Marriage and Family Therapists
Median $66,940
Occupation · SOC 21-1012
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors: pay and where the jobs are
What educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$64,330 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $71,430
- Median hourly wage
- $30.93
- Mean hourly wage
- $34.34
- Employment
- 353,310
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 21-1012.
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How much do educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors make?
The median annual wage for educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors was $64,330 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $45,020 and the highest-paid 10% more than $104,770. As an hourly rate, the median is $30.93. About 353,310 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in California ($86,500), Alaska ($82,900) and Washington ($82,670). After taxes and local prices, though, a median paycheck goes furthest in New Mexico.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.
| Step | Annual | Hourly | Monthly gross | Monthly after federal tax & FICA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $45,020 | $21.65 | $3,752 | $3,196 |
| 25th percentile | $51,270 | $24.65 | $4,273 | $3,615 |
| Median | $64,330 | $30.93 | $5,361 | $4,489 |
| 75th percentile | $82,870 | $39.84 | $6,906 | $5,594 |
| 90th percentile | $104,770 | $50.37 | $8,731 | $6,878 |
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors: pay by state
53 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.
1
$66,286 take-home in national prices
2
$65,338 take-home in national prices
3
$61,527 take-home in national prices
Where a median educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisor paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 45,140 | $86,500 | $51,890 | $136,660 | $64,759 | $58,489 |
| Alaska | 540 | $82,900 | $50,870 | $103,420 | $66,879 | $65,338 |
| Washington | 6,610 | $82,670 | $57,980 | $125,950 | $65,842 | $61,527 |
| District of Columbia | 1,690 | $80,470 | $50,900 | $113,620 | $61,569 | $56,022 |
| Massachusetts | 11,460 | $79,930 | $59,460 | $117,630 | $60,917 | $57,601 |
| New Jersey | 8,190 | $77,910 | $57,850 | $108,500 | $60,349 | $55,465 |
| New Mexico | 1,780 | $77,880 | $46,660 | $103,110 | $61,124 | $66,286 |
| Maryland | 6,600 | $75,820 | $48,460 | $116,650 | $58,934 | $56,149 |
| Rhode Island | 1,340 | $75,000 | $49,100 | $102,340 | $58,572 | $57,266 |
| Delaware | 1,700 | $74,070 | $47,750 | $96,140 | $57,094 | $57,204 |
| Connecticut | 3,370 | $73,910 | $46,510 | $108,540 | $57,141 | $55,150 |
| New York | 23,380 | $71,610 | $46,100 | $123,850 | $55,597 | $51,517 |
| New Hampshire | 1,650 | $71,080 | $47,990 | $96,630 | $58,835 | $56,482 |
| Texas | 31,730 | $67,900 | $42,380 | $101,830 | $56,598 | $58,314 |
| Virginia | 9,450 | $67,660 | $45,700 | $103,380 | $53,352 | $52,770 |
| Nevada | 2,250 | $66,710 | $46,570 | $94,530 | $55,760 | $55,772 |
| Oregon | 3,990 | $66,690 | $50,190 | $119,780 | $50,859 | $49,205 |
| Colorado | 6,530 | $64,780 | $48,690 | $97,960 | $51,804 | $50,270 |
| Minnesota | 4,200 | $64,600 | $47,870 | $94,100 | $50,932 | $51,645 |
| Vermont | 1,120 | $64,570 | $50,810 | $94,010 | $52,304 | $53,395 |
| Kentucky | 5,030 | $64,350 | $40,840 | $99,390 | $51,751 | $57,399 |
| Georgia | 11,460 | $63,720 | $42,040 | $101,880 | $50,948 | $52,909 |
| Wyoming | 770 | $63,430 | $49,440 | $91,330 | $53,146 | $57,337 |
| Wisconsin | 5,330 | $62,690 | $47,470 | $86,510 | $50,339 | $53,498 |
| Nebraska | 2,190 | $62,500 | $45,050 | $100,160 | $50,435 | $55,974 |
| Virgin Islands | 90 | $62,470 | $38,300 | $76,830 | — | — |
| Illinois | 13,580 | $62,420 | $44,890 | $110,580 | $49,389 | $49,410 |
| Louisiana | 4,820 | $61,870 | $45,340 | $87,940 | $50,423 | $57,164 |
| Ohio | 13,250 | $61,760 | $43,010 | $99,810 | $50,549 | $54,486 |
| Hawaii | 1,620 | $61,730 | $49,350 | $93,720 | $48,584 | $44,187 |
| Utah | 4,070 | $61,320 | $37,260 | $101,780 | $49,127 | $49,692 |
| Pennsylvania | 13,570 | $60,880 | $46,200 | $97,810 | $49,185 | $50,409 |
| South Carolina | 6,460 | $60,340 | $39,800 | $86,250 | $48,978 | $52,244 |
| Idaho | 1,990 | $60,320 | $46,710 | $79,620 | $48,558 | $50,850 |
| Tennessee | 6,470 | $59,960 | $42,410 | $84,550 | $50,358 | $54,814 |
| Arkansas | 2,310 | $59,770 | $38,520 | $78,070 | $48,481 | $55,766 |
| Alabama | 4,410 | $59,570 | $37,670 | $78,570 | $47,554 | $53,538 |
| Michigan | 9,170 | $59,440 | $42,380 | $89,280 | $47,665 | $49,539 |
| Indiana | 5,610 | $59,260 | $41,180 | $82,690 | $48,077 | $51,513 |
| North Dakota | 840 | $58,960 | $46,860 | $79,500 | $49,554 | $55,705 |
| Mississippi | 2,620 | $58,710 | $38,580 | $76,610 | $47,737 | $54,900 |
| Maine | 1,780 | $58,630 | $45,300 | $82,460 | $46,716 | $48,136 |
| Arizona | 7,330 | $58,250 | $46,400 | $82,240 | $47,921 | $47,599 |
| Missouri | 8,890 | $58,040 | $41,890 | $78,740 | $47,025 | $51,780 |
| Montana | 890 | $57,900 | $39,180 | $87,610 | $46,738 | $49,382 |
| North Carolina | 9,430 | $57,630 | $40,400 | $74,070 | $46,695 | $49,504 |
| Kansas | 3,100 | $56,590 | $42,020 | $77,920 | $45,292 | $50,286 |
| Iowa | 3,690 | $56,540 | $43,470 | $77,110 | $46,113 | $52,543 |
| West Virginia | 1,260 | $55,520 | $37,940 | $73,090 | $45,113 | $50,408 |
| Florida | 22,800 | $53,140 | $38,290 | $82,780 | $44,878 | $43,396 |
| Puerto Rico | 1,050 | $53,000 | $29,290 | $77,020 | — | — |
| Oklahoma | 4,830 | $52,040 | $38,100 | $81,630 | $42,198 | $48,038 |
| South Dakota | 1,000 | $51,830 | $41,560 | $65,990 | $43,825 | $49,472 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 21-1012. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.