🧠Mental Health Counselors
National Median Wage
$53,710
National Employment
372K
Best Value: Top Metros by Cost-Adjusted Wage
Wages adjusted for local cost of living. Higher = your salary goes further.
All Metro Areas
78 metro areas
| # | Metro Area | State | Median Wage | Cost-Adj. Wage▼ | Employment | Emp / 1K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | NY | $70,083 | $64,892 | 10,696 | 8.6 |
| 2 | San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA | CA | $71,816 | $63,554 | 3,341 | 7.4 |
| 3 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $68,363 | $62,718 | 3,246 | 8.1 |
| 4 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | IL | $61,785 | $62,409 | 4,743 | 5.9 |
| 5 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | VA | $62,698 | $62,077 | 5,292 | 8.8 |
| 6 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA | GA | $59,095 | $60,923 | 5,137 | 9.3 |
| 7 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | MI | $56,897 | $60,529 | 2,608 | 6.5 |
| 8 | Anchorage, AK | AK | $61,573 | $60,366 | 478 | 9.6 |
| 9 | Raleigh-Cary, NC | NC | $56,201 | $59,788 | 1,125 | 7.5 |
| 10 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | CO | $60,347 | $59,750 | 2,488 | 8.3 |
| 11 | Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN | TN | $55,069 | $59,214 | 1,638 | 8.2 |
| 12 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | CA | $66,335 | $58,704 | 7,540 | 7.5 |
| 13 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | MN | $57,379 | $58,550 | 2,397 | 6.8 |
| 14 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | TX | $56,720 | $58,474 | 5,800 | 8.9 |
| 15 | Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX | TX | $56,408 | $58,153 | 1,779 | 7.1 |
| 16 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT | CT | $60,477 | $58,151 | 643 | 8.6 |
| 17 | Cleveland-Elyria, OH | OH | $52,814 | $57,407 | 1,317 | 8.8 |
| 18 | Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | WI | $53,387 | $57,405 | 810 | 5.4 |
| 19 | Salt Lake City, UT | UT | $54,423 | $57,287 | 1,375 | 9.2 |
| 20 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | PA | $56,068 | $57,212 | 3,058 | 5.6 |
| 21 | Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH | MA | $61,493 | $56,938 | 3,089 | 6.2 |
| 22 | Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ | DE | $56,246 | $56,814 | 443 | 8.9 |
| 23 | Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | IA | $50,233 | $56,442 | 602 | 8.0 |
| 24 | Columbus, OH | OH | $51,809 | $56,314 | 1,559 | 7.8 |
| 25 | Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA | NE | $50,671 | $56,301 | 555 | 5.5 |
| 26 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | OR | $59,032 | $56,221 | 1,838 | 7.3 |
| 27 | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | RI | $56,597 | $56,037 | 823 | 5.5 |
| 28 | St. Louis, MO-IL | MO | $51,498 | $55,976 | 2,381 | 9.5 |
| 29 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | MD | $57,904 | $55,677 | 1,386 | 5.5 |
| 30 | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | OH | $51,111 | $55,555 | 1,892 | 9.5 |
| 31 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | TX | $53,614 | $55,272 | 6,501 | 9.3 |
| 32 | Charleston-North Charleston, SC | SC | $51,328 | $55,191 | 454 | 6.0 |
| 33 | Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN | IN | $50,532 | $54,926 | 1,127 | 5.6 |
| 34 | Kansas City, MO-KS | MO | $50,242 | $54,611 | 1,812 | 9.1 |
| 35 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | NC | $51,101 | $54,363 | 2,271 | 9.1 |
| 36 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | KY | $48,871 | $54,301 | 1,124 | 7.5 |
| 37 | Manchester-Nashua, NH | NH | $56,975 | $54,262 | 357 | 7.1 |
| 38 | Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT | CT | $56,248 | $54,085 | 934 | 9.3 |
| 39 | Madison, WI | WI | $50,298 | $54,084 | 640 | 8.5 |
| 40 | New Orleans-Metairie, LA | LA | $47,322 | $53,775 | 731 | 7.3 |
| 41 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | FL | $55,342 | $53,730 | 4,710 | 8.6 |
| 42 | Honolulu, HI | HI | $58,503 | $53,672 | 538 | 7.2 |
| 43 | Birmingham-Hoover, AL | AL | $48,233 | $53,592 | 658 | 6.6 |
| 44 | Fargo, ND-MN | ND | $47,562 | $53,440 | 248 | 6.2 |
| 45 | Oklahoma City, OK | OK | $46,880 | $53,273 | 849 | 5.7 |
| 46 | Boise City, ID | ID | $48,388 | $53,174 | 398 | 5.3 |
| 47 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | CA | $59,969 | $53,070 | 1,645 | 5.5 |
| 48 | Portland-South Portland, ME | ME | $51,394 | $52,984 | 227 | 5.7 |
| 49 | Richmond, VA | VA | $53,467 | $52,938 | 1,286 | 8.6 |
