Average Mental Health Counselor Salary in Hong Kong for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Mental Health Counselor salary for 2024 in Hong Kong 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 Hong Kong dollar. To keep things simple, we are using the HKD currency code instead of the currency symbol $.

How Much Does a Mental Health Counselor Make in Hong Kong?

A Mental Health Counselor working in Hong Kong will typically earn around 578,500 HKD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 266,000 HKD to the highest average salary of 918,500 HKD.

Average Annual Salary
578,500 HKD
Average Monthly Salary
48,208 HKD

Lowest Annual Salary
266,000 HKD
Lowest Monthly Salary
22,166 HKD

Highest Annual Salary
918,500 HKD
Highest Monthly Salary
76,541 HKD

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

Mental Health 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 Mental Health Counselor Salaries in Hong Kong

So we've looked at the average salaries a Mental Health Counselor will earn in Hong Kong. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Mental Health Counselor can earn between 266,000 HKD and 918,500 HKD on average in Hong Kong. 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 Mental Health Counselor in Hong Kong is 623,700 HKD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 623,700 HKD, and 50% of the population earn more than 623,700 HKD.

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 Mental Health Counselor salary in Hong Kong, 25% of the population are earning less than 399,900 HKD while 75% of the population earn more than 399,900 HKD.

75% of the population earn less than 832,000 HKD, and 25% of the population earn more than 832,000 HKD.

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.

Mental Health Counselor Salary by Experience Level in Hong Kong

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 mental health 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 Mental Health Counselor in Hong Kong that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 301,300 HKD.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Mental Health Counselor salary would increase to 403,100 HKD.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Mental Health Counselor, the average salary would be 596,100 HKD.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 727,400 HKD.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Mental Health Counselor with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 790,600 HKD.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Mental Health Counselor with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 858,100 HKD.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
301,300 HKD
2-5 Years +34%
403,100 HKD
5-10 Years +48%
596,100 HKD
10-15 Years +22%
727,400 HKD
15-20 Years +9%
790,600 HKD
20+ Years +8%
858,100 HKD

Mental Health Counselor Salary by Education Level in Hong Kong

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 Mental Health Counselor in Hong Kong 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 Mental Health Counselor in Hong Kong with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 345,100 HKD.

  • Master's Degree. A Mental Health Counselor in Hong Kong with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 538,600 HKD.

  • PhD. A Mental Health Counselor in Hong Kong with a phd education can earn an average salary of 906,500 HKD.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree
345,100 HKD
Master's Degree +57%
538,600 HKD
PhD +68%
906,500 HKD

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 Hong Kong is around 183,000 to 549,000 HKD 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.

Mental Health 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 Hong Kong, a male mental health counselor will earn an average of 612,500 HKD, while a female mental health counselor will earn around 543,200 HKD.

This means that a male mental health counselor earns approximately 13% more than a female mental health counselor for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Hong Kong

Male
612,500 HKD
Female -13%
543,200 HKD

Mental Health Counselor Average Pay Raise in Hong Kong

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 Mental Health Counselor in Hong Kong is around 8% every 30 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in Hong Kong is around 4% every 29 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 = ( 8 ÷ 30 ) × 12  = 3%

What this means is that a Mental Health Counselor in Hong Kong can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 3% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Hong Kong for 2024

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

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

Banking
7%
Energy
5%
Information Technology
3%
Healthcare
1%
Travel
8%
Construction
6%
Education
4%

Mental Health Counselor Bonus and Incentive Rates in Hong Kong

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 Mental Health Counselor is a moderate bonus based job, with 67% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

33% 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 5% to 9%.

Received Bonus
67%
No Bonus
33%

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 Hong Kong earn approximately 11% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
471,700 HKD
Private Sector -11%
425,100 HKD

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Mental Health Counselor

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Mental Health Counselor in Hong Kong.

Job Title Category Salary
Adoption Services Director Counseling 563,000 HKD
Alcohol and Drug Counselor Counseling 478,100 HKD
Assistant Instructor Counseling 209,500 HKD
Career Counselor Counseling 518,900 HKD
Consultant Counseling 483,800 HKD
Director of Rehabilitation Services Counseling 681,900 HKD
Disability Consultant Counseling 396,300 HKD
Employment Counselor Counseling 518,300 HKD
Family Advocate Counseling 352,000 HKD
Family Services Specialist Counseling 382,600 HKD
Family Support Specialist Counseling 544,800 HKD
Family Youth Worker Counseling 172,200 HKD
Guidance Counselor Counseling 525,700 HKD
Guidance Director Counseling 610,100 HKD
Mental Health Therapist Counseling 504,400 HKD
Programs Coordinator Counseling 283,400 HKD
Psychologist Counseling 705,500 HKD
Supervising Counselor Counseling 548,500 HKD
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Counseling 510,200 HKD
Youth Advocate Counseling 294,700 HKD
Youth Care Counselor Counseling 535,900 HKD
Youth Care Specialist Counseling 325,800 HKD
Youth Development Manager Counseling 648,200 HKD

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