Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors Salary
In Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI, educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors earn $49,960 at the median, or about $24.02 an hour. The range runs from $40K at the entry level to $81K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 95.55), that's roughly $52,287 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,519/month, about 44.6% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $50K get you in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood’s Regional Price Parity (95.55). 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 Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood
Pay for educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood runs about 22% below the U.S. median of $64K. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,519/month, which is 45.5% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 95.55) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. That combination, below-market pay with high housing costs, makes this a financially demanding market for educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisorss.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors in metros near Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn | $63K | $63K |
| Lansing-East Lansing | $68K | $72K |
| Ann Arbor | $63K | $62K |
| Flint | $49K | $52K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI
Entry-level educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors (10th percentile) start around $40K. Mid-career wages sit at $50K. Top earners bring in $81K or more, a $41K 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 Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $50K, rent takes 45.5% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,519/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,000/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 Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors typically earn — is $40K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,382/month. At HUD’s $1,519/month FMR, rent would take 64% 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 Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood?
Local pay runs 22% below the national median — $50K here vs. $64K nationally.
How does Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood compare to the national average for educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors?
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood pays $50K median vs. the U.S. average of $64K — that’s -22%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 95.55), the purchasing-power equivalent is $52K — below the national median.
How much do educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors make in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI?
The median is $49,960 a year, that works out to about $24 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $39,700, and experienced educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors can clear $80,570. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $50K enough to live in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,338/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,519/month, which eats 45.5% 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 Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood?
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood has a Regional Price Parity of 95.55 (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 $52,287 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.