Credit Counselors Salary
Credit Counselors in Columbus, OH make a median of $54,880 a year, or about $26.39 an hour. The range runs from $45K at the entry level to $103K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 95.47), that's roughly $57,484 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,430/month, about 39.7% of take-home, which is tight.
Where the paycheck goes
What $55K actually covers in Columbus, month by month
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Columbus’s Regional Price Parity (95.47). Rent from HUD Fair Market Rents. Taxes estimated for single filer, standard deduction. * Healthcare is the employee-paid share only (premiums + out-of-pocket). Actual costs vary by coverage type: employer-sponsored, ACA marketplace, or uninsured.
About credit counselors
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What this looks like in Columbus
Credit counselors pay in Columbus tracks closely to the national median, $55K locally vs. $52K nationwide, a 5% difference. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,430/month, which is 37.9% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 95.47) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. Use the affordability calculator above to model your specific situation.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for credit counselors in metros near Columbus, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati | $51K | $54K |
| Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek | $58K | $63K |
| Cleveland | $59K | $62K |
| Toledo | $47K | $52K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Columbus, OH
Entry-level credit counselors (10th percentile) start around $45K. Mid-career wages sit at $55K. Top earners bring in $103K or more, a $57K spread from bottom to top.
Credit Counselors pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Credit Counselors salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | $67K | +29% | 2,160 |
| Georgia | $64K | +23% | 460 |
| District of Columbia | $64K | +22% | 110 |
| Massachusetts | $63K | +21% | 770 |
| New York | $63K | +21% | 2,020 |
| Nebraska | $63K | +20% | 260 |
| Washington | $62K | +19% | 560 |
| Minnesota | $62K | +19% | 580 |
| Maryland | $60K | +16% | 350 |
| Oregon | $59K | +13% | 280 |
| New Hampshire | $59K | +13% | 170 |
| Rhode Island | $58K | +12% | 130 |
| Pennsylvania | $58K | +12% | 1,110 |
| New Jersey | $57K | +9% | 530 |
| Colorado | $57K | +9% | 360 |
| Maine | $55K | +6% | 170 |
| Nevada | $55K | +6% | 170 |
| Connecticut | $55K | +5% | 100 |
| South Carolina | $53K | +2% | 250 |
| Delaware | $53K | +1% | 40 |
| North Dakota | $52K | -0% | 30 |
| Michigan | $52K | -0% | 1,260 |
| Wisconsin | $52K | -0% | 770 |
| Illinois | $52K | -1% | 1,170 |
| Virginia | $52K | -1% | 760 |
| Arizona | $51K | -1% | 980 |
| Utah | $51K | -2% | 190 |
| Ohio | $51K | -2% | 890 |
| Idaho | $51K | -2% | 90 |
| New Mexico | $50K | -4% | 200 |
| South Dakota | $49K | -6% | N/A |
| Texas | $48K | -8% | 3,950 |
| Indiana | $48K | -8% | 740 |
| Kentucky | $48K | -8% | 220 |
| Iowa | $48K | -8% | 440 |
| Alabama | $48K | -8% | N/A |
| Louisiana | $47K | -10% | 130 |
| Oklahoma | $47K | -10% | 230 |
| Florida | $46K | -11% | 2,410 |
| North Carolina | $46K | -12% | 320 |
| Mississippi | $46K | -12% | 210 |
| West Virginia | $46K | -12% | 150 |
| Arkansas | $45K | -14% | 50 |
| Wyoming | $43K | -18% | 40 |
| Tennessee | $39K | -26% | 950 |
| Missouri | $31K | -41% | N/A |
Showing 1–10 of 46 states with published data
BLS does not publish data for every state when sample sizes are too small
Track credit counselors salary changes
BLS updates this data annually. We'll email you when Columbus numbers change.
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Quick answers
The stuff people actually ask about this job
Can a credit counselor afford a 2BR apartment alone in Columbus?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $55K, rent takes 37.9% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,430/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,100/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for credit counselors in Columbus?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new credit counselors typically earn — is $45K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,171/month. At HUD’s $1,430/month FMR, rent would take 45% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is credit counselor a high-paying job in Columbus?
Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $55K locally vs. $52K nationally, a 5% difference.
How does Columbus compare to the national average for credit counselors?
Columbus pays $55K median vs. the U.S. average of $52K — that’s +5%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 95.47), the purchasing-power equivalent is $57K — still ahead of the national median.
How much do credit counselors make in Columbus, OH?
The median is $54,880 a year, that works out to about $26 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $45,490, and experienced credit counselors can clear $102,750. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $55K enough to live in Columbus?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,777/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,430/month, which eats 37.9% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.
How far does a credit counselors salary go in Columbus?
Columbus has a Regional Price Parity of 95.47 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median credit counselors salary is worth about $57,484 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do credit counselors get paid the most?
The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.