SalaryExplorer

SOC 21-1012 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors — Dothan

Dothan, AL · 10 metro areas compared

$59,070 /year
$28.40per hour
100jobs in area
−8.2%vs US median

The median wage for Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors in Dothan, AL is $59,070 per year, 8.2% below the national median of $64,330.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $64,33010TH$35,35025TH$45,000MEDIAN$59,07090TH$77,130

How pay has moved

$61,741$55,8192019202020212022202320242025$59,070
$57,030 in 2019 to $59,070 in 2025, +3.6% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to grow about as fast as average

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
+3.5%
Openings per year
31,000
Typical entry-level education
Master's degree

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Dothan, AL.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

The median wage for Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors in Dothan, AL is $59,070 per year, 8.2% below the national median of $64,330. Pay ranges from under $35,350 at the tenth percentile to more than $77,130 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $45,000 to $73,750.

Employment stands at 100, or 1.6 jobs per thousand held locally. Decatur leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $72,380. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 73rd of 248 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Dothan, AL · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$35,350−45.0%
25th$45,000−30.0%
Median (50th)$59,070−8.2%
75th$73,750+14.6%
90th$77,130+19.9%
Mean$59,110−8.1%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in Alabama

Median annual wage for Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Decatur$72,38080
2Birmingham$63,020870
3Daphne$62,740170
4Auburn$62,270310
5Huntsville$61,070430
6Florence$58,250140
7Mobile$57,800350
8Montgomery$56,840360
9Gadsden$56,14080
10Anniston$53,840120

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Dothan run 16.2% below the national average, so the median of $59,070 goes as far as $70,489 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 9.6% above the national median in real terms.

Published median

$59,070as reported by BLS

Local price level

83.8US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$70,489US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $59,070 a year, 8.2% below the national median.
  • Published pay spans $35,350 to $77,130 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 100 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Decatur, at $72,380.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors in Dothan, AL?

The median annual wage is $59,070, or $28.40 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $64,330, so pay in Dothan, AL is 8.2% lower. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Dothan, AL earns more than $77,130 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $35,350 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Decatur, at $72,380 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 100 jobs in this occupation in Dothan, AL. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.