Average Psychologist Salary in Saudi Arabia for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Psychologist salary for 2024 in Saudi Arabia 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 Saudi riyal. To keep things simple, we are using the SAR currency code instead of the currency symbol ر.س.

How Much Does a Psychologist Make in Saudi Arabia?

A Psychologist working in Saudi Arabia will typically earn around 308,300 SAR per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 159,500 SAR to the highest average salary of 472,000 SAR.

Average Annual Salary
308,300 SAR
Average Monthly Salary
25,691 SAR

Lowest Annual Salary
159,500 SAR
Lowest Monthly Salary
13,291 SAR

Highest Annual Salary
472,000 SAR
Highest Monthly Salary
39,333 SAR

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

Psychologist 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 Psychologist Salaries in Saudi Arabia

So we've looked at the average salaries a Psychologist will earn in Saudi Arabia. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Psychologist can earn between 159,500 SAR and 472,000 SAR on average in Saudi Arabia. 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 Psychologist in Saudi Arabia is 296,000 SAR. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 296,000 SAR, and 50% of the population earn more than 296,000 SAR.

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 Psychologist salary in Saudi Arabia, 25% of the population are earning less than 207,800 SAR while 75% of the population earn more than 207,800 SAR.

75% of the population earn less than 369,900 SAR, and 25% of the population earn more than 369,900 SAR.

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.

Psychologist Salary by Experience Level in Saudi Arabia

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 psychologist 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 Psychologist in Saudi Arabia that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 183,600 SAR.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Psychologist salary would increase to 245,300 SAR.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Psychologist, the average salary would be 318,800 SAR.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 384,500 SAR.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Psychologist with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 420,100 SAR.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Psychologist with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 442,300 SAR.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
183,600 SAR
2-5 Years +34%
245,300 SAR
5-10 Years +30%
318,800 SAR
10-15 Years +21%
384,500 SAR
15-20 Years +9%
420,100 SAR
20+ Years +5%
442,300 SAR

Psychologist Salary by Education Level in Saudi Arabia

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.

The data we have below is combined across all professions. To view the most accurate data possible, you can select a specific job from the list below.

Employees that have earned a certificate or diploma from a post-secondary program can expect to earn approximately 17% more than those who only completed high school level.

If you have a bachelor's degree, you can expect to earn approximately 25% more than those who only completed to a certificate or diploma level.

For professionals reaching the master's degree level, your salary would be around 30% higher than those with a bachelor's degree.

If you are able to achieve a PhD, you can expect to earn approximately 22% more than those with a master's degree for the same job role.

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 Saudi Arabia is around 83,500 to 251,000 SAR 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.

Psychologist 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 Saudi Arabia, a male psychologist will earn an average of 327,300 SAR, while a female psychologist will earn around 296,000 SAR.

This means that a male psychologist earns approximately 11% more than a female psychologist for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Saudi Arabia

Male
327,300 SAR
Female -11%
296,000 SAR

Psychologist Average Pay Raise in Saudi Arabia

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 Psychologist in Saudi Arabia is around 13% every 18 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in Saudi Arabia is around 8% every 17 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 ÷ 18 ) × 12  = 9%

What this means is that a Psychologist in Saudi Arabia can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 9% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Saudi Arabia for 2024

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

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%

Psychologist Bonus and Incentive Rates in Saudi Arabia

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 Psychologist is a high bonus based job, with 78% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

22% 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 6% to 8%.

Received Bonus
78%
No Bonus
22%

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 Saudi Arabia earn approximately 8% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
207,800 SAR
Private Sector -8%
192,600 SAR

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Psychologist

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Psychologist in Saudi Arabia.

Job Title Category Salary
Adoption Services Director Counseling 257,700 SAR
Alcohol and Drug Counselor Counseling 216,800 SAR
Assistant Instructor Counseling 95,420 SAR
Career Counselor Counseling 233,600 SAR
Consultant Counseling 237,400 SAR
Director of Rehabilitation Services Counseling 305,600 SAR
Disability Consultant Counseling 191,600 SAR
Employment Counselor Counseling 231,000 SAR
Family Advocate Counseling 152,100 SAR
Family Services Specialist Counseling 169,000 SAR
Family Support Specialist Counseling 237,400 SAR
Family Youth Worker Counseling 82,480 SAR
Guidance Counselor Counseling 233,900 SAR
Guidance Director Counseling 272,800 SAR
Mental Health Counselor Counseling 254,700 SAR
Mental Health Therapist Counseling 233,900 SAR
Programs Coordinator Counseling 128,900 SAR
Supervising Counselor Counseling 238,900 SAR
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Counseling 227,600 SAR
Youth Advocate Counseling 130,400 SAR
Youth Care Counselor Counseling 233,900 SAR
Youth Care Specialist Counseling 146,200 SAR
Youth Development Manager Counseling 290,800 SAR

Salary Comparison by City

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

City Average Salary
Abha 318,800 SAR
Dammam 308,300 SAR
Jeddah 353,600 SAR
Khubar 318,800 SAR
Mecca 327,800 SAR
Medina 335,100 SAR
Riyadh 345,700 SAR
Tabuk 294,700 SAR
Taif 301,700 SAR

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