| 50 | Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV | NV | $50,794 | $52,365 | 1,450 | 7.3 |
| 51 | Columbia, SC | SC | $48,670 | $52,333 | 613 | 8.2 |
| 52 | Baton Rouge, LA | LA | $46,002 | $52,275 | 445 | 5.9 |
| 53 | Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | AR | $45,393 | $52,176 | 707 | 9.4 |
| 54 | Grand Rapids-Kentwood, MI | MI | $48,862 | $51,981 | 788 | 7.9 |
| 55 | Tulsa, OK | OK | $45,450 | $51,648 | 618 | 6.2 |
| 56 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | TX | $49,975 | $51,521 | 2,343 | 9.4 |
| 57 | Burlington-South Burlington, VT | VT | $49,783 | $51,323 | 188 | 7.5 |
| 58 | Pittsburgh, PA | PA | $50,248 | $51,273 | 1,759 | 8.8 |
| 59 | Cheyenne, WY | WY | $46,631 | $51,243 | 129 | 8.6 |
| 60 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | AZ | $51,624 | $51,113 | 3,453 | 7.7 |
| 61 | Albuquerque, NM | NM | $45,939 | $51,043 | 551 | 5.5 |
| 62 | Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC | VA | $51,325 | $50,817 | 1,363 | 9.1 |
| 63 | Memphis, TN-MS-AR | TN | $46,991 | $50,528 | 650 | 6.5 |
| 64 | Knoxville, TN | TN | $46,872 | $50,400 | 629 | 6.3 |
| 65 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | CA | $55,456 | $49,076 | 1,050 | 5.3 |
| 66 | Sioux Falls, SD | SD | $43,034 | $48,902 | 294 | 7.3 |
| 67 | Jacksonville, FL | FL | $49,859 | $48,407 | 1,120 | 7.5 |
| 68 | Billings, MT | MT | $43,081 | $47,868 | 179 | 7.2 |
| 69 | Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | NY | $51,567 | $47,747 | 697 | 7.0 |
| 70 | Rochester, NY | NY | $51,269 | $47,471 | 766 | 7.7 |
| 71 | Jackson, MS | MS | $41,230 | $47,391 | 326 | 6.5 |
| 72 | Charleston, WV | WV | $42,506 | $47,229 | 214 | 8.6 |
| 73 | Wichita, KS | KS | $42,112 | $46,791 | 329 | 6.6 |
| 74 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | FL | $48,178 | $46,775 | 2,874 | 9.6 |
| 75 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | CA | $51,185 | $45,296 | 2,092 | 5.2 |
| 76 | Tucson, AZ | AZ | $45,570 | $45,119 | 866 | 8.7 |
| 77 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | FL | $46,017 | $44,677 | 1,465 | 5.9 |
| 78 | El Paso, TX | TX | $42,033 | $43,333 | 544 | 7.3 |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median salary for Mental Health Counselors?
The national median annual wage for mental health counselors is $53,710, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) data.
Where do mental health counselors earn the most after adjusting for cost of living?
After adjusting for local cost of living, the top-paying metro areas for mental health counselors are New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($64,892), San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA ($63,554), Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($62,718).
How many metro areas have data for mental health counselors?
We have wage and employment data for mental health counselors across 78 metro areas in the United States.
Data Sources
📎Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS (Dec 2025)📎U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024📎FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, 2024📎America's Health Rankings, 2025📎WalletHub/NAEP, 2025📎U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024📎Cook Political Report, PVI 2024📎Tax Foundation, Facts & Figures 2025📎ALEC Rich States Poor States, 2025📎WalletHub Tax Burden Study, 2025📎U.S. Census Bureau / FHFA, 2025📎BEA Regional Price Parities, 2023📎EPA AirData, Median AQI by County 2024📎EIA State Electricity Profiles, 2024📎FEMA National Risk Index v1.20, 2025📎U.S. Census Bureau, Net Domestic Migration 2024📎FCC / BroadbandNow, Broadband Access 2025📎National Park Service API, 2024📎USGS Protected Areas Database (PAD-US), 2024📎U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022📎U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2023 (Commuting)📎FHWA Highway Statistics, 2023📎U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022📎EIA State Electricity Profiles, 2024📎EIA Natural Gas Prices, 2024📎DOL National Database of Childcare Prices, 2023📎BEA Regional Price Parities (Food), 2023📎NCES Common Core of Data (CCD), 2023-24📎EDFacts ACGR Graduation Rates, 2021-22📎NCES School District Finance Survey (F-33), 2022-23📎BEA GDP by State (SAGDP9), 2023📎NASBO Fiscal Survey of States, FY2023📎Census Bureau State Government Finances, FY2022📎Pew Charitable Trusts Fiscal 50, FY2023📎Pew Charitable Trusts, FY2022📎S&P/Moody's via Ballotpedia, 2025📎Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES (May 2023)📎IRS Statistics of Income, Migration Data 2021-2022