Average Career Counselor Salary in Rhode Island, United States for 2026

In this article, we will look at the average Career Counselor salary for 2026 in Rhode Island and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the United States dollar. To keep things simple, we are using the USD currency code instead of the currency symbol $.

How Much Does a Career Counselor Make in Rhode Island?

A Career Counselor working in Rhode Island will typically earn around 100,700 USD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 46,700 USD to the highest average salary of 160,700 USD.

Average Annual Salary100,700 USD
Average Monthly Salary8,391 USD
Average Lowest Salary46,700 USD
Lowest Monthly Salary3,891 USD
Average Highest Salary160,700 USD
Highest Monthly Salary13,391 USD

These are average salaries for a Career Counselor in Rhode Island and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Career Counselor to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Career Counselor salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Career Counselor Salaries in Rhode Island

So we've looked at the average salaries a Career Counselor will earn in Rhode Island. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Career Counselor can earn between 46,700 USD and 160,700 USD on average in Rhode Island. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Career Counselor in Rhode Island is 109,000 USD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 109,000 USD, and 50% of the population earn more than 109,000 USD.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Career Counselor salary in Rhode Island, 25% of the population are earning less than 70,900 USD while 75% of the population earn more than 70,900 USD.

75% of the population earn less than 140,200 USD, and 25% of the population earn more than 140,200 USD.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Career Counselor Salary by Experience Level in Rhode Island

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average Career Counselor salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Career Counselor in Rhode Island that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 54,100 USD.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Career Counselor salary would increase to 74,700 USD.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Career Counselor, the average salary would be 109,000 USD.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 130,400 USD.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Career Counselor with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 140,700 USD.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Career Counselor with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 151,800 USD.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years-
54,100 USD
2-5 Years+38%
74,700 USD
5-10 Years+42%
109,000 USD
10-15 Years+22%
130,400 USD
15-20 Years+6%
140,700 USD
20+ Years+9%
151,800 USD

Career Counselor Salary by Education Level in Rhode Island

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Career Counselor in Rhode Island based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • Bachelor's Degree. A Career Counselor in Rhode Island with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 74,700 USD.
  • Master's Degree. A Career Counselor in Rhode Island with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 140,700 USD.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree-
74,700 USD
Master's Degree+83%
140,700 USD

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in United States is around 39,500 to 118,000 USD and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Career Counselor Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In Rhode Island, a male career counselor will earn an average of 123,000 USD, while a female career counselor will earn around 114,300 USD.

This means that a male career counselor earns approximately 8% more than a female career counselor for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Rhode Island

Male-
123,000 USD
Female-8%
114,300 USD

Career Counselor Average Pay Raise in Rhode Island

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Career Counselor in Rhode Island is around 12% every 16 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in United States is around 8% every 16 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 12 ÷ 16 ) × 12  = 9%

What this means is that a Career Counselor in Rhode Island can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 9% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Rhode Island for 2026

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in United States.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking-
4%
Energy-
8%
Information Technology-
3%
Healthcare-
7%
Travel-
2%
Construction-
6%
Education-
1%

Career Counselor Bonus and Incentive Rates in Rhode Island

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Career Counselor is a moderate bonus based job, with 53% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

47% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 5%.

Received Bonus-
53%
No Bonus-
47%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in United States earn approximately 6% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector-
98,800 USD
Private Sector-6%
93,100 USD

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Career Counselor

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Career Counselor in Rhode Island.

Job TitleCategorySalary
Adoption Services DirectorCounseling128,400 USD
Alcohol and Drug CounselorCounseling102,700 USD
Assistant InstructorCounseling45,300 USD
ConsultantCounseling114,300 USD
Director of Rehabilitation ServicesCounseling147,900 USD
Disability ConsultantCounseling95,000 USD
Employment CounselorCounseling116,400 USD
Family AdvocateCounseling79,600 USD
Family Services SpecialistCounseling89,200 USD
Family Support SpecialistCounseling117,100 USD
Family Youth WorkerCounseling36,800 USD
Guidance CounselorCounseling115,600 USD
Guidance DirectorCounseling141,000 USD
Mental Health CounselorCounseling125,400 USD
Mental Health TherapistCounseling115,600 USD
Programs CoordinatorCounseling65,700 USD
PsychologistCounseling163,800 USD
Supervising CounselorCounseling123,800 USD
Vocational Rehabilitation CounselorCounseling116,400 USD
Youth AdvocateCounseling63,200 USD
Youth Care CounselorCounseling118,900 USD
Youth Care SpecialistCounseling71,900 USD
Youth Development ManagerCounseling138,700 USD

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in United States, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

CityAverage Salary
Atlanta112,700 USD
Austin128,400 USD
Baltimore108,200 USD
Boston119,700 USD
Bristol92,000 USD
Chicago132,000 USD
Cincinnati100,700 USD
Cleveland105,200 USD
Dallas130,400 USD
Denver125,400 USD
Detroit123,000 USD
Honolulu95,100 USD
Houston138,700 USD
Indianapolis125,400 USD
Iowa City88,700 USD
Jacksonville125,400 USD
Kansas City109,700 USD
Kent93,100 USD
Las Vegas115,600 USD
Long Beach109,700 USD
Los Angeles134,700 USD
Memphis114,300 USD
Miami107,300 USD
Minneapolis103,600 USD
New Orleans107,700 USD
New York142,300 USD
Oakland107,700 USD
Oklahoma City119,700 USD
Orlando99,600 USD
Philadelphia132,000 USD
Phoenix139,100 USD
Sacramento112,700 USD
San Antonio134,100 USD
San Diego130,500 USD
San Francisco125,400 USD
San Jose128,200 USD
Seattle127,700 USD
Tampa100,700 USD
Vancouver99,700 USD
Washington D.C.117,100 USD

Salary Comparison by State

The table below includes links to the average salary for each state in United States.

StateAverage Salary
Alabama114,600 USD
Alaska100,300 USD
Arizona117,100 USD
Arkansas109,700 USD
California123,800 USD
Colorado114,900 USD
Connecticut111,700 USD
Delaware102,700 USD
District of Columbia100,700 USD
Florida127,700 USD
Georgia125,400 USD
Hawaii107,700 USD
Idaho107,700 USD
Illinois128,200 USD
Indiana121,800 USD
Iowa112,700 USD
Kansas114,600 USD
Kentucky115,600 USD
Louisiana115,600 USD
Maine109,000 USD
Maryland123,000 USD
Massachusetts124,500 USD
Michigan127,600 USD
Minnesota121,800 USD
Mississippi114,900 USD
Missouri124,500 USD
Montana109,700 USD
Nebraska114,600 USD
Nevada114,300 USD
New Hampshire111,700 USD
New Jersey128,400 USD
New Mexico116,400 USD
New York134,700 USD
North Carolina118,900 USD
North Dakota99,100 USD
Ohio121,800 USD
Oklahoma108,200 USD
Oregon111,700 USD
Pennsylvania124,500 USD
South Carolina114,900 USD
South Dakota103,600 USD
Tennessee118,900 USD
Texas127,600 USD
Utah109,700 USD
Vermont100,700 USD
Virginia124,500 USD
Washington123,000 USD
West Virginia109,700 USD
Wisconsin119,700 USD
Wyoming100,700 USD

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