Median pay for career counselors runs from $45,250 in Johnson City to $141,760 in El Centro — a 3.13× range across 520 metropolitan areas. The national median of $64,330 sits inside that range but describes no particular market.
Ten per cent of career counselors earn below $45,020 and ten per cent above $104,770 — a 2.33× band. The upside from median to 90th percentile is 63%, which is a normal amount of room for experience and specialisation to matter. An offer below the 25th percentile is worth questioning; one above the 75th is worth taking seriously.
7 of the ten best-paying metros for career counselors are in CA. When one state dominates the top of the table like this, cost of living is doing part of the work but rarely all of it — state licensing rules, public-sector pay scales and the presence of a few large employers usually explain the rest. If you are comparing an offer in CA against one elsewhere, adjust for housing before concluding anything.
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Centro CA | $141,760 | $68.16 | 1.38 | 200 |
| Grand Island NE | $109,480 | $52.63 | 0.96 | 90 |
| Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard WA | $102,650 | $49.35 | 0.7 | 150 |
| Odessa TX | $101,810 | $48.95 | 0.67 | 120 |
| Yuba City CA | $101,350 | $48.73 | 1.2 | 140 |
| Fresno CA | $101,280 | $48.69 | 1.12 | 1,210 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom CA | $100,930 | $48.52 | 1.11 | 2,730 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura CA | $100,790 | $48.46 | 0.94 | 690 |
| Hanford-Corcoran CA | $100,390 | $48.27 | 0.97 | 110 |
| Salinas CA | $100,360 | $48.25 | 0.93 | 400 |
| North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area | $100,230 | $48.19 | 1.66 | 410 |
| Napa CA | $99,900 | $48.03 | 0.68 | 120 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles CA | $99,330 | $47.76 | 1.4 | 390 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma CA | $98,480 | $47.35 | 1.06 | 500 |
| Bakersfield-Delano CA | $97,700 | $46.97 | 1.07 | 830 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario CA | $96,780 | $46.53 | 0.97 | 3,800 |
| Mount Vernon-Anacortes WA | $96,780 | $46.53 | 0.78 | 90 |
| Visalia CA | $96,720 | $46.50 | 1.01 | 390 |
| Yakima WA | $96,370 | $46.33 | 1.04 | 230 |
| Chico CA | $96,080 | $46.19 | 1.83 | 330 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA | $95,390 | $45.86 | 0.95 | 2,440 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $94,600 | $45.48 | 0.98 | 5,270 |
| Modesto CA | $94,370 | $45.37 | 0.97 | 430 |
| Vallejo CA | $91,670 | $44.07 | 0.82 | 270 |
| Kennewick-Richland WA | $88,900 | $42.74 | 0.88 | 260 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnson City TN | $45,250 | $21.76 | 0.96 | 180 |
| Enid OK | $45,780 | $22.01 | 1.39 | 70 |
| Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent FL | $46,270 | $22.25 | 1.02 | 440 |
| Michigan City-La Porte IN | $46,640 | $22.42 | 1.41 | 130 |
| South Illinois nonmetropolitan area | $46,850 | $22.52 | 1 | 320 |
| Tallahassee FL | $46,900 | $22.55 | 2.65 | 1,120 |
| Gainesville FL | $47,600 | $22.89 | 4.45 | 1,540 |
| Muncie IN | $47,700 | $22.94 | 1.69 | 170 |
| Morgantown WV | $47,720 | $22.94 | 0.73 | 110 |
| Tuscaloosa AL | $47,800 | $22.98 | 1.29 | 320 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gainesville FL | $47,600 | $22.89 | 4.45 | 1,540 |
| Lake Charles LA | $87,940 | $42.28 | 3.66 | 850 |
| Amherst Town-Northampton MA | $67,180 | $32.30 | 3.6 | 540 |
| Ames IA | $50,260 | $24.16 | 3.18 | 400 |
| Columbia MO | $51,260 | $24.64 | 2.86 | 700 |
| Corvallis OR | $60,830 | $29.25 | 2.77 | 240 |
| College Station-Bryan TX | $49,420 | $23.76 | 2.73 | 830 |
| Flagstaff AZ | $52,410 | $25.20 | 2.68 | 410 |
| Tallahassee FL | $46,900 | $22.55 | 2.65 | 1,120 |
| Champaign-Urbana IL | $58,230 | $27.99 | 2.58 | 620 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville CA | $74,990 | $36.05 | 2.47 | 550 |
| Iowa City IA | $59,850 | $28.78 | 2.37 | 500 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $77,580 | $37.30 | 0.92 | 19,890 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $79,000 | $37.98 | 1.2 | 17,110 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN | $64,730 | $31.12 | 0.95 | 9,790 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $80,760 | $38.83 | 1.33 | 8,170 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX | $76,380 | $36.72 | 0.87 | 7,980 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV | $77,420 | $37.22 | 1.02 | 7,260 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA-NJ-DE-MD | $66,190 | $31.82 | 1.07 | 7,050 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell GA | $67,730 | $32.56 | 1 | 6,550 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands TX | $75,930 | $36.50 | 0.87 | 6,480 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach FL | $57,110 | $27.46 | 0.98 | 6,250 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $94,600 | $45.48 | 0.98 | 5,270 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler AZ | $60,520 | $29.10 | 0.8 | 4,330 |
Figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, May 2025 release, SOC code 21-1012. OEWS surveys employers, so it reports what is actually paid rather than what job advertisements claim, and it excludes the self-employed. Estimates cover 520 of 528 metropolitan areas — near-complete coverage, which means the ranges above are reliable rather than drawn from a handful of markets. Read the methodology.