SOC 21-1018 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS
Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors — California
California · 10 metro areas compared
At $59,250, median pay for Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors in California tracks the national median of $59,350 closely.
Wage distribution · annual
Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners
How pay has moved
The next ten years
Projected to grow much faster than average
- Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
- +16.8%
- Openings per year
- 48,300
- Typical entry-level education
- Master's degree
- On-the-job training
- Internship/residency
Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.
5.9% of people in this occupation work for themselves.
Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for California.
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
At $59,250, median pay for Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors in California tracks the national median of $59,350 closely. The middle half of workers in this occupation earn between $47,640 and $80,570. The lowest tenth earn under $44,640, while the highest tenth earn more than $111,080.
Employment stands at 75,610, or 4.2 jobs per thousand held locally. Among the 51 states with published data for this occupation, California ranks 30th by median wage. San Luis Obispo leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $80,770. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 497th of 793 by median pay.
Percentile breakdown
| Percentile | Annual | vs US median |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $44,640 | −24.8% |
| 25th | $47,640 | −19.7% |
| Median (50th) | $59,250 | −0.2% |
| 75th | $80,570 | +35.8% |
| 90th | $111,080 | +87.2% |
| Mean | $69,080 | +16.4% |
Highest-paying metro areas in California
| # | Metro area | Median | Jobs | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Luis Obispo | $80,770 | 350 | |
| 2 | Salinas | $73,940 | 620 | |
| 3 | El Centro | $73,620 | 220 | |
| 4 | Hanford | $72,960 | 190 | |
| 5 | Stockton | $72,770 | 1,260 | |
| 6 | San Jose | $72,550 | 2,550 | |
| 7 | San Francisco | $68,400 | 9,520 | |
| 8 | Vallejo | $66,940 | 670 | |
| 9 | Oxnard | $64,910 | 1,330 | |
| 10 | Santa Rosa | $63,980 | 870 |
What the pay is worth locally
Prices in California run 10.7% above the national average, so the median of $59,250 buys what $53,523 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way the gap against the national median narrows to 9.8% below the national median in real terms.
Published median
$59,250as reported by BLSLocal price level
110.7US average = 100 · BEA 2024Adjusted for local prices
$53,523US average = 100 · BEA 2024Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest
Key takeaways
- Median pay is $59,250 a year, 0.2% below the national median.
- Published pay spans $44,640 to $111,080 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
- The area has 75,610 jobs in this occupation.
- It ranks 30th of 51 states for this occupation.
- The highest-paying metro area covered is San Luis Obispo, at $80,770.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median wage for Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors in California?
The median annual wage is $59,250, or $28.48 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 $59,350, so pay in California is 0.2% 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 California earns more than $111,080 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.
What is the starting range?
The tenth percentile wage is $44,640 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 San Luis Obispo, at $80,770 per year.
How many jobs are there in this occupation here?
The survey estimates 75,610 jobs in this occupation in California. 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.
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