Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors Salary
In Great Falls, MT, educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors earn $61,110 at the median, or about $29.38 an hour. The range runs from $37K at the entry level to $80K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 96.84), that's roughly $63,104 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,284/month, about 32% of take-home, which is tight.
Where the paycheck goes
What $61K actually covers in Great Falls, month by month
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Great Falls’s Regional Price Parity (96.84). 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 educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors
Sponsored links, AffordMap may earn a commission at no cost to you. Learn more
What this looks like in Great Falls
Educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors pay in Great Falls tracks closely to the national median, $61K locally vs. $64K nationwide, a 5% difference. Rent runs $1,284/month for a 2-bedroom (HUD FMR), taking 31.7% of the median take-home. That's within the 30% rule, though not by much. Cost of living (RPP 96.84) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. Pay and costs are both near average, leaving limited margin for savings at the median wage.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors in metros near Great Falls, adjusted for local cost of living.
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Great Falls, MT
Entry-level educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors (10th percentile) start around $37K. Mid-career wages sit at $61K. Top earners bring in $80K or more, a $43K 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
BLS updates this data annually. We'll email you when Great Falls numbers change.
Related careers in Community & Social
Quick answers
The stuff people actually ask about this job
Can a educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisor afford a 2BR apartment alone in Great Falls?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $61K, rent takes 31.7% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,284/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 Great Falls?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors typically earn — is $37K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,538/month. At HUD’s $1,284/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 Great Falls?
Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $61K locally vs. $64K nationally, a 5% difference.
How does Great Falls compare to the national average for educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors?
Great Falls pays $61K median vs. the U.S. average of $64K — that’s -5%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 96.84), the purchasing-power equivalent is $63K — below the national median.
How much do educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors make in Great Falls, MT?
The median is $61,110 a year, that works out to about $29 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $36,680, and experienced educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors can clear $79,860. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $61K enough to live in Great Falls?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $4,054/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,284/month, which eats 31.7% 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 Great Falls?
Great Falls has a Regional Price Parity of 96.84 (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 $63,104 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.