Rehabilitation Counselors salary

SOC 21-1015 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$46,850

per year, nationally

Middle half

$38,770–$59,260

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

94,740

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

+1.4%

10,000 openings/yr

What the range looks like

A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.

$35,060$77,170

10th: $35,060
25th: $38,770
Median: $46,850
75th: $59,260
90th: $77,170

Getting in

Typical education to enter: Master's degree
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: None

Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.

Where rehabilitation counselors earn the most

Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	State	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Wyoming	$67,640	92.7	70	0.39×
2	North Dakota	$63,050	89.0	210	0.82×
3	Alaska	$61,590	102.4	130	0.64×
4	Kentucky	$58,540	90.2	790	0.65×
5	Washington	$58,050	107.0	5,440	2.51×
6	Connecticut	$56,340	103.6	2,410	2.33×
7	Georgia	$55,000	96.3	740	0.25×
8	Oregon	$54,970	103.4	1,630	1.36×
9	Idaho	$54,550	95.5	820	1.57×
10	Alabama	$54,040	88.8	540	0.42×
11	Maine	$51,150	97.0	330	0.83×
12	Vermont	$50,030	98.0	310	1.69×
13	Texas	$49,990	97.1	1,840	0.21×
14	New Jersey	$49,730	108.8	1,630	0.63×
15	District of Columbia	$49,680	109.9	—	—
16	Illinois	$49,350	100.0	4,140	1.11×
17	South Dakota	$49,350	88.6	370	1.32×
18	Delaware	$48,840	99.8	340	1.16×
19	Hawaii	$48,720	110.0	150	0.40×
20	Pennsylvania	$48,650	97.6	4,130	1.12×
21	Arizona	$48,330	100.7	1,750	0.89×
22	New Mexico	$48,240	92.2	210	0.39×
23	West Virginia	$48,050	89.5	470	1.10×
24	Minnesota	$48,010	98.6	3,020	1.68×
25	Louisiana	$47,990	88.2	280	0.24×
26	New York	$47,960	107.9	3,810	0.65×
27	Colorado	$47,840	103.1	980	0.56×
28	Virginia	$47,530	101.1	2,890	1.16×
29	Massachusetts	$47,320	105.8	5,760	2.60×
30	Nebraska	$47,050	90.1	480	0.77×
31	Rhode Island	$47,020	102.3	420	1.36×
32	Wisconsin	$46,530	94.1	2,390	1.34×
33	Tennessee	$46,060	91.9	1,590	0.80×
34	Florida	$45,990	103.4	3,110	0.51×
35	North Carolina	$45,890	94.3	3,820	1.27×
36	Montana	$45,240	94.6	330	1.06×
37	Missouri	$45,180	90.8	2,020	1.13×
38	Michigan	$44,580	96.2	3,340	1.24×
39	California	$44,480	110.7	13,690	1.23×
40	Indiana	$44,390	93.3	2,030	1.04×
41	Utah	$43,900	98.9	650	0.62×
42	Ohio	$42,620	92.8	3,690	1.09×
43	New Hampshire	$42,600	104.2	430	1.04×
44	Kansas	$41,980	90.1	1,370	1.56×
45	Mississippi	$41,500	87.0	470	0.67×
46	Maryland	$40,860	105.0	3,300	1.96×
47	Nevada	$40,120	100.0	570	0.61×
48	Iowa	$39,630	87.8	2,170	2.28×
49	Oklahoma	$38,260	87.8	1,570	1.51×
50	South Carolina	$35,990	93.7	980	0.70×
51	Arkansas	$35,210	86.9	600	0.75×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where rehabilitation counselors wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for rehabilitation counselors

The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	Metro area	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	New Haven, CT	$79,380	104.6	—	—
2	Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA	$72,960	91.1	40	1.25×
3	Johnstown, PA	$70,450	85.9	110	3.91×
4	Trenton-Princeton, NJ	$69,740	103.2	140	0.92×
5	Killeen-Temple, TX	$69,180	91.1	40	0.44×
6	Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ	$66,950	98.9	60	0.57×
7	Bismarck, ND	$66,700	91.0	60	1.34×
8	St. Cloud, MN	$66,680	87.6	50	0.72×
9	Portland-South Portland, ME	$66,480	101.9	60	0.31×
10	Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT	$64,420	100.4	450	5.80×
11	Fort Collins-Loveland, CO	$63,620	101.1	30	0.31×
12	Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA	$63,570	103.7	290	3.59×
13	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA	$63,480	102.4	80	2.52×
14	Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA	$63,240	103.9	40	1.34×
15	Erie, PA	$61,710	91.0	70	0.95×
16	Fargo, ND-MN	$61,420	90.9	80	0.87×
17	Grand Forks, ND-MN	$61,420	86.7	40	1.10×
18	Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA	$61,290	105.6	140	2.44×
19	Coeur d'Alene, ID	$61,240	98.3	50	1.08×
20	Anchorage, AK	$60,700	105.4	60	0.59×
21	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$60,450	110.4	600	0.87×
22	Bend, OR	$60,170	103.6	140	2.11×
23	Charlottesville, VA	$59,260	99.1	50	0.65×
24	Boulder, CO	$58,770	105.2	40	0.36×
25	Longview-Kelso, WA	$58,760	97.5	30	1.29×
26	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$58,580	111.1	2,820	2.22×
27	Lexington-Fayette, KY	$58,570	92.9	240	1.36×
28	Boise City, ID	$58,240	98.4	340	1.42×
29	Birmingham, AL	$58,210	91.6	140	0.43×
30	Missoula, MT	$58,000	96.4	30	0.81×
31	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$57,870	106.9	320	1.30×
32	Kennewick-Richland, WA	$57,480	100.1	120	1.53×
33	Sioux Falls, SD-MN	$57,410	90.6	130	1.24×
34	Twin Falls, ID	$57,080	92.1	40	1.22×
35	Mansfield, OH	$56,970	88.9	30	1.14×
36	New Orleans-Metairie, LA	$56,940	92.6	50	0.19×
37	Eugene-Springfield, OR	$56,930	101.6	290	3.02×
38	Mobile, AL	$56,290	88.1	50	0.49×
39	Williamsport, PA	$56,200	92.3	50	1.52×
40	Salem, OR	$56,170	103.6	260	2.29×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where rehabilitation counselors wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.