Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors Salary
In Bellingham, WA, educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors earn $69,800 at the median, or about $33.56 an hour. The range runs from $59K at the entry level to $128K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 103.33), that's roughly $67,551 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,794/month, about 37% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $70K get you in Bellingham?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Bellingham’s Regional Price Parity (103.33). 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.
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What this looks like in Bellingham
Educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors pay in Bellingham tracks closely to the national median, $70K locally vs. $64K nationwide, a 9% difference. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,794/month, which is 37.4% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 103.33) 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 educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors in metros near Bellingham, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue | $87K | $79K |
| Spokane-Spokane Valley | $76K | $76K |
| Kennewick-Richland | $89K | $89K |
| Yakima | $96K | $101K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Bellingham, WA
Entry-level educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors (10th percentile) start around $59K. Mid-career wages sit at $70K. Top earners bring in $128K or more, a $70K spread from bottom to top.
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | $87K | +34% | 45,140 |
| Alaska | $83K | +29% | 540 |
| Washington | $83K | +29% | 6,610 |
| District of Columbia | $80K | +25% | 1,690 |
| Massachusetts | $80K | +24% | 11,460 |
| New Jersey | $78K | +21% | 8,190 |
| New Mexico | $78K | +21% | 1,780 |
| Maryland | $76K | +18% | 6,600 |
| Rhode Island | $75K | +17% | 1,340 |
| Delaware | $74K | +15% | 1,700 |
| Connecticut | $74K | +15% | 3,370 |
| New York | $72K | +11% | 23,380 |
| New Hampshire | $71K | +10% | 1,650 |
| Texas | $68K | +6% | 31,730 |
| Virginia | $68K | +5% | 9,450 |
| Nevada | $67K | +4% | 2,250 |
| Oregon | $67K | +4% | 3,990 |
| Colorado | $65K | +1% | 6,530 |
| Minnesota | $65K | +0% | 4,200 |
| Vermont | $65K | +0% | 1,120 |
| Kentucky | $64K | +0% | 5,030 |
| Georgia | $64K | -1% | 11,460 |
| Wyoming | $63K | -1% | 770 |
| Wisconsin | $63K | -3% | 5,330 |
| Nebraska | $63K | -3% | 2,190 |
| Illinois | $62K | -3% | 13,580 |
| Louisiana | $62K | -4% | 4,820 |
| Ohio | $62K | -4% | 13,250 |
| Hawaii | $62K | -4% | 1,620 |
| Utah | $61K | -5% | 4,070 |
| Pennsylvania | $61K | -5% | 13,570 |
| South Carolina | $60K | -6% | 6,460 |
| Idaho | $60K | -6% | 1,990 |
| Tennessee | $60K | -7% | 6,470 |
| Arkansas | $60K | -7% | 2,310 |
| Alabama | $60K | -7% | 4,410 |
| Michigan | $59K | -8% | 9,170 |
| Indiana | $59K | -8% | 5,610 |
| North Dakota | $59K | -8% | 840 |
| Mississippi | $59K | -9% | 2,620 |
| Maine | $59K | -9% | 1,780 |
| Arizona | $58K | -9% | 7,330 |
| Missouri | $58K | -10% | 8,890 |
| Montana | $58K | -10% | 890 |
| North Carolina | $58K | -10% | 9,430 |
| Kansas | $57K | -12% | 3,100 |
| Iowa | $57K | -12% | 3,690 |
| West Virginia | $56K | -14% | 1,260 |
| Florida | $53K | -17% | 22,800 |
| Oklahoma | $52K | -19% | 4,830 |
| South Dakota | $52K | -19% | 1,000 |
Showing 1–10 of 51 (all 50 states + DC)
Track educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors salary changes
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Frequently asked questions
Can a educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisor afford a 2BR apartment alone in Bellingham?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $70K, rent takes 37.4% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,794/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,400/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors in Bellingham?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors typically earn — is $59K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,511/month. At HUD’s $1,794/month FMR, rent would take 51% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisor a high-paying job in Bellingham?
Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $70K locally vs. $64K nationally, a 9% difference.
How does Bellingham compare to the national average for educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors?
Bellingham pays $70K median vs. the U.S. average of $64K — that’s +9%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 103.33), the purchasing-power equivalent is $68K — still ahead of the national median.
How much do educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors make in Bellingham, WA?
The median is $69,800 a year, that works out to about $34 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $58,520, and experienced educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors can clear $128,340. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $70K enough to live in Bellingham?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $4,791/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,794/month, which eats 37.4% 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 educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors salary go in Bellingham?
Bellingham has a Regional Price Parity of 103.33 (100 is the national average). Prices are above average here, so your dollar buys less than the same salary would in a cheaper metro. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors salary is worth about $67,551 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors 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.