Counselors

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Total Workforce

805k

Average Age

41.7

Average Salary

$43,730

Average Male Salary

$45,733

Average Female Salary

$43,002

About

Employment

Diversity

Education

Skills

About

Counselors are most often employed by the Elementary & secondary schools industry. The average yearly wage for Counselors was $43,730 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Counselors by wage are Welding, soldering, & brazing workers, Computer operators, and Librarians.

Counselors are part of the Community & Social Service Occupations, along with Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors, Educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors, Marriage and family therapists, Mental health counselors, Rehabilitation counselors, and 11 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Counselors are Chittenden, Franklin & Grand Isle CountiesBurlington City PUMA, VT, Clinton, Franklin, Essex & Hamilton Counties PUMA, NY, and Boise (South) & Kuna Cities PUMA, ID. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Counselors are Albuquerque City (Central) & Bernalillo County (North Valley) PUMA, NM, Newark City (Southwest) PUMA, NJ, and Columbia & Greene Counties PUMA, NY.

Photo by Philip Larson

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

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Counselors and on wages and locations 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 Legal services. Counselors are paid most in Winston-Salem City (South) PUMA, NC but are relatively concentrated in Albuquerque City (Central) & Bernalillo County (North Valley) PUMA, NM.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$43,730

AVERAGE SALARY

± $852

In 2017, Counselors earned an average of $43,730, $10,159 less than than the average national salary of $53,888.

Librarians make somewhat more than Counselors while Welding, soldering, & brazing workers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Counselors as measured by average annual salary in the US.

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Wage Distribution

0.328

WAGE GINI

In 2017, Counselors had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.328, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Counselors (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

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Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Counselors.

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Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Counselors

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Counselors.

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Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Counselors, by number of employees, are Elementary & secondary schools, Outpatient care centers, and Individual & family services.

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Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Counselors, by average wage, are Legal services, Offices of physicians, and Architectural, engineering & related services.

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Industries by Share

805k

2017 Workforce

± 21,969

4.9%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 3.72%

The number of people employed as Counselors has been growing at a rate of 4.9%, from 767,456 people in 2016 to 805,075 people in 2017.

This graphic shows the share of Counselors employed by various industries. Elementary & secondary schools employs the largest share of Counselors at 21.4%, followed by Outpatient care centers with 16.2% and Individual & family services with 15.7%.

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Diversity

Demographic information on Counselors in the US. The average age of male Counselors in the workforce is 42.9 and of female Counselors is 41.3, and the most common race/ethnicity for Counselors is White.

Gender Composition

215k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 11,365

590k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 18,828

73.3% of Counselors are Female, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Counselors.

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Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Counselors

White
Black
Asian

70.6% of Counselors are White, making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 19.8% of Counselors, Black is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Counselors.

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Age by Gender

42.9

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.773

41.3

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.427

The median age of Counselors is 41.7, and Male employees are generally 1.61 years older than than their Female counterparts.

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Education

Data on higher education choices for Counselors from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Counselors is Psychology but a relatively high number of Counselors hold a major in Psychology.

Majors

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

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

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Skills

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 and Active Listening. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Counselors need more than the average amount of Social Perceptiveness, Persuasion, and Service Orientation.