How Much Do Financial Aid Counselors Make?
Having a clear understanding of earnings potential is important, especially if you are researching career paths or considering changing jobs. If you're one of those people, and you're curious what kind of salary financial aid counselors make, you've come to the right place.
Using data from Lightcast,™ the Best Adult Colleges and Careers Guide has compiled rich information about salary for financial aid counselors and related jobs, including details about average compensation, salary trends and job growth. We've also gathered advertised salaries from actual job postings to provide insight into what employers of financial aid counselors are offering as compensation.
Keep reading to learn more about how much financial aid counselors can expect to make in the United States.
At a Glance: Salary & Jobs for Financial Aid Counselors
According to data from 2023, there were about 280,616 positions for financial aid counselors in the United States. In terms of salary, the national median salary for financial aid counselors was reported to be $99,590. Additionally, when examining job demand, employers across the country posted 68,442 job postings related to positions for financial aid counselors.
How Much Money Do Financial Aid Counselors Make?
Median salary is just one data point. To build a better understanding of how much money financial aid counselors and related positions can expect to make in the United States, it can be helpful to look at the full range of compensation for those jobs.
Let's look more deeply at data that was reported to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for detail into the lowest and highest salary earnings for financial aid counselors.
Annual Salary for Financial Aid Counselors
According to the BLS, the lowest earners for financial aid counselors and related professions earned about $48,734 per year in 2023. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, the highest earners made about $258,453 annually.
As mentioned previously, the median salary for financial aid counselors in the United States in 2023 was $99,590.
Annual Salary Range For Financial Aid Counselors In 2023
Hourly Salary for Financial Aid Counselors
The BLS also breaks down compensation for financial aid counselors by hourly salary, and the median average hourly pay for financial aid counselors in 2023 was $48. Lowest hourly earners took home $23 while the highest reported hourly salaries for financial aid counselors was $124.
Hourly Salary Range For Financial Aid Counselors In 2023
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Advertised Compensation for Financial Aid Counselors
Data from the BLS is one way to dig into compensation for financial aid counselors, but another way to build a more real-time understanding of salary is to look at actual job postings and see what compensation organizations are currently providing to fill open positions for financial aid counselors.
Keep in mind that salary data is not included in every job posting, so the information compiled here is reflective of the data available through Lightcast.™
Annual Salary from Job Postings for Financial Aid Counselors
Advertised Annual Salary
During a review of 73,805 job postings related to financial aid counselors, advertised salary was included in 22,766 of them, which was 31%. Based on those postings, the median advertised salary for financial aid counselors was $70,016 per year.
Hourly Salary from Job Postings for Financial Aid Counselors
Advertised Hourly Salary
A similar analysis of job postings provides insight into advertised hourly salary for financial aid counselors. Based on 33% of postings with advertised compensation, the median hourly salary for open positions for financial aid counselors in the United States is about $34.
Salary Trend for Financial Aid Counselors
If you're thinking about pursuing a career in the field, you may want to understand how compensation has changed over time for financial aid counselors. The chart below provides a snapshot of advertised salaries over the past three years.
Based on compensation data that was included in job postings for financial aid counselors dating back to September 2020, advertised salaries for financial aid counselors have decreased 12%.
Advertised Wage Trend For Financial Aid Counselors
What's the Job Growth for Financial Aid Counselors?
Another data point that someone thinking about a career path should consider is whether or not jobs are expected to see growth in the future. The chart below looks at projected employment for financial aid counselors over the next 10 years.
According to the data obtained through Lightcast,™ there were 280,848 jobs for financial aid counselors in the United States in 2023. By 2033, it is expected that about 45,341 jobs will be added. That's a 16.1% increase over the next 10-year period.
Employment Projections For Financial Aid Counselors
Additional Links
Ready to dig deeper into career information about financial aid counselors? Visit our other pages focused on salary and education for financial aid counselors.
What do financial aid counselors do?
Financial Aid Counselors: How do you become one?
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