Psychological Counselors Salaries, Locations, and Schools

Employment Overview

There were about 100,000 psychological counselors across the US in 2006. Unemployment for workers was considered low in the recent past, relative to other occupations. The percentage of employees unemployed in 2006 was 3%.

Flexibility

An estimated 6% of psychological counselors were self-employed. An estimated 15% of workers work part-time.

Education

Education or job training for employees typically involves a master's degree. At least 73% of psychological counselors had a degree of four or more years. About 18% of workers had some college below a bachelor's degree. An estimated 9% of employees had just a high-school diploma.

Local Outlook

The cities with the most psychological counselors per capita are Lewiston (Idaho), Lynn (Massachusetts), and Scranton (Pennsylvania), while the worst cities are Orlando (Florida), Fort Worth (Texas), and Dallas (Texas). The highest salaries for workers are in and around Billings (Montana), Riverside (California), and Bakersfield (California). The lowest-paying areas are Abilene (Texas), Shreveport (Louisiana), and Elkhart (Indiana).

Detailed local employment conditions for Psychological Counselors in metro areas across the US are shown in the table below.

Local Jobs Info for Psychological Counselors

Employment info for Psychological Counselors, by metropolitan area (for 2006). A Market Strength rating of 1.0 means the city (and surroundings) has an average number of workers in the occupation for to its population. A higher number indicates relatively more workers for the occupation in that location.

