Skip to content
Psychotherapy Notes
  • Exam Prep
    • California LMFT Clinical Exam Prep
    • California LMFT Law & Ethics Exam Prep
    • California LPCC Law & Ethics Exam Prep
    • California LCSW Law & Ethics Exam Prep
    • National MFT Exam Test Bank
  • CE Courses
    • California Law & Ethics for BBS Associates (AMFTs, APCCs, and ASWs) – 2023
    • Telehealth for California LMFTs, LPCCs, and LCSWs
  • Books
    • Basics of California Law for LMFTs, LPCCs, and LCSWs (10th ed)
    • Saving Psychotherapy
    • Preparing for the 2023 California MFT Law & Ethics Exam
    • Preparing for the 2023 California Clinical Social Work Law & Ethics Exam
  • Resources
  • Blog
    • Blog home
    • Psychology
    • Professional Counseling
    • Family therapy
    • Clinical social work
    • Law and ethics
    • Education
    • Employment
    • Licensure
    • Public policy

lpc salaries

Salaries in mental health are improving

November 18, 2014April 24, 2014 by Ben Caldwell

CurrencyIf you’re considering a career in mental health, there’s some good news on the economic front. After stagnation associated with the larger economy’s downturn, salaries in mental health professions appear to be back on the rise.

According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, salaries are improving for all of the mental health professions except Psychology, which has been effectively flat since 2009. There are several cautionary notes that go with this data (more on those below), but if you’re considering a master’s degree in counseling, clinical social work, or family therapy, overall it’s promising:

Salaries in mental health professions

Source data: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Note that the y-axis there starts at $40k, so it’s a little misleading as to proportionality but shows year-over-year changes more clearly.

The news seems to be especially good for MFTs in California (I’m one of them, so I’m incredibly biased on this): From 2012 to 2013, the mean annual wage for MFTs here went from $47,230 to $54,470. That’s an increase of more than 15% in just a year.

As I said, some pesky cautionary notes: First, the BLS data assumes full-time work, calculating the average annual wage by multiplying the mean hourly wage by 2,080. There are benefits and drawbacks to that approach; it keeps the mean from being dragged down by part-time workers, but also arguably overestimates what the average worker actually makes, since many do work part-time. Second, there is significant state-by-state variability in the numbers. Even if the national means are improving, it can be worth checking to see what the trend is within your state. Third, especially in states with smaller populations of mental health professionals, it isn’t unusual to see big gains or drops in a year simply due to small sample sizes. Data for larger states is more reliable. Finally, the BLS data isn’t perfectly broken down by license; the data shown here uses the BLS categories of Mental Health Counselors (21-1014); Clinical, Counseling, and School Psychologists (19-3031); Marriage and Family Therapists (21-1013); and Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers (21-1023). These are the categories most focused on mental health services and thus the closest parallels to licensure.

There should be a new data set for 2014 out within a couple of months; I’ll update this post once that data is available.

# # #

Your comments here are welcome. You can post them in the comments below, by email to ben[at]bencaldwell[dot]com, or on my Twitter feed.

📈 Trending 📈

  • Decoding counselor alphabet soup: LPC, LPCC, LMHC, and more
  • California sets new rules for therapists writing ESA letters
  • What's the difference between an MFT (or LMFT), an LPC (or LPCC), and an LCSW?
  • Therapists should not write Emotional Support Animal letters
  • Even when marijuana is legal, therapists who use it face risks

📣 New Posts 📣

  • Write a letter to the editor: Drop the ASWB exams March 7, 2023
  • The mental health workforce shortage solution is right there February 14, 2023
  • The ASWB Clinical Exam reckoning has begun February 7, 2023
  • CareDash shuts down February 3, 2023
  • How to diagnose telehealth connection problems January 18, 2023
Ben Caldwell Labs

Psychotherapy Notes is the official blog of Ben Caldwell Labs

All content and images © Copyright 2009-2023 Ben Caldwell Labs unless otherwise noted.
Some images are used under Creative Commons licensing (information embedded).

Ben Caldwell Labs, the Ben Caldwell Labs logo, and Psychotherapy Notes are registered trademarks of Ben Caldwell Labs Inc.

The opinions expressed on posts on this site are solely those of the author.
While this blog does sometimes cover legal issues, unless otherwise noted authors are practicing clinicians and not attorneys.
Nothing here should be interpreted as legal advice, nor should it be considered a substitute for consulting with a qualified attorney.
  • Exam Prep
    • California LMFT Clinical Exam Prep
    • California LMFT Law & Ethics Exam Prep
    • California LPCC Law & Ethics Exam Prep
    • California LCSW Law & Ethics Exam Prep
    • National MFT Exam Test Bank
  • CE Courses
    • California Law & Ethics for BBS Associates (AMFTs, APCCs, and ASWs) – 2023
    • Telehealth for California LMFTs, LPCCs, and LCSWs
  • Books
    • Basics of California Law for LMFTs, LPCCs, and LCSWs (10th ed)
    • Saving Psychotherapy
    • Preparing for the 2023 California MFT Law & Ethics Exam
    • Preparing for the 2023 California Clinical Social Work Law & Ethics Exam
  • Resources
  • Blog
    • Blog home
    • Psychology
    • Professional Counseling
    • Family therapy
    • Clinical social work
    • Law and ethics
    • Education
    • Employment
    • Licensure
    • Public policy

Basics of California Law for LMFTs, LPCCs, and LCSWs – 10th ed

Basics of California Law for LMFTs, LPCCs, and LCSWs - 10th edition front cover (c) Copyright 2023 Ben Caldwell LabsTenth edition (2023). A concise, digestible summary of vital elements of state law for master’s level therapists and mental health professionals.