Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2018

21-1018 Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors

Counsel and advise individuals, families, or groups to prevent or treat substance abuse problems, behavioral disorders, or a broad range of mental health issues in order to promote optimum mental and emotional health.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
267,730	1.1 %	$23.04	$47,920	0.5 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$13.58	$16.80	$21.46	$27.68	$35.09
Annual Wage (2)	$28,240	$34,950	$44,630	$57,580	$72,990

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Outpatient Care Centers	62,310	6.76	$22.24	$46,260
Individual and Family Services	47,560	1.96	$22.98	$47,790
Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Facilities	36,050	5.64	$19.59	$40,750
Offices of Other Health Practitioners	22,140	2.43	$24.89	$51,760
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	20,370	0.37	$27.00	$56,160

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Outpatient Care Centers	62,310	6.76	$22.24	$46,260
Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals	14,070	5.83	$22.46	$46,720
Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Facilities	36,050	5.64	$19.59	$40,750
Other Residential Care Facilities	6,870	4.21	$19.64	$40,840
Offices of Other Health Practitioners	22,140	2.43	$24.89	$51,760

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Junior Colleges	180	0.02	$30.65	$63,760
Insurance Carriers	720	0.06	$29.14	$60,610
Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities	130	0.01	$28.87	$60,060
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	3,150	0.10	$27.05	$56,270
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	20,370	0.37	$27.00	$56,160

Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	31,270	1.84	0.99	$24.50	$50,950
Pennsylvania	20,860	3.57	1.93	$21.99	$45,740
Massachusetts	15,880	4.45	2.40	$23.02	$47,880
New York	14,610	1.56	0.84	$24.70	$51,380
Virginia	12,620	3.29	1.78	$23.97	$49,860

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Vermont	1,640	5.36	2.90	$22.57	$46,950
Massachusetts	15,880	4.45	2.40	$23.02	$47,880
Pennsylvania	20,860	3.57	1.93	$21.99	$45,740
Virginia	12,620	3.29	1.78	$23.97	$49,860
Colorado	7,770	2.97	1.60	$23.31	$48,490

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Utah	2,540	1.74	0.94	$31.89	$66,330
Alaska	910	2.90	1.57	$30.25	$62,920
District of Columbia	650	0.92	0.50	$28.78	$59,850
Oregon	4,880	2.58	1.40	$28.55	$59,390
New Jersey	8,600	2.12	1.15	$28.08	$58,410

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	14,990	1.58	0.85	$27.11	$56,400
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	12,630	2.06	1.12	$24.35	$50,650
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	9,250	3.25	1.75	$22.95	$47,740
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	9,140	3.31	1.79	$23.64	$49,180
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	8,790	1.89	1.02	$21.79	$45,320
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	5,050	2.58	1.40	$23.78	$49,460
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	4,580	1.77	0.96	$21.13	$43,950
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	4,480	2.26	1.22	$22.86	$47,550
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	4,300	1.37	0.74	$26.95	$56,050
Pittsburgh, PA	3,850	3.36	1.82	$21.68	$45,090