Best Paying States for Psychologists, Mental Health Workers, Substance Abuse & Counselors

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Published March, 18th 2020. Updated on July 31st, 2020.

Our research team dives deep into the latest national Mental Health statistics and provides a unique analysis of current trends for workers.

As more Americans embrace the benefits of mental health services and the stigma surrounding mental illness continues to evaporate, demand for compassionate, qualified mental health professionals should continue to surge across the United States.

In fact, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, most roles in mental health services will grow at a more rapid clip than the average job. For example, demand for substance abuse and mental health counselors will climb by 22% through 2028, compared to a growth rate of just 5% for all jobs.

So there’s no doubt that for people with a strong desire to help others improve their mental health, personal relationships and overall well-being, a career in mental health services is likely to be a healthy one. But does that hold true everywhere across this diverse country? Which places are better than others?

We wanted to determine the best places in America for mental health workers, so we turned to data from Indeed, Zillow and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to create a Mental Health Workers Index ranking of all 50 states.

We analyzed data on salary income, housing affordability, and residents’ mental health, and our formula compared each state to the national median in each category. The result is a ranking that indicates the attractiveness of each state for mental health workers relative to the typical U.S. state. In other words, the higher the Mental Health Workers Index number, the better we believe the state to be for a long, successful career in the mental health field.

The data that went into our ranking included state-by-state wage and salary information for 15 mental health jobs (see list), annual housing costs, the percentage of income taken by annual housing costs, the percentage of adults with a mental illness and the percentage of adults using mental health services. More details on the methodology of our ranking can be found at the bottom of this page.

In This Section

Mental Health Workers Index
Best States for Mental Health Workers
How We Collected Data for This Analysis
Fair Use Statement
About PsyDPrograms.org

Mental Health Workers Index

According to the data, the best state for mental health workers is West Virginia, barely taking the top spot over Arkansas. Both states rate highly by virtue of a low cost of living and relatively high rates of mental illness and mental health services usage. Put another way — the average mental health worker will easily afford to live there, and it’s likely they’ll have plenty of people they can help. At the other end of the spectrum are Hawaii and California, which have higher wages but are considerably more expensive places to live than either West Virginia or Arkansas.

What else can we learn from this ranking?

Nevada and New Hampshire are the two states closest to the median, with Nevada just above and New Hampshire just below.
The Northeast is the only major region of the country without a state in the top 10; the highest-rated Northeastern state is Maine, just a few percentage points better than the median.
While the top two states and four of the top 10 are in the South, the region has just as many states in the bottom 10.
A slight majority of states (29) are better than the national baseline.
Utah has the highest rate of reported mental illness while New Jersey has the lowest.
Nevada has the highest annual reported income while Missouri has the lowest.

