Median pay for mental health counselors runs from $32,580 in Northeast Louisiana nonmetropolitan area to $83,680 in Fairbanks-College — a 2.57× range across 516 metropolitan areas. The national median of $59,350 sits inside that range but describes no particular market.
Ten per cent of mental health counselors earn below $38,940 and ten per cent above $97,590 — a 2.51× band. The upside from median to 90th percentile is 64%, 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.
Fairbanks-College (AK) leads and Northeast Louisiana nonmetropolitan area () trails, but the gap is modest. For a role like this the more useful comparison is not between cities but between the 10th and 90th percentile within one — see the band above.
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairbanks-College AK | $83,680 | $40.23 | 0.91 | 100 |
| Anchorage AK | $81,120 | $39.00 | 1.44 | 810 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles CA | $80,770 | $38.83 | 0.91 | 350 |
| Albany OR | $78,910 | $37.94 | 0.75 | 110 |
| Salem OR | $78,870 | $37.92 | 0.94 | 560 |
| Alaska nonmetropolitan area | $78,420 | $37.70 | 1.11 | 380 |
| Bellingham WA | $77,620 | $37.32 | 1.51 | 440 |
| Eastern Washington nonmetropolitan area | $76,600 | $36.83 | 0.8 | 280 |
| Lincoln NE | $76,480 | $36.77 | 0.97 | 560 |
| Las Cruces NM | $76,350 | $36.71 | 1.22 | 310 |
| Eastern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area | $75,940 | $36.51 | 0.59 | 310 |
| Coast Oregon nonmetropolitan area | $75,900 | $36.49 | 1.49 | 540 |
| Corvallis OR | $75,700 | $36.39 | 1.37 | 170 |
| Bend OR | $75,470 | $36.29 | 1.72 | 590 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro OR-WA | $75,420 | $36.26 | 1.21 | 4,640 |
| Wenatchee-East Wenatchee WA | $75,180 | $36.14 | 0.72 | 120 |
| Hawaii / Kauai nonmetropolitan area | $75,040 | $36.08 | 1.17 | 390 |
| Boulder CO | $75,020 | $36.07 | 1.02 | 620 |
| Balance of Nevada nonmetropolitan area | $74,990 | $36.05 | 0.43 | 120 |
| East North Dakota nonmetropolitan area | $74,420 | $35.78 | 0.61 | 120 |
| Santa Fe NM | $74,100 | $35.63 | 0.9 | 180 |
| Albuquerque NM | $73,990 | $35.57 | 1 | 1,280 |
| Salinas CA | $73,940 | $35.55 | 1.06 | 620 |
| El Centro CA | $73,620 | $35.39 | 1.05 | 220 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | $73,580 | $35.38 | 1.11 | 7,350 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast Louisiana nonmetropolitan area | $32,580 | $15.66 | 1.33 | 260 |
| Slidell-Mandeville-Covington LA | $34,470 | $16.57 | 1.53 | 470 |
| Lower East Mississippi nonmetropolitan area | $36,330 | $17.47 | 0.61 | 240 |
| Central Louisiana nonmetropolitan area | $36,350 | $17.48 | 0.91 | 220 |
| Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux LA | $36,520 | $17.56 | 2.28 | 600 |
| Hammond LA | $36,750 | $17.67 | 0.84 | 130 |
| Alexandria LA | $37,150 | $17.86 | 1.56 | 300 |
| Bay City MI | $37,620 | $18.09 | 3.24 | 350 |
| Lafayette LA | $37,660 | $18.10 | 1.09 | 620 |
| Hattiesburg MS | $38,300 | $18.41 | 0.4 | 80 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomington IN | $52,710 | $25.34 | 4.13 | 960 |
| Pueblo CO | $58,380 | $28.07 | 3.6 | 700 |
| Bay City MI | $37,620 | $18.09 | 3.24 | 350 |
| Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford VA | $52,060 | $25.03 | 3.11 | 730 |
| Amherst Town-Northampton MA | $58,810 | $28.28 | 2.85 | 590 |
| Springfield MA | $58,750 | $28.24 | 2.8 | 1,790 |
| Mankato MN | $63,460 | $30.51 | 2.8 | 500 |
| Altoona PA | $46,260 | $22.24 | 2.76 | 510 |
| Lynchburg VA | $60,220 | $28.95 | 2.55 | 780 |
| East Kentucky nonmetropolitan area | $46,580 | $22.39 | 2.46 | 720 |
| Pittsfield MA | $55,100 | $26.49 | 2.44 | 440 |
| Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux LA | $36,520 | $17.56 | 2.28 | 600 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $51,910 | $24.96 | 1.36 | 26,960 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $61,020 | $29.34 | 0.87 | 26,200 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN | $61,600 | $29.62 | 1.09 | 15,580 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA-NJ-DE-MD | $58,140 | $27.95 | 1.63 | 14,920 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $62,130 | $29.87 | 1.3 | 11,150 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach FL | $57,290 | $27.54 | 1.15 | 10,240 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $68,400 | $32.89 | 1.27 | 9,520 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV | $65,270 | $31.38 | 0.91 | 9,030 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial CO | $62,810 | $30.20 | 1.66 | 8,480 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler AZ | $66,020 | $31.74 | 1.06 | 7,950 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | $73,580 | $35.38 | 1.11 | 7,350 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario CA | $57,880 | $27.83 | 1.28 | 6,980 |
Figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, May 2025 release, SOC code 21-1018. OEWS surveys employers, so it reports what is actually paid rather than what job advertisements claim, and it excludes the self-employed. Estimates cover 516 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.