SalaryExplorer

SOC 21-1012 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors — La Crosse

La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN · 10 metro areas compared

$60,730 /year
$29.20per hour
160jobs in area
−5.6%vs US median

The median wage for Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors in La Crosse, WI is $60,730 per year, close to the national median of $64,330 for the same occupation.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $64,33010TH$46,760MEDIAN$60,73075TH$71,03090TH$78,030

How pay has moved

$66,823$36,6882019202020212022202320242025$60,730
$41,710 in 2019 to $60,730 in 2025, +45.6% 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 La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN.

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 La Crosse, WI is $60,730 per year, close to the national median of $64,330 for the same occupation. Pay ranges from under $46,760 at the tenth percentile to more than $78,030 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $48,670 to $71,030.

Employment stands at 160, or 1.9 jobs per thousand held locally. Madison leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $67,510. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 154th of 311 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$46,760−27.3%
25th$48,670−24.3%
Median (50th)$60,730−5.6%
75th$71,030+10.4%
90th$78,030+21.3%
Mean$61,750−4.0%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in Wisconsin

Median annual wage for Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Madison$67,510910
2Kenosha$66,700150
3Janesville$65,090110
4Racine$64,630100
5Green Bay$63,240300
6Appleton$61,890180
7Sheboygan$61,76090
8Milwaukee$60,7901,500
9Eau Claire$58,730190
10Fond du Lac$58,52090

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in La Crosse run 8.2% below the national average, so the median of $60,730 goes as far as $66,155 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 2.8% above the national median in real terms.

Published median

$60,730as reported by BLS

Local price level

91.8US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$66,155US average = 100 · BEA 2024

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

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $60,730 a year, 5.6% below the national median.
  • Published pay spans $46,760 to $78,030 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 160 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Madison, at $67,510.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors in La Crosse, WI?

The median annual wage is $60,730, or $29.20 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 La Crosse, WI is 5.6% 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 La Crosse, WI earns more than $78,030 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $46,760 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 Madison, at $67,510 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 160 jobs in this occupation in La Crosse, WI. 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.