Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors Salary
In Charlottesville, VA, educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors earn $63,330 at the median, or about $30.45 an hour. The range runs from $42K at the entry level to $87K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 99.15), that's roughly $63,873 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,824/month, about 43.8% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $63K get you in Charlottesville?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Charlottesville’s Regional Price Parity (99.15). 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 Charlottesville
Educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors pay in Charlottesville tracks closely to the national median, $63K locally vs. $64K nationwide, a 2% difference. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,824/month, which is 44% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 99.15) 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 Charlottesville, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk | $70K | $71K |
| Richmond | $68K | $69K |
| Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford | $62K | $66K |
| Roanoke | $61K | $65K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Charlottesville, VA
Entry-level educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors (10th percentile) start around $42K. Mid-career wages sit at $63K. Top earners bring in $87K or more, a $45K 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 Charlottesville?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $63K, rent takes 44% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,824/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,200/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 Charlottesville?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors typically earn — is $42K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,493/month. At HUD’s $1,824/month FMR, rent would take 73% 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 Charlottesville?
Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $63K locally vs. $64K nationally, a 2% difference.
How does Charlottesville compare to the national average for educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors?
Charlottesville pays $63K median vs. the U.S. average of $64K — that’s -2%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 99.15), the purchasing-power equivalent is $64K — below the national median.
How much do educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors make in Charlottesville, VA?
The median is $63,330 a year, that works out to about $30 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $41,550, and experienced educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors can clear $86,690. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $63K enough to live in Charlottesville?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $4,150/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,824/month, which eats 44% 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 Charlottesville?
Charlottesville has a Regional Price Parity of 99.15 (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 educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors salary is worth about $63,873 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.