Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, aged to 2026 using compounded market movement. State selections show BLS state-level figures where published. Actual pay varies with experience, industry, and organization size.
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors salary by state
Base salary plus target annual bonus. Target bonus opportunity scales with role level, so a higher base carries a higher target percentage.
Base salary
$74,000
National baseline
Target bonus
$8,000
10.9% of base
Total target cash
$82,000
Base plus target bonus
Bonus percentiles:25th$5,00050th$8,00075th$13,000
Long-term incentive is not shown for this role. Equity awards are only disclosed publicly for the named executive officers of public companies, so no market figure exists for most jobs. See executive pay disclosures.
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About this role
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors is a professional role within the function in the Community and Social Service job family.
Typical entry preparation: Bachelor's Degree and up to 2 years of related work experience, per O*NET occupational data. Advancement typically requires additional years in role.
What Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisorss do
Typical education: Bachelor's Degree
Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
Counsel students regarding educational issues, such as course and program selection, class scheduling and registration, school adjustment, truancy, study habits, and career planning.
Provide crisis intervention to students when difficult situations occur at schools.
Counsel individuals or groups to help them understand and overcome personal, social, or behavioral problems affecting their educational or vocational situations.
Review transcripts to ensure that students meet graduation or college entrance requirements, and write letters of recommendation.
Top skills:Active ListeningSpeakingSocial PerceptivenessService OrientationWritingReading Comprehension
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors pay by experience level
Entry level$46,500
Typical starting pay (about the 10th percentile)
Early career$53,000
A few years in (about the 25th percentile)
Experienced$66,500
Mid-career median pay
Senior$86,000
Seasoned professionals (about the 75th percentile)
Top earners$108,500
Highest earners (about the 90th percentile)
Experience tiers are derived from the BLS wage percentile distribution for this occupation, aged to 2026. Actual pay varies by employer, location, and specialization.
Job outlook
+3.5%
projected change in jobs, 2024–2034
31,000
projected openings per year
Growing about as fast as average
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program (2024–2034). Openings include growth and replacement needs.
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors salary by industry
Educational Services
319,060 workers
$75,500
Elementary and Secondary Schools
173,950 workers
$82,500
Educational Services, Local Government Owned
173,270 workers
$84,000
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools
95,050 workers
$64,500
Educational Services, Privately Owned
82,880 workers
$65,000
Educational Services, State Government Owned
62,920 workers
$65,000
Junior Colleges
29,440 workers
$74,000
Social Assistance
13,680 workers
$53,500
Educational Support Services
10,790 workers
$68,000
Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Schools and Hospitals and USPS
8,130 workers
$71,500
National sector-level figures, BLS OEWS May 2025, aged to 2026.
Who works in this role
About 348,000 people held this occupation in the United States in 2025.
Women
77%
White
73.6%
Black or African American
18.8%
Asian
3.4%
Hispanic or Latino
19.1%
Race categories and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity overlap, so shares can sum to more than 100 percent. Figures describe this occupation across the national workforce, not any single employer. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, Annual Averages, Table 11, 2025.
Pay trend
National median annual wage, 2020 to 2025: $58,120 to $64,330.
+10.7% over this period
Medians as published each May in the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics national estimates. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS.
Pay by experience level
How annual pay for this occupation spreads from newcomers to the highest paid, aged to 2026.
Entry10th percentile
$46,500
Early career25th percentile
$53,000
Median50th percentile
$66,500
Experienced75th percentile
$86,000
Top earners90th percentile
$108,500
Bands are the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentile annual wages for this occupation nationally. Percentiles reflect the full mix of tenure, employer, and location, so they approximate but do not equal years of experience. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS national estimates.
Where this job pays most
Top-paying states for this occupation, average annual wage aged to 2026.
State averages for this occupation from the BLS OEWS state estimates. Cost of living differs by state; a higher wage does not always mean more buying power.
The abilities employers and analysts most associate with this occupation.
Active ListeningSpeakingSocial PerceptivenessService OrientationWritingReading Comprehension
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, O*NET occupational database.
Typical duties and FLSA status
Core duties
Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
Counsel students regarding educational issues, such as course and program selection, class scheduling and registration, school adjustment, truancy, study habits, and career planning.
Provide crisis intervention to students when difficult situations occur at schools.
Counsel individuals or groups to help them understand and overcome personal, social, or behavioral problems affecting their educational or vocational situations.
Review transcripts to ensure that students meet graduation or college entrance requirements, and write letters of recommendation.
FLSA classification (typical)
Typically Exempt · Professional, Administrative, or Executive exemption
Occupations in this SOC group are typically classified as Exempt when paid above the salary threshold, provided they satisfy the duties test for one of the FLSA exemption categories. Actual classification depends on the specific job duties, salary basis, and any applicable state or local rules. The current federal salary threshold for exemption is $684 per week ($35,568 per year), per the 2020 Department of Labor rule; the 2024 rule that would have raised the threshold was struck down by federal court in November 2024.
Pay outlook
Five-year pay outlook for this title
2026$74,000
2027$76,500
2028$79,500
2029$82,000
2030$85,000
2031$88,000
Projection assumes market wages keep rising about 3.5% a year, consistent with recent wage growth measured by the BLS Employment Cost Index. It reflects market movement for the title, not individual raises or promotions, which vary.
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Sources and assumptions
Modeled market estimate, aged to 2026. Underlying source families are BLS OEWS May 2025 for BLS-mapped occupations and the 2018–19 collection for corporate titles. Annual aging is compounded at approximately 3–4%; geographic, industry and company-size repricing are modeled. See the role details and methodology for the applicable source and assumptions.
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How much does a Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors make?
The median market pay for a Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors in the United States is about $74,000 per year in 2026, based on WePayFairly's market model.
What is the salary range for a Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors?
Most Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors pay falls between about $53,000 (25th percentile) and $86,000 (75th percentile), with top earners above $108,500.
What does a Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors do?
Core responsibilities include: maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations; and counsel students regarding educational issues, such as course and program selection, class scheduling and registration, school adjustment, truancy, study habits, and career planning.
Is pay for Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors roles growing?
Yes. The national median wage for this occupation moved from $58,120 in 2020 to $64,330 in 2025, a change of +10.7% in nominal dollars.
How this role compares
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors pays 11% above the average across 17 roles in the Community and Social Service job family (family average $66,500).
Similar-paying roles in Community and Social Service
Related occupations from O*NET OnLine, U.S. Department of Labor.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors make?
The average base salary for a Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors in the United States is $74,000 per year, or about $35.58 per hour.
What is the typical salary range?
Pay typically falls between $53,000 and $86,000 per year (25th to 75th percentile) depending on experience, location, industry, and organization size.
How does this compare with other Community and Social Service roles?
The Community and Social Service job family averages $66,500 across 17 roles tracked by WePayFairly.
Need a defensible market price for this role? WePayFairly data is compiled from published survey sources and maintained by compensation professionals.
Need Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors pay benchmarked for your organization, or defensible compensation analysis for a dispute or valuation? Grahall builds it from primary sources, backed by an expert who testifies.
