Incomes for Counseling & Psychology
In psychology, there are professionals who work as counselors, guiding people in living more effective lives through interviewing, observation and note taking. Counseling is one of the 50-plus divisions acknowledged by the American Psychological Association, which is the largest association of psychologists in the world. In terms of income, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics places counseling psychologists in the "Clinical, Counseling, and School Psychologists" subcategory, and how much they make depends on a handful of factors.
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National Incomes
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The BLS reports that the average counseling psychologist made an annual income of around $72,000 in 2009. The bottom 10 percent made around $39,000 while the top 10 percent made around $109,000.
Income by State
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At around $92,000, New Jersey, according to the BLS, was the highest income-paying state for counseling psychologists in 2009. Colorado was second with around $90,000, followed by California at around $85,000, Ohio at around $81,000, and Rhode Island at around $80,000.
Two other relatively high income-paying states--Massachusetts ($73,000) and New York ($79,000), had the second- and fourth-highest concentration of counseling psychologists. The other high-concentration states--New Mexico (1st), Idaho (3rd) and Hawaii (5th)--yielded incomes within the $60,000 to $70,000 range: lower than the national average.
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Income by Metropolitan Area
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In 2009, according to the BLS, New Jersey and California had two spots each in the top five metropolitan areas for counseling psychologist incomes. New Jersey had Trenton-Ewing in second place with around $110,000 and Newark-Union in fourth place with around $100,000. California had Vallejo-Fairfield in third place with around $103,000 and El Centro in fifth place with around $97,000. Greeley in Colorado, however, topped all metro areas in the United States with an average annual income of around $170,000.
Income by Workplace
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According to the BLS, almost half of counseling psychologists worked in elementary and secondary schools in 2009, where they made an average annual income of around $70,000. Although this is lower than the national average, counseling psychologists made higher incomes elsewhere. These places included hospitals ($83,000) or their very own practices ($84,000).
Income Growth and Outlook
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The BLS reports that counseling psychologists saw the average annual income jump by 0.8 percent between 2008 and 2009. This was outpaced by employment, which experienced a 1.4 percent rise. With the agency estimating average growth for the profession between 2008 and 2018, it isn't likely that income would experience any substantial growth.
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