Genetic Counselors Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $85K, rent takes 23.6% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,272/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new genetic counselors typically earn — is $74K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $4,425/month. At HUD’s $1,272/month FMR, rent would take 29% of that take-home — manageable on an entry-level income.

Local pay runs 15% below the national median — $85K here vs. $100K nationally. Cost of living is 6% below the national average, which narrows that gap in real purchasing power.

Michigan pays $85K median vs. the U.S. average of $100K — that’s -15%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 93.89), the purchasing-power equivalent is $91K — below the national median.

The median is $84,970 a year, that works out to about $41 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $73,750, and experienced genetic counselors can clear $107,960. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $5,379/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,272/month, which eats 23.6% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Michigan has a Regional Price Parity of 93.89 (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 genetic counselors salary is worth about $90,500 in national-average purchasing power.

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.