Average Mental Health Counselor Salary in India for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Mental Health Counselor salary for 2024 in India 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 Indian rupee. To keep things simple, we are using the INR currency code instead of the currency symbol โ‚น.

How Much Does a Mental Health Counselor Make in India?

A Mental Health Counselor working in India will typically earn around 514,300 INR per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 237,400 INR to the highest average salary of 817,800 INR.

Average Annual Salary
514,300 INR
Average Monthly Salary
42,858 INR

Lowest Annual Salary
237,400 INR
Lowest Monthly Salary
19,783 INR

Highest Annual Salary
817,800 INR
Highest Monthly Salary
68,150 INR

These are average salaries for a Mental Health Counselor in India 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 India

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

Salary ranges

We already know that a Mental Health Counselor can earn between 237,400 INR and 817,800 INR on average in India. 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 India is 553,400 INR. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 553,400 INR, and 50% of the population earn more than 553,400 INR.

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 India, 25% of the population are earning less than 354,000 INR while 75% of the population earn more than 354,000 INR.

75% of the population earn less than 739,500 INR, and 25% of the population earn more than 739,500 INR.

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 India

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 India that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 267,100 INR.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Mental Health Counselor salary would increase to 357,700 INR.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Mental Health Counselor, the average salary would be 528,600 INR.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 643,800 INR.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Mental Health Counselor with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 704,300 INR.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Mental Health Counselor with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 759,300 INR.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
267,100 INR
2-5 Years +34%
357,700 INR
5-10 Years +48%
528,600 INR
10-15 Years +22%
643,800 INR
15-20 Years +9%
704,300 INR
20+ Years +8%
759,300 INR

Mental Health Counselor Salary by Education Level in India

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 India 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 India with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 307,400 INR.

  • Master's Degree. A Mental Health Counselor in India with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 480,600 INR.

  • PhD. A Mental Health Counselor in India with a phd education can earn an average salary of 805,900 INR.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree
307,400 INR
Master's Degree +57%
480,600 INR
PhD +68%
805,900 INR

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 India is around 160,000 to 479,000 INR 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 India, a male mental health counselor will earn an average of 559,000 INR, while a female mental health counselor will earn around 464,900 INR.

This means that a male mental health counselor earns approximately 20% more than a female mental health counselor for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in India

Male
559,000 INR
Female -20%
464,900 INR

Mental Health Counselor Average Pay Raise in India

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 India is around 13% every 17 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in India is around 9% 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 = ( 13 ÷ 17 ) × 12  = 9%

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

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in India for 2024

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

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

Banking
1%
Energy
2%
Information Technology
3%
Healthcare
4%
Travel
5%
Construction
6%
Education
7%

Mental Health Counselor Bonus and Incentive Rates in India

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 high bonus based job, with 85% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

15% 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
85%
No Bonus
15%

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 India earn approximately 6% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
392,300 INR
Private Sector -6%
371,100 INR

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 India.

Job Title Category Salary
Adoption Services Director Counseling 539,700 INR
Alcohol and Drug Counselor Counseling 417,200 INR
Assistant Instructor Counseling 185,100 INR
Career Counselor Counseling 454,900 INR
Consultant Counseling 451,000 INR
Director of Rehabilitation Services Counseling 597,800 INR
Disability Consultant Counseling 369,300 INR
Employment Counselor Counseling 454,900 INR
Family Advocate Counseling 314,500 INR
Family Services Specialist Counseling 341,400 INR
Family Support Specialist Counseling 485,300 INR
Family Youth Worker Counseling 152,300 INR
Guidance Counselor Counseling 466,300 INR
Guidance Director Counseling 539,700 INR
Mental Health Therapist Counseling 454,900 INR
Programs Coordinator Counseling 258,400 INR
Psychologist Counseling 628,000 INR
Supervising Counselor Counseling 491,000 INR
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Counseling 472,000 INR
Youth Advocate Counseling 258,400 INR
Youth Care Counselor Counseling 478,000 INR
Youth Care Specialist Counseling 283,700 INR
Youth Development Manager Counseling 568,500 INR

Salary Comparison by City

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

City Average Salary
agra 467,700 INR
Ahmadabad 555,800 INR
Bangalore 563,000 INR
Bhopal 492,700 INR
Chennai 565,100 INR
Coimbatore 504,300 INR
Delhi 566,900 INR
Ghaziabad 504,300 INR
Hyderabad 562,200 INR
Indore 548,500 INR
Jaipur 547,800 INR
Kanpur 522,700 INR
Kolkata 563,300 INR
Lucknow 528,600 INR
Ludhiana 504,500 INR
Madurai 478,100 INR
Mumbai 610,100 INR
Nagpur 552,400 INR
Patna 485,300 INR
Pimpri-Chinchwad 498,000 INR
Pune 572,200 INR
Surat 544,800 INR
Vadodara 472,000 INR
Visakhapatnam 493,000 INR

Salary Comparison by State

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

City Average Salary
Andaman & Nicobar Islands 437,300 INR
Andhra Pradesh 565,100 INR
Arunachal Pradesh 480,600 INR
Assam 553,800 INR
Bihar 623,200 INR
Chandigarh 467,100 INR
Chhatisgarh 553,400 INR
Dadra & Nagar Haveli 466,300 INR
Daman & Diu 454,900 INR
Delhi 548,500 INR
Goa 502,200 INR
Gujarat 553,400 INR
Haryana 513,300 INR
Himachal Pradesh 496,100 INR
Jammu & Kashmir 510,000 INR
Jharkhand 555,800 INR
Karnataka 580,600 INR
Kerala 559,000 INR
Lakshadweep 436,200 INR
Madhya Pradesh 608,500 INR
Maharashtra 623,700 INR
Manipur 513,300 INR
Meghalaya 510,200 INR
Mizoram 485,200 INR
Nagaland 513,300 INR
Orissa 598,600 INR
Pondicherry 455,400 INR
Punjab 529,600 INR
Rajasthan 581,000 INR
Sikkim 447,700 INR
Tamil Nadu 583,000 INR
Tripura 501,400 INR
Uttar Pradesh 629,800 INR
Uttaranchal 518,300 INR
West Bengal 618,800 INR

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