Counselors

Detailed Occupation

Add Comparison

2017 Workforce

743k

Average Age

41.8

Average Salary

$42,904

Average Male Salary

$44,371

Average Female Salary

$42,327

About

Counselors are most often employed by the Elementary & secondary schools industry. The average yearly wage for Counselors was $42,904 in 2017.

The locations that employ the most Counselors are Chittenden County PUMA, VT, East Prince George's County--Bowie City, Kettering & Largo PUMA, MD, and NYC-Queens Community District 12--Jamaica, St. Albans, & Hollis PUMA, NY. The locations with a relatively high concentration of Counselors are Virginia's Region 2000 (South)--Campbell County & Lynchburg City PUMA, VA, Essex County (Southeast)--Newark (West & Southwest) PUMA, NJ, and Philadelphia City (University-Southwest and Lower Southwest) PUMA, PA.

Management, business, science, & arts occupations Community & Social Service Occupations Education, legal, community service, arts, & media occupations

Employment

Employment and salary information for the Counselors workforce. Counselors workforce in 2017 was 743,109 people, of which 71.8% were women and 28.2% were men.

Counselors are paid most in Cook County (South)--Bloom & Rich Townships PUMA, IL but are relatively concentrated in Virginia's Region 2000 (South)--Campbell County & Lynchburg City PUMA, VA.

Employment Over Time

Metric

Grouping

209,802

Male Workforce

± 11.2k

533,307

Female Workforce

± 17.9k

The Counselors workforce in 2017 was 743,109 people (71.8% women and 28.2% men). This implies an average annual growth of 10.4% between 2014 (672,851) and 2017 (743,109).

Employment by Location

Level

Metric

This map shows the states in the United States shaded by average wage for Counselors.

During 2017, the states that concentrated the best average annual wage were District of Columbia ($57,452), Alaska ($49,006), and New Hampshire ($48,577).

Yearly Wage Ranking

$42,904

AVERAGE WAGE

#265 in the ranking (2014)

$69,878

NATIONAL AVERAGE WAGE

For all occupations across the US

In 2017, Counselors earned an average of $42,904, $26,974 less than the average national salary of $69,878

In 2017, Counselors had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.334, which is lower than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Counselors (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

The graphic shows the distribution of average salaries by buckets for Counselors compared to the entire workforce in the country.

Industry

Information on the industries that employ Counselors and on wages for those in the field. Elementary & secondary schools is the industry that employs the most Counselors, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Counselors, by average wage, is Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing ($87,793).

Occupations by Industries

Metric

Value

743k

2017 Workforce

± 21,110

4.25%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 3.89%

This graphic shows the share of Counselors employed by various industries. Elementary & secondary schools employs the largest share of Counselors at 33.1%, followed by Individual & family services with 23% and Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges with 22.9%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Counselors in the US. The workforce of Counselors in 2017 was 743,109 people, with 71.8% woman, and 28.2% men. The average age of male Counselors in the workforce is 42.6 and of female Counselors is 41.5, and the most common race/ethnicity for Counselors is White.

Gender and Age

Metric

The workforce of Counselors in 2017 was 743,109 people, with 71.8% woman, and 28.2% men.

The age ranges that concentrated the largest workforce were 30 to 34 years (103,288 people), 25 to 29 years (99,956 people), and 35 to 39 years (89,309 people). Among them they concentrated 39.4% of the total workforce.

Ethnicity

Gender

In 2017, 12.1% of Counselors workers were Hispanic and 87.9% non-Hispanic.

The treemap shows the distribution of Hispanic workers according to their origin, highlighting Mexican (52.8%), Puerto Rican (16.7)%, and Cuban (4.79)%

You can review this information by gender using the selectors above.

Races

In 2017, 70.5% of the Counselors workforce were White, of which 73.5% were women and 26.5% men. Other races that concentrated a significant number of workers were Black (20%) and Other (2.97%).

Education & Skills

Data on higher education choices for Counselors from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Counselors is Psychology but the most specialized major according to RCA in 2017 were Psychology.

Among the necessary skills for Counselors, Social Perceptiveness stands, but the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Counselors need more than the average amount of Science.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

Type of Majors

Degree

The most common majors achieved by Counselors in 2017 (counting all academic degrees) were Psychology (162,707 people), Education (84,517 people), and Business (47,003 people).

You can review this information for different academic grades by modifying the option selected in the selector above.

Education Levels

Metric

The main educational levels achieved by the Counselors workers were Graduate Degree (367,054 people), Bachelors Degree (196,514 people), and Some college (83,762 people).

The graphic shows the Counselors workforce by gender and educational level.

Skills

Chart

Value

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Counselors from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Counselors need many skills, but most especially Social Perceptiveness, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension.