May 2025 OEWS estimate
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisor Salary in the United States
The national median annual salary is $64,330. This page compares official BLS estimates across 44 major metro areas with publishable data.
Wage overview
Official BLS estimates; hourly values are shown only when BLS publishes them.
Median annual salary
$64,330
Mean annual salary
$71,430
Employment estimate
353,310
Annual salary percentiles
BLS wage thresholds from the 10th to the 90th percentile. Values are annual, the scale starts at $0, and P50 is the median.
| Percentile | Annual salary |
|---|---|
| P10 — 10th percentile | $45,020 |
| P25 — lower quartile | $51,270 |
| P50 — median | $64,330 |
| P75 — upper quartile | $82,870 |
| P90 — 90th percentile | $104,770 |
Median hourly wage
$30.93/hr
Mean hourly wage
$34.34/hr
Employment estimate
353,310
Hourly wage percentiles
BLS hourly wage thresholds from the 10th to the 90th percentile. The scale starts at $0; P50 is the median.
| Percentile | Hourly wage |
|---|---|
| P10 — 10th percentile | $21.65/hr |
| P25 — lower quartile | $24.65/hr |
| P50 — median | $30.93/hr |
| P75 — upper quartile | $39.84/hr |
| P90 — 90th percentile | $50.37/hr |
Median salary distribution across covered metros
These values summarize the 44 metros published on this site, not every U.S. metro.
- Lowest covered median
- $48,840
- Middle covered median
- $64,665
- Highest covered median
- $100,930
Highest-paying metros in this dataset
Ranked by annual median salary on a zero-based scale. This is not a cost-of-living or quality-of-life ranking.
| Rank | Metro or occupation | Annual median |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | Sacramento, CA | $100,930 |
| #2 | Riverside, CA | $96,780 |
| #3 | San Jose, CA | $95,390 |
| #4 | San Francisco, CA | $94,600 |
| #5 | Seattle, WA | $87,280 |
| #6 | Boston, MA | $80,760 |
| #7 | Los Angeles, CA | $79,000 |
| #8 | Portland, OR | $78,400 |
| #9 | New York, NY | $77,580 |
| #10 | Washington, DC | $77,420 |
Largest employment markets
BLS employment estimates for the covered metros where employment is published.
| Rank | Employment market | Estimated employment |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York, NY | 19,890 |
| #2 | Los Angeles, CA | 17,110 |
| #3 | Chicago, IL | 9,790 |
| #4 | Boston, MA | 8,170 |
| #5 | Dallas, TX | 7,980 |
| #6 | Washington, DC | 7,260 |
| #7 | Philadelphia, PA | 7,050 |
| #8 | Atlanta, GA | 6,550 |
| #9 | Houston, TX | 6,480 |
| #10 | Miami, FL | 6,250 |