Career Counselor salary
From 550 certified H-1B filings (FY2025–FY2026). Base salary only.
- Occupation code 21-1012: Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors
- Also filed as: Educational Counselor, Education Counselor
At a glance
- Mostly Level I (entry-level). 59% of Career Counselor filings are Level I, compared with 19% across all H-1B filings.
- Top filer: Savannah College of Art and Design. 24 filings (4% of the total), median $56,211.
- Median up 19% since FY2020. From $48,903 in FY2020 to $58,000 in FY2026 (Q1–Q3). Nominal, not adjusted for inflation.
Career Counselor H-1B salary overview
Employers filed 550 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Career Counselor jobs in FY2025–FY2026 (occupation code 21-1012, Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors). The median base salary is $56,775, 54% below the median for all H-1B filings ($122,699), and half of the filings fall between $49,863 and $68,640. The most common wage level is Level I (entry-level), at 59% of filings. New York, NY has the most filings (55), and Savannah College of Art and Design is the employer that files the most (24).
Is your Career Counselor offer competitive?
Enter the base salary in your offer. We compare it with certified H-1B filings for Career Counselor jobs, nationally or in one metro area.
Enter a salary to see where it falls.
Percentiles from certified H-1B filings, base salary only. Metro areas with at least 10 filings.
Top employers for Career Counselor
Employers with the most Career Counselor filings. Bar: share of all Career Counselor filings. Figure: median base salary.
Pay by level
Entry-level · 59% of filings
Mid-level · 28% of filings
Senior · 8% of filings
Expert · 5% of filings
Show the table
By experience level
| Wage level | Median | Filings |
|---|---|---|
| Level I · Entry | $52,000 | 305 |
| Level II · Qualified | $65,000 | 145 |
| Level III · Experienced | $68,957 | 39 |
| Level IV · Fully competent | $92,000 | 27 |
Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.
Career Counselor pay by city
Median base salary in each metro area. Rent: HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027.
Show all 7 metro areas
| Metro area | Median | Filings |
|---|---|---|
| New York, NY | $70,000 | 55 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $69,320 | 40 |
| Atlanta, GA | $56,513 | 23 |
| Boston, MA | $70,595 | 22 |
| Dallas, TX | $58,311 | 12 |
| Austin, TX | $46,500 | 11 |
| Washington, DC | $60,000 | 11 |
Metro areas with at least 10 filings for this occupation.
What a Career Counselor does
Advise and assist students and provide educational and vocational guidance services.
Typical tasks
- Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
- Counsel students regarding educational issues, such as course and program selection, class scheduling and registration, school adjustment, truancy, study habits, and career planning.
- Provide crisis intervention to students when difficult situations occur at schools.
- Counsel individuals or groups to help them understand and overcome personal, social, or behavioral problems affecting their educational or vocational situations.
- Review transcripts to ensure that students meet graduation or college entrance requirements, and write letters of recommendation.
- Prepare students for later educational experiences by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
Preparation
Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
O*NET occupation: Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors (21-1012.00). This section includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
H-1B pay vs. all U.S. workers
Across all U.S. workers in this occupation (Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors), the median annual wage was $64,330 in May 2025, with 353,310 people employed. The median H-1B base salary in FY2025–FY2026 is $56,775, 12% lower.
| H-1B filings | All U.S. workers (BLS, May 2025) | |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $44,999 | $45,020 |
| 25th percentile | $49,863 | $51,270 |
| Median | $56,775 | $64,330 |
| 75th percentile | $68,640 | $82,870 |
| 90th percentile | $79,349 | $104,770 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). BLS wages cover all wage and salary workers and include some incentive pay; H-1B figures are the base salary offered on certified LCAs. The two sources cover different periods. BLS reports wages of $239,200 or more as a single top value.
Salary details
Salary range
| Percentile | Salary |
|---|---|
| 10th | $44,999 |
| 25th | $49,863 |
| 50th (median) | $56,775 |
| 75th | $68,640 |
| 90th | $79,349 |
Salary by year
Median salary
Filings per year
Show as table
| Fiscal year | Median | P25 | P75 | Filings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $48,903 | $41,375 | $58,353 | 184 |
| FY2021 | $50,000 | $43,971 | $59,446 | 209 |
| FY2022 | $51,409 | $45,240 | $61,500 | 193 |
| FY2023 | $50,178 | $44,990 | $61,443 | 242 |
| FY2024 | $54,000 | $45,760 | $65,562 | 293 |
| FY2025 | $56,211 | $49,088 | $67,059 | 326 |
| FY2026 | $58,000 | $50,381 | $70,000 | 224 |
Questions
How much does an H-1B Career Counselor make?
The median base salary in certified H-1B filings for Career Counselor jobs is $56,775 (550 filings, FY2025–FY2026). Half of the filings are between $49,863 and $68,640.
What does an entry-level Career Counselor earn on an H-1B?
Level I (entry-level) filings have a median of $52,000. Level I accounts for 59% of Career Counselor filings.
Do H-1B Career Counselors earn more than other U.S. workers in the same job?
The H-1B median base salary ($56,775) is 12% lower than the median wage of all U.S. workers in this occupation ($64,330, BLS May 2025). The sources measure pay differently, so treat this as a rough comparison.