Average Mental Health Counselor Salary in Sweden for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Mental Health Counselor salary for 2024 in Sweden 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 Swedish krona. To keep things simple, we are using the SEK currency code instead of the currency symbol kr.

How Much Does a Mental Health Counselor Make in Sweden?

A Mental Health Counselor working in Sweden will typically earn around 767,000 SEK per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 351,200 SEK to the highest average salary of 1,212,800 SEK.

Average Annual Salary
767,000 SEK
Average Monthly Salary
63,916 SEK

Lowest Annual Salary
351,200 SEK
Lowest Monthly Salary
29,266 SEK

Highest Annual Salary
1,212,800 SEK
Highest Monthly Salary
101,066 SEK

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

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

Salary ranges

We already know that a Mental Health Counselor can earn between 351,200 SEK and 1,212,800 SEK on average in Sweden. 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 Sweden is 825,900 SEK. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 825,900 SEK, and 50% of the population earn more than 825,900 SEK.

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 Sweden, 25% of the population are earning less than 529,600 SEK while 75% of the population earn more than 529,600 SEK.

75% of the population earn less than 1,102,100 SEK, and 25% of the population earn more than 1,102,100 SEK.

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 Sweden

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 Sweden that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 397,900 SEK.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Mental Health Counselor salary would increase to 533,000 SEK.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Mental Health Counselor, the average salary would be 790,300 SEK.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 962,900 SEK.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Mental Health Counselor with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 1,048,600 SEK.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Mental Health Counselor with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 1,134,100 SEK.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
397,900 SEK
2-5 Years +34%
533,000 SEK
5-10 Years +48%
790,300 SEK
10-15 Years +22%
962,900 SEK
15-20 Years +9%
1,048,600 SEK
20+ Years +8%
1,134,100 SEK

Mental Health Counselor Salary by Education Level in Sweden

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 Sweden 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 Sweden with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 454,900 SEK.

  • Master's Degree. A Mental Health Counselor in Sweden with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 713,900 SEK.

  • PhD. A Mental Health Counselor in Sweden with a phd education can earn an average salary of 1,198,300 SEK.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree
454,900 SEK
Master's Degree +57%
713,900 SEK
PhD +68%
1,198,300 SEK

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 Sweden is around 226,000 to 677,000 SEK 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 Sweden, a male mental health counselor will earn an average of 783,800 SEK, while a female mental health counselor will earn around 745,000 SEK.

This means that a male mental health counselor earns approximately 5% more than a female mental health counselor for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Sweden

Male
783,800 SEK
Female -5%
745,000 SEK

Mental Health Counselor Average Pay Raise in Sweden

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 Sweden is around 12% every 17 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in Sweden 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 ÷ 17 ) × 12  = 8%

What this means is that a Mental Health Counselor in Sweden can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 8% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Sweden for 2024

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

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

Banking
2%
Energy
4%
Information Technology
6%
Healthcare
8%
Travel
1%
Construction
3%
Education
5%

Mental Health Counselor Bonus and Incentive Rates in Sweden

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 87% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

13% 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
87%
No Bonus
13%

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 Sweden earn approximately 5% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
553,800 SEK
Private Sector -5%
528,500 SEK

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 Sweden.

Job Title Category Salary
Adoption Services Director Counseling 756,700 SEK
Alcohol and Drug Counselor Counseling 587,800 SEK
Assistant Instructor Counseling 263,900 SEK
Career Counselor Counseling 658,300 SEK
Consultant Counseling 633,300 SEK
Director of Rehabilitation Services Counseling 869,400 SEK
Disability Consultant Counseling 524,300 SEK
Employment Counselor Counseling 669,100 SEK
Family Advocate Counseling 478,000 SEK
Family Services Specialist Counseling 514,300 SEK
Family Support Specialist Counseling 735,500 SEK
Family Youth Worker Counseling 215,100 SEK
Guidance Counselor Counseling 681,500 SEK
Guidance Director Counseling 800,200 SEK
Mental Health Therapist Counseling 653,200 SEK
Programs Coordinator Counseling 369,300 SEK
Psychologist Counseling 943,800 SEK
Supervising Counselor Counseling 744,600 SEK
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Counseling 724,000 SEK
Youth Advocate Counseling 367,200 SEK
Youth Care Counselor Counseling 721,600 SEK
Youth Care Specialist Counseling 414,000 SEK
Youth Development Manager Counseling 832,000 SEK

Salary Comparison by City

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

City Average Salary
Goteborg 736,700 SEK
Malmo 669,100 SEK
Stockholm 794,900 SEK

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