• Coordinating support services between the school, home, and outside agencies.
• Offering professional input on school and district policies.

This wide variety of responsibilities shows that becoming a school counselor is a career choice with the potential to make a positive difference every day.

What Can You Do With a School Counselor Degree?

Becoming a school counselor requires earning a master’s degree in school counseling. School counseling is a career that varies depending on the population a counselor serves. Providing support to younger students and their stakeholders is very different from supporting older, college- and career-bound students.

In some school districts, a counselor may be asked to serve a large span of ages; however, it is more common for counselors to focus on specific age groups.

Elementary School Counselors

Elementary school counselors are responsible for assisting younger students and their families as they begin their educational journey. As such, elementary counselors help bolster school-readiness skills and support academic, social, and emotional development that will serve as the foundation for a child’s educational career.

Elementary counselors also play an important role in identifying learning and behavioral issues, enabling early interventions to be developed and implemented. By working with teachers, students, families, and other relevant stakeholders, elementary counselors can help ensure a student is able to maximize their ability to learn and thrive.

National mean salary for school counselors (BLS category: Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors), May 2024: $71,520.

Middle School Counselors

Middle school counselors support students through the often challenging transition from childhood to the teenage years. The social and emotional trials of puberty can be difficult for students and their families. A counselor can serve as a key ally for navigating the inevitable tensions, questions, pressures, and issues that arise as students mature.

The junior high years are also a significant academic transition. Middle school counselors are called upon by students, parents and teachers to help foster the time-management and study skills that students will need to be successful in high school and beyond.

As with elementary counselors, there is also a need for counselors to weigh in on the identification and interventions for academic and behavioral issues, so they can be addressed before entering high school.

National mean salary for school counselors (BLS occupation: Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors), May 2024: $71,520.

High School Counselors

High school counselors have unique responsibilities. In the secondary years, students are preparing for college admissions, careers and adulthood; counselors help facilitate these transitions by helping with course selection, college and job applications, high-stakes test preparation and interview skills.

Additionally, high school counselors are more likely than their elementary and middle school counterparts to be called upon to help students and families through serious struggles involving peer pressure, risk behaviors, drugs, alcohol, sex and self-harm.

National mean salary for school counselors (BLS occupation: Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors), May 2024: $71,520.

College Admissions Counselors

College admission counselors help incoming students transition and adjust to their new settings. Their role involves recruiting prospective students, assisting students with admissions and enrollment, facilitating course selection, guiding students in discerning career paths, and helping students transition to the workforce.

Many colleges and universities also offer counseling and psychological services to support students’ emotional and mental health.

National mean salary for educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors (includes counselors working in colleges), May 2024: $71,520. 

Other Guidance Counselors

Career and vocational counselors or career coaches can help you explore career options at any point in your life, whether you are starting or changing your career. Career counselors can advise you in assessing your skills, interests and values to help you seek a career that fits your life. They can also help you with the job search, which could include crafting your resume and sharpening your interview skills.

National median salary for K–12 school counselors (local elementary & secondary schools), May 2024: $76,960.

How Much Do School Counselors Make?

Most public schools include school counselors as part of their certificated faculty contracts. As such, school counselor salaries and tenure eligibility (where applicable) typically follow the same salary guides and policies as teachers and other certificated staff.

One major exception is 12-month counseling positions. It is common practice for schools to retain some or all of their counseling staff through the summer to complete tasks like child study team evaluations, individualized education programs (IEPs), student matriculation and scheduling. In these cases, counselors are typically compensated at a higher rate than similarly experienced 10-month employees are.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual salary for school counselors in May 2024 was $65,140. It should be noted that this figure combines both 10- and 12-month school counselor salaries.

Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors, by Industry	Mean Annual Salary1
Elementary and Secondary Schools	$76,960
Colleges, Universities and Professional Schools	$62,090
Junior Colleges	$60,170
Vocational Rehabilitation Services	$57,800
Educational Support Services	$57,610

School Counselor Career Outlook

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job outlook for school counselors includes an expected 4% growth in the employment of counselors over the 10-year span from 2024–2034. This is about the same as the average projected growth rate of all U.S. careers. As student enrollments rise, demand for school counselors will increase.

10 Top-Paying Cities for School Counselors

Keeping in mind the economy, cost of living, and lifestyle of different cities, the following are the top-paying metro and nonmetro areas for careers in school counseling according to the BLS (which is categorized as ‘school psychologists’):

Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Areas	Mean Annual Salary
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$135,480
El Centro, CA	$135,480
North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area	$131,680
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$129,140
Barnstable Town, MA	$128,550
Fresno, CA	$127,760
Salinas, CA	$126,170
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA	$124,750
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$124,200
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$123,050

5 Highest-Paying States for School Counseling Careers

State	Mean Annual Salary
California	$117,630
Colorado	$117,190
Washington	$108,740
Maryland	$107,870
Oregon	$106,920

State Median Salary Data for School and Career Counselors

State	Median Annual Salary
Alabama	$60,530
Alaska	$80,020
Arizona	$57,940
Arkansas	$60,110
California	$94,320
Colorado	$63,900
Connecticut	$70,400
Delaware	$72,450
District of Columbia	$80,280
Florida	$54,080
Georgia	$63,990
Guam	$38,880
Hawaii	$66,700
Idaho	$61,820
Illinois	$65,970
Indiana	$58,820
Iowa	$62,780
Kansas	$61,300
Kentucky	$66,980
Louisiana	$61,010
Maine	$63,570
Maryland	$74,240
Massachusetts	$80,290
Michigan	$61,910
Minnesota	$67,180
Mississippi	$53,780
Missouri	$59,300
Montana	$58,700
Nebraska	$64,700
Nevada	$79,930
New Hampshire	$66,030
New Jersey	$78,480
New Mexico	$65,420
New York	$75,690
North Carolina	$63,910
North Dakota	$64,650
Ohio	$60,480
Oklahoma	$55,950
Oregon	$82,830
Pennsylvania	$65,280
Puerto Rico	$51,080
Rhode Island	$75,630
South Carolina	$54,440
South Dakota	$57,970
Tennessee	$62,510
Texas	$64,480
Utah	$61,020
Vermont	$66,890
Virgin Islands	$61,760
Virginia	$67,350
Washington	$83,930
West Virginia	$55,420
Wisconsin	$63,690
Wyoming	$65,070

1 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2024). Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2024: 21-1012 Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors. Washington, DC: Author.

Information Last Updated: January 2026