State	City and Surroundings	Market Strength	Workers	Median Wage
Alabama	Auburn	1.15	30	$38,000
Alabama	Birmingham	0.77	270	$34,000
Alabama	Mobile	1.12	130	$42,000
Alabama	Montgomery	1.1	120	$49,000
Alabama	Tuscaloosa	0.99	50	$35,000
Alaska	Anchorage	2.04	210	$56,000
Alaska	Fairbanks	2.22	40
Arizona	Phoenix	0.8	1,050	$40,000
Arizona	Tucson	1.19	300	$37,000
Arkansas	Fort Smith	0.68	50	$49,000
Arkansas	Little Rock	0.45	100	$36,000
California	Bakersfield	0.35	60	$63,000
California	Fresno	1.81	400	$53,000
California	Los Angeles	0.91	2,600	$43,000
California	Oakland	1.14	800	$46,000
California	Oxnard	0.54	110	$41,000
California	Riverside	0.5	450	$60,000
California	Sacramento	1.56	960	$49,000
California	San Diego	1.27	1,160	$44,000
California	San Francisco	0.93	620	$49,000
California	San Jose	0.56	350	$51,000
California	San Luis Obispo	1.83	120	$38,000
California	Santa Ana	0.36	380	$37,000
California	Santa Cruz	3.33	180	$30,000
California	Santa Rosa	0.71	90	$41,000
California	Vallejo	1.9	150	$44,000
Colorado	Boulder	0.98	100	$55,000
Colorado	Colorado Springs	0.94	160	$45,000
Colorado	Denver	1.74	1,480	$35,000
Colorado	Fort Collins	1.78	140	$37,000
Colorado	Grand Junction	2.29	80	$32,000
Colorado	Greeley	1.07	50	$44,000
Connecticut	Bridgeport	2.16	640	$45,000
Connecticut	Danbury	3.5	150	$31,000
Connecticut	Hartford	0.96	370	$39,000
Connecticut	New Haven	2.87	530	$42,000
Connecticut	Waterbury	1.86	80	$33,000
Delaware	Wilmington	1.14	250	$38,000
District of Columbia	Washington	1.04	1,660	$49,000
Florida	Cape Coral	0.77	110	$34,000
Florida	Deltona	1.45	150	$38,000
Florida	Fort Lauderdale	0.84	430	$39,000
Florida	Gainesville	0.57	40	$31,000
Florida	Jacksonville	0.72	300	$34,000
Florida	Miami	0.99	680	$47,000
Florida	Naples	0.48	40	$47,000
Florida	Ocala	1.64	100	$33,000
Florida	Orlando	0.27	200	$47,000
Florida	Palm Bay	0.46	60	$38,000
Florida	Pensacola	2.07	210	$32,000
Florida	Port St Lucie	0.59	50	$33,000
Florida	Sarasota	0.48	90	$42,000
Florida	Tallahassee	0.56	60
Florida	Tampa	0.76	650	$35,000
Florida	West Palm Beach	0.39	150	$42,000
Georgia	Athens	1.09	50	$38,000
Georgia	Atlanta	0.59	970	$37,000
Georgia	Augusta	0.3	40	$46,000
Georgia	Savannah	0.41	40	$31,000
Georgia	Valdosta	1.7	50	$40,000
Hawaii	Honolulu	1.22	350	$39,000
Idaho	Boise	0.67	120
Idaho	Coeur Dalene	3.34	100	$31,000
Idaho	Idaho Falls	1.43	40	$58,000
Idaho	Lewiston	9.23	110	$32,000
Illinois	Champaign	1.29	70	$36,000
Illinois	Chicago	1.16	3,060	$40,000
Illinois	Kankakee	4.91	110	$31,000
Illinois	Peoria	0.74	80	$38,000
Illinois	Rockford	1.55	150	$33,000
Indiana	Anderson	2.26	50	$37,000
Indiana	Elkhart	0.36	30	$27,000
Indiana	Evansville	1.32	150	$29,000
Indiana	Fort Wayne	1.06	150	$49,000
Indiana	Gary	0.54	100	$36,000
Indiana	Indianapolis	0.63	380	$42,000
Indiana	Michigan City	1.19	30	$37,000
Indiana	Muncie	1.41	40	$44,000
Iowa	Cedar Rapids	1.39	120	$34,000
Iowa	Davenport	0.6	70	$44,000
Iowa	Des Moines	0.28	60	$43,000
Kansas	Topeka	1.9	130	$30,000
Kansas	Wichita	0.3	60	$44,000
Kentucky	Louisville	0.8	330	$32,000
Louisiana	Lake Charles	2.94	160	$34,000
Louisiana	New Orleans	1.6	540	$29,000
Louisiana	Shreveport	0.55	60	$21,000
Maine	Bangor	2.57	100	$51,000
Maine	Lewiston	2.08	60
Maine	Portland	0.85	110	$45,000
Maryland	Baltimore	1.24	1,090	$39,000
Maryland	Bethesda	0.45	170	$42,000
Maryland	Salisbury	0.97	30	$34,000
Massachusetts	Barnstable Town	1.91	120	$37,000
Massachusetts	Boston	2.33	2,720	$38,000
Massachusetts	Brockton	1.83	100	$49,000
Massachusetts	Haverhill	4.77	230	$46,000
Massachusetts	Lawrence	3.37	120	$37,000
Massachusetts	Leominster	2.68	80	$37,000
Massachusetts	Lynn	7.61	480	$36,000
Massachusetts	Springfield	3.47	700	$31,000
Massachusetts	Worcester	2.76	460	$37,000
Michigan	Ann Arbor	0.45	50	$61,000
Michigan	Detroit	0.71	360	$42,000
Michigan	Flint	0.54	50	$61,000
Michigan	Lansing	0.91	120	$50,000
Michigan	Saginaw	1.19	60	$54,000
Michigan	Warren	0.59	470	$42,000
Minnesota	Duluth	0.86	70	$38,000
Minnesota	Minneapolis	1.08	1,340	$44,000
Minnesota	St Cloud	0.64	40	$41,000
