Mental Health Counseling Salaries

How much do mental health counselors make?

The table below presents a comparison of the annual mean salaries for various counseling occupations in Oregon versus the national average in the U.S., as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2023.

For each occupation, the table also highlights the difference in salary between the state and national averages.

Notably, all the listed counseling occupations in Oregon have higher mean salaries than the U.S. average.

Counseling Occupations Oregon Annual Mean Salary U.S. Annual Mean Salary Difference
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors $ 73,540 $ 66,990 $6,550
Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors $ 66,260 $ 60,080 $6,180
Rehabilitation Counselors $ 53,970 $ 48,430 $5,540
Counselors, All Other $ 53,040 $ 52,360 $680

U.S. Mean Annual Wage for Mental Health Counselors (USD)

Source: Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, Bureau of Labor Statistics

Mental health therapist counsels women in sweater

Job Outlook for Mental Health Counselors

In 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicted that employment of substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors will grow 19% between 2023 and 2033, which is "much faster" than the average growth rate for all occupations. At that time, the BLS estimated that there were 449,800 people working in these fields in the U.S., which means that a 19% increase would add 84,500 new mental health counseling jobs, bringing the total up to 534,300 by 2033.