How Much Do Mental Health Professionals 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 mental health professionals 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 mental health professionals 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 mental health professionals are offering as compensation.
Keep reading to learn more about how much mental health professionals can expect to make in the United States.
At a Glance: Salary & Jobs for Mental Health Professionals
According to data from 2023, there were about 415,317 positions for mental health professionals in the United States. In terms of salary, the national median salary for mental health professionals was reported to be $53,706. Additionally, when examining job demand, employers across the country posted 371,698 job postings related to positions for mental health professionals.
How Much Money Do Mental Health Professionals Make?
Median salary is just one data point. To build a better understanding of how much money mental health professionals 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 mental health professionals.
Annual Salary for Mental Health Professionals
According to the BLS, the lowest earners for mental health professionals and related professions earned about $36,712 per year in 2023. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, the highest earners made about $89,918 annually.
As mentioned previously, the median salary for mental health professionals in the United States in 2023 was $53,706.
Annual Salary Range For Mental Health Professionals In 2023
Hourly Salary for Mental Health Professionals
The BLS also breaks down compensation for mental health professionals by hourly salary, and the median average hourly pay for mental health professionals in 2023 was $26. Lowest hourly earners took home $18 while the highest reported hourly salaries for mental health professionals was $43.
Hourly Salary Range For Mental Health Professionals In 2023
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Advertised Compensation for Mental Health Professionals
Data from the BLS is one way to dig into compensation for mental health professionals, 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 mental health professionals.
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 Mental Health Professionals
Advertised Annual Salary
During a review of 125,831 job postings related to mental health professionals, advertised salary was included in 71,789 of them, which was 57%. Based on those postings, the median advertised salary for mental health professionals was $64,384 per year.
Hourly Salary from Job Postings for Mental Health Professionals
Advertised Hourly Salary
A similar analysis of job postings provides insight into advertised hourly salary for mental health professionals. Based on 19% of postings with advertised compensation, the median hourly salary for open positions for mental health professionals in the United States is about $31.
Salary Trend for Mental Health Professionals
If you're thinking about pursuing a career in the field, you may want to understand how compensation has changed over time for mental health professionals. 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 mental health professionals dating back to September 2020, advertised salaries for mental health professionals have increased 22%.
Advertised Wage Trend For Mental Health Professionals
What's the Job Growth for Mental Health Professionals?
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 mental health professionals over the next 10 years.
According to the data obtained through Lightcast,™ there were 414,774 jobs for mental health professionals in the United States in 2023. By 2033, it is expected that about 92,584 jobs will be added. That's a 22.3% increase over the next 10-year period.
Employment Projections For Mental Health Professionals
Additional Links
Ready to dig deeper into career information about mental health professionals? Visit our other pages focused on salary and education for mental health professionals.
What do mental health professionals do?
Mental Health Professionals: How do you become one?
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The Best Adult Colleges and Careers Guide has compiled data for dozens of in-demand jobs. Explore our full catalog of occupation data by visiting the link below.