Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 21-1018 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data
Median Annual Salary
$59,342
$28.53/hr
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Is this a competitive Substance Abuse salary in 2026?
Based on BLS OEWS wage percentiles, JOLTS August 2026 demand signals, and ECI Q2 2026 wage growth.
$Competitive · ~P50
P10$39K
P25$47K
P50$59K
P75$77K
P90$98K
Drag the dot or type an amount above.
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Demand: ACTIVE. Demand is active -- professional & business services openings are at 5.0% (JOLTS, August 2026). A balanced market where the median is a solid, competitive anchor.
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Merit budget: Wages in professional services are rising about 2.5% a year (BLS ECI, Q2 2026). Budget a 2.1-2.6% merit increase to hold this role at market.
Our read
For a competitive 2026 offer, target $59,342 to $76,544 (market median to the 75th percentile). The median-to-P75 range keeps offers competitive.
Figures are market benchmarks from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; apply professional judgment before making pay decisions.
How Substance Abuse pay is moving in 2026
Trend, demand, and spread context from BLS OEWS, JOLTS, and ECI
Pay trend
Median pay for this role rose 0.2% between the May 2024 and May 2025 BLS surveys, trailing the 2.5% wage growth of Professional & Business Services (BLS ECI).
Hiring demand · MODERATE
Professional & Business Services is running a 5.0% job-openings rate with quits at 2.1% (BLS JOLTS). The openings rate has drifted down from 5.8% to 5.0% over the past quarter.
Pay spread
Top earners (P90) make about 2.5 times what entry-level (P10) workers make in this role. That spread is in the typical range for U.S. occupations; standard 80% to 120% pay bands around the median work well.
What changed recently
Sep 29, 2026JOLTS August 2026: sector openings eased to 5.0% (down 119K). BLS revised July up from 4.8% to 5.5%, so last month's third straight decline did not happen. Quits recovered to 2.1%; layoffs fell 56K.
Sep 1, 2026JOLTS July 2026: sector openings fell for a third month to 4.8% (June revised to 5.1%), and hires dropped 188K, the largest pullback of any sector. Quits slid to 1.8%.
Aug 4, 2026JOLTS June 2026: sector openings eased to 5.5% (down 0.3pp), still the highest of any major sector. Quits held at 2.2%.
Commentary is generated from published BLS figures (OEWS May 2025 vs May 2024, JOLTS August 2026, ECI Q2 2026) and refreshed each release. It is interpretation, not a BLS product.
Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026
Next refresh: May 2027
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The national median salary for Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors is $59,342 per year ($28.53/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $47,112 and $76,544 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $97,594 per year. There are approximately 491,930 substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors employed in the United States.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+16.8%
Much faster than average
Annual openings
48K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
484K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
17% from new growth83% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
Master's degree
Experience
None
On-the-job training
Internship/residency
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Offices of Other Health Practitioners
NAICS 621300
107K
$58,240
Outpatient Care Centers
NAICS 621400
98K
$59,390
Individual and Family Services
NAICS 624100
81K
$58,440
Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Facilities
NAICS 623200
48K
$49,330
Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999300
28K
$67,870
Wage range across top 5 industries: $49,330 to $67,870 (38% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$18.72
$38,938
P25
$22.65
$47,112
P50MEDIAN
$28.53
$59,342
P75
$36.80
$76,544
P90
$46.92
$97,594
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · professional sector
Active
Openings Rate
5.0%
Quits Rate
2.1%
Professional & Business Services openings fell 119K to 1.19M in August, rate 5.0%. BLS revised July up sharply, from 4.8% to 5.5%, so the three-month cooling reported last release did not happen: the sector is volatile, not in steady decline. Hires rose 36K, quits recovered to 2.1%, and layoffs fell 56K.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors salary?
The national median salary for Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors is $59,342 per year ($28.53/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $47,112 and $76,544 annually.
How much do top-earning substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors make?
The 90th percentile salary for Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors is $97,594 per year ($46.92/hr). The 75th percentile is $76,544 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors?
Entry-level Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors (10th percentile) earn approximately $38,938 per year ($18.72/hr). The 25th percentile is $47,112 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
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