How Mental Health Professionals' Salaries Can Vary Across Industries

Infographic Text: How Mental Health Professionals' Salaries Can Vary Across Industries

Let’s say you’re an up-and-coming mental health professional. You’ve finished your education. You’ve gotten your state license. Now you have to decide: Where do you work? Do you provide your talents at a local school? A hospital? A government office? Where you choose to work can actually have a big impact on your salary. 

(The following information comes from 2017, the most recent year for which the Bureau of Labor Statistics has data.)

Psychologist Salaries:

  • Government: $94,910
  • Hospitals—state, local, and private: $83,910
  • Ambulatory health care services: $77,030
  • Elementary and secondary schools—state, local, and private: $74,470

Social Worker Salaries:

  • State government: $46,120
  • Hospitals—state, local, and private: $58,490
  • Ambulatory health care services: $48,340
  • Individual and family services: $40,800

Marriage and Family Therapist Salaries:

  • State government: $72,580
  • Outpatient care centers: $48,390
  • Offices of other health practitioners: $45,980
  • Individual and family services: $44,760

Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselor Salaries:

  • State government: $50,600
  • Hospitals—state, local, and private: $47,000
  • Residential mental health and substance abuse facilities: $37,210
  • Individual and family services: $42,190

School Counselor and Career Counselor Salaries:

  • Elementary and secondary schools—state, local, and private: $62,990
  • Other educational services—state, local, and private: $49,570
  • Junior colleges and colleges and universities and professional schools—state, local, and private: $49,150
  • Health care and social assistance: $37,300