Mississippi	Jackson	0.54	90	$42,000
Missouri	Jefferson City	1.64	70	$39,000
Missouri	Kansas City	0.6	420	$42,000
Missouri	Springfield	1.34	170	$84,000
Missouri	St Louis	0.7	650	$41,000
Montana	Billings	2.6	130	$97,000
Montana	Missoula	1.88	60	$33,000
Nebraska	Lincoln	1.96	200	$34,000
Nebraska	Omaha	0.71	220	$48,000
Nevada	Las Vegas	0.3	190	$48,000
Nevada	Reno	1.33	190	$52,000
New Hampshire	Manchester	1.28	80	$36,000
New Jersey	Camden	0.86	310	$45,000
New Jersey	Edison	0.82	570	$37,000
New Jersey	Newark	1.93	1,330	$40,000
New Jersey	Trenton	1.32	190	$41,000
New Mexico	Albuquerque	2.19	570	$47,000
New York	Albany	1.43	420	$44,000
New York	Binghamton	0.43	30	$40,000
New York	Buffalo	1.05	380	$29,000
New York	Ithaca	3.93	90	$34,000
New York	Kingston	1.66	60	$49,000
New York	Nassau	0.83	710	$34,000
New York	New York	1.35	4,660	$38,000
New York	Poughkeepsie	0.94	150	$39,000
New York	Rochester	1.06	360	$43,000
New York	Syracuse	0.59	120	$38,000
New York	Utica	0.49	40	$43,000
North Carolina	Asheville	0.52	60	$41,000
North Carolina	Charlotte	0.3	180	$36,000
North Carolina	Durham	1.08	190	$36,000
North Carolina	Fayetteville	1.98	150	$33,000
North Carolina	Greensboro	0.32	80	$40,000
North Carolina	Greenville	0.7	30	$50,000
North Carolina	Hickory	3.22	350	$43,000
North Carolina	Raleigh	0.76	260	$51,000
North Carolina	Wilmington	0.87	80	$50,000
Ohio	Akron	0.8	180	$41,000
Ohio	Canton	1.08	120	$38,000
Ohio	Cincinnati	0.71	500	$40,000
Ohio	Cleveland	0.79	580	$39,000
Ohio	Columbus	0.81	510	$42,000
Ohio	Dayton	0.64	170	$44,000
Ohio	Springfield	1.39	40	$43,000
Ohio	Toledo	1.25	270	$49,000
Ohio	Youngstown	3.73	590	$37,000
Oklahoma	Lawton	1.44	30	$41,000
Oklahoma	Oklahoma City	1.02	390	$41,000
Oklahoma	Tulsa	0.66	190	$40,000
Oregon	Corvallis	3.49	60	$42,000
Oregon	Eugene	2.07	200	$41,000
Oregon	Portland	1.38	980	$48,000
Oregon	Salem	1.67	160	$46,000
Pennsylvania	Allentown	1.88	420	$39,000
Pennsylvania	Erie	6.62	550	$34,000
Pennsylvania	Harrisburg	2.55	510	$41,000
Pennsylvania	Johnstown	2.58	90	$30,000
Pennsylvania	Lancaster	1.95	300	$39,000
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	3.06	3,900	$39,000
Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh	4.52	3,530	$30,000
Pennsylvania	Reading	2.73	290	$38,000
Pennsylvania	Scranton	7.59	1,310	$29,000
Pennsylvania	York	1.46	170	$32,000
Rhode Island	Providence	1.57	620	$38,000
South Carolina	Anderson	1.12	40	$37,000
South Carolina	Columbia	0.47	110	$42,000
South Dakota	Sioux Falls	1.27	110	$39,000
Tennessee	Kingsport	0.56	40	$29,000
Tennessee	Knoxville	0.41	90	$33,000
Tennessee	Memphis	1.19	510	$32,000
Tennessee	Nashville	1.13	590	$31,000
Texas	Abilene	1.65	60	$28,000
Texas	Austin	0.49	250	$37,000
Texas	Dallas	0.19	270	$38,000
Texas	El Paso	0.7	120	$31,000
Texas	Fort Worth	0.25	140	$42,000
Texas	Houston	0.38	650	$41,000
Texas	Longview	0.7	40	$34,000
Texas	Lubbock	1.37	100	$37,000
Texas	Midland	1.07	40
Texas	San Antonio	0.47	260	$47,000
Texas	Texarkana	2.03	60	$54,000
Texas	Tyler	0.71	40	$38,000
Utah	Ogden	0.8	100	$44,000
Utah	Provo	0.37	40	$46,000
Utah	Salt Lake City	0.58	240	$47,000
Virginia	Blacksburg	2.39	80	$38,000
Virginia	Charlottesville	1.35	80	$37,000
Virginia	Harrisonburg	0.92	30	$53,000
Virginia	Lynchburg	1.72	110	$34,000
Virginia	Richmond	1.26	520	$47,000
Virginia	Virginia Beach	1.67	860	$41,000
Virginia	Winchester	3.81	120	$42,000
Washington	Bellingham	1.03	50	$44,000
Washington	Bremerton	1.22	60	$40,000
Washington	Kennewick	0.93	50	$42,000
Washington	Longview	3.63	70	$44,000
Washington	Seattle	1.08	1,060	$44,000
Washington	Spokane	1.46	200	$45,000
Washington	Tacoma	3.01	540	$43,000
Washington	Yakima	2.61	130	$41,000
West Virginia	Charleston	2.02	190	$37,000
West Virginia	Huntington	2.08	150	$39,000
West Virginia	Wheeling	2.03	80	$35,000
Wisconsin	Appleton	0.68	50	$41,000
Wisconsin	Green Bay	0.37	40	$48,000
Wisconsin	Madison	0.55	120	$36,000
Wisconsin	Milwaukee	1.02	600	$39,000
Wisconsin	Oshkosh	2.73	140	$48,000
Wyoming	Cheyenne	2.61	60	$40,000