Mental Health Counselor salary in San Francisco, CA

Based on 18 certified H-1B filings in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Oakland, Fremont, San Leandro, Antioch.

Also listed as: Therapist

Median salary$76,856
Middle 50%$75k–$88.2k
vs. national median+14%comparison median $67,250
Filings18FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $49,264 and $134,156.
PercentileSalary
10th$61,219
25th$74,984
50th (median)$76,856
75th$88,173
90th$108,025

Salary by year

Median salary

$40k $70k $100k FY2020: median $54,080 (25 filings) FY2022: median $64,896 (12 filings) FY2023: median $74,880 (11 filings) FY2024: median $88,192 (12 filings) FY2025: median $74,984 (12 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 25 filings FY20 FY2021: 9 filings FY21 FY2022: 12 filings FY22 FY2023: 11 filings FY23 FY2024: 12 filings FY24 FY2025: 12 filings FY25 FY2026: 6 filings FY26 25
Shaded: FY2025–FY2026, the years behind the figures above. Median shown for years with at least 10 filings. FY2026 covers Q1–Q3 only.
Show as table
Fiscal yearMedianP25P75Filings
FY2020$54,080$50,000$59,98825
FY2021–––9
FY2022$64,896$51,314$74,88012
FY2023$74,880$71,760$77,02211
FY2024$88,192$78,203$92,76412
FY2025$74,984$74,438$84,55812
FY2026–––6

Cost of living

San Francisco's median Mental Health Counselor salary of $76,856 is worth about $66,500 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; San Francisco = 115.6).

Top employers filing

EmployerMedianFilings
Richmond Area Multi-Services$76,85610
Asian Health Servicestoo few2
Kidangotoo few2

Employers with at least 2 filings here. Median shown at 10+ filings.

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I – 0
Mid-level · Level II – 0
Senior · Level III – 0
Expert · Level IV – 0

Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.