Rank	State	Average Income	Annual Housing Costs	Income Used By Housing	With Mental Illness	Using Mental Health Services	Mental Health Index
1	West Virginia	$71,935	$9,480	13.2%	23.8%	18.6%	132.6%
2	Arkansas	$77,851	$9,000	11.6%	20.3%	17.1%	131.5%
3	North Dakota	$68,746	$9,180	13.4%	19.1%	15.7%	125.4%
4	Oklahoma	$68,062	$9,540	14.0%	20.4%	14.7%	122.8%
5	Indiana	$67,651	$10,620	15.7%	22.5%	17.0%	121.9%
6	Idaho	$69,939	$11,940	17.1%	24.5%	19.7%	121.7%
7	Kentucky	$68,823	$11,220	16.3%	22.1%	19.1%	121.4%
8	Iowa	$67,996	$10,620	15.6%	19.9%	18.2%	120.8%
9	Kansas	$63,081	$10,200	16.2%	19.6%	16.6%	120.2%
10	Wyoming	$65,325	$10,068	15.4%	20.3%	14.9%	119.6%
11	Alabama	$65,483	$10,656	16.3%	21.4%	16.0%	119.0%
12	Missouri	$62,177	$10,992	17.7%	21.4%	17.0%	118.8%
13	Ohio	$71,344	$11,700	16.4%	21.4%	18.3%	117.7%
14	Mississippi	$74,022	$10,434	14.1%	19.5%	13.7%	116.0%
15	South Dakota	$68,696	$10,740	15.6%	17.5%	15.1%	113.6%
16	Wisconsin	$68,210	$11,940	17.5%	19.3%	17.8%	113.6%
17	Montana	$66,995	$11,532	17.2%	20.0%	16.0%	113.6%
18	Utah	$62,957	$15,000	23.8%	25.3%	19.5%	112.4%
19	New Mexico	$78,607	$11,400	14.5%	19.1%	14.1%	111.8%
20	Louisiana	$64,288	$12,000	18.7%	20.6%	14.7%	110.5%
21	Nebraska	$64,916	$11,640	17.9%	18.1%	15.0%	109.7%
22	Delaware	$67,549	$14,400	21.3%	20.0%	17.4%	105.6%
23	Michigan	$68,578	$13,800	20.1%	19.1%	16.4%	105.0%
24	Maine	$70,531	$16,800	23.8%	20.8%	19.4%	103.1%
25	Alaska	$92,411	$14,400	15.6%	20.5%	14.0%	103.0%
26	Vermont	$74,723	$19,200	25.7%	20.7%	22.8%	102.8%
27	Rhode Island	$71,442	$18,000	25.2%	21.3%	20.2%	102.2%
28	Tennessee	$66,995	$13,800	20.6%	18.3%	14.9%	102.1%
29	Nevada	$98,136	$15,480	15.8%	20.7%	14.2%	100.7%
30	New Hampshire	$68,818	$18,090	26.3%	20.6%	18.5%	99.2%
31	South Carolina	$78,842	$15,252	19.3%	18.3%	15.6%	99.1%
32	Oregon	$68,126	$18,372	27.0%	22.5%	17.1%	98.9%
33	North Carolina	$69,371	$15,264	22.0%	18.8%	15.1%	98.7%
34	Minnesota	$66,290	$16,920	25.5%	19.3%	17.3%	98.7%
35	Pennsylvania	$71,800	$16,200	22.6%	18.2%	16.4%	97.6%
36	Connecticut	$83,633	$17,220	20.6%	19.0%	17.2%	97.4%
37	Arizona	$76,547	$16,428	21.5%	19.2%	14.9%	96.1%
38	Washington	$77,219	$20,388	26.4%	22.2%	17.0%	94.8%
39	Colorado	$68,713	$21,000	30.6%	21.5%	17.3%	94.1%
40	Illinois	$70,154	$18,600	26.5%	18.1%	15.0%	90.9%
41	Georgia	$72,220	$17,400	24.1%	18.1%	13.0%	90.4%
42	Massachusetts	$77,876	$29,400	37.8%	21.2%	20.9%	89.6%
43	Virginia	$69,020	$19,800	28.7%	17.4%	14.7%	87.9%
44	Texas	$70,611	$17,040	24.1%	16.2%	11.7%	87.5%
45	Maryland	$72,264	$18,984	26.3%	17.0%	13.2%	86.6%
46	Florida	$71,811	$19,548	27.2%	17.4%	12.4%	85.0%
47	New York	$74,404	$27,600	37.1%	18.3%	14.6%	79.6%
48	New Jersey	$91,979	$22,800	24.8%	16.1%	12.8%	79.3%
49	Hawaii	$77,004	$24,600	31.9%	17.6%	11.4%	77.2%
50	California	$81,356	$29,940	36.8%	18.5%	12.0%	74.1%

* Mental illness and mental health services usage rates include adults only.

–

Of course, your mileage may vary, and every person’s living situation is unique. It’s worth noting that four of the five highest-population states are rated among the bottom 10 states in our index, but there are undoubtedly thousands of mental healthcare workers who are making a difference in those states every day.

–

Best States for Mental Health Workers

We’ve seen how the states performed in our analysis, but let’s take a closer look at how they all got here by looking at the underlying data for each state.

#1. West Virginia

Average Annual Income: $71,934.69
Annual Housing Costs: $9,480
% of Income Taken by Housing: 13.2%
% With Mental Illness: 23.8%
% Using Mental Health Services: 18.6%

#2. Arkansas

Average Annual Income: $77,850.56
Annual Housing Costs: $9,000
% of Income Taken by Housing: 11.6%
% With Mental Illness: 20.3%
% Using Mental Health Services: 17.1%

#3. North Dakota

Average Annual Income: $68,746.16
Annual Housing Costs: $9,180
% of Income Taken by Housing: 13.4%
% With Mental Illness: 19.1%
% Using Mental Health Services: 15.7%

#4. Oklahoma

Average Annual Income: $68,061.99
Annual Housing Costs: $9,540
% of Income Taken by Housing: 14.0%
% With Mental Illness: 20.4%
% Using Mental Health Services: 14.7%

#5. Indiana

Average Annual Income: $67,651.36
Annual Housing Costs: $10,620
% of Income Taken by Housing: 15.7%
% With Mental Illness: 22.5%
% Using Mental Health Services: 17.0%

#6. Idaho

Average Annual Income: $69,939.16
Annual Housing Costs: $11,940
% of Income Taken by Housing: 17.1%
% With Mental Illness: 24.5%
% Using Mental Health Services: 19.7%

#7. Kentucky

Average Annual Income: $68,822.81
Annual Housing Costs: $11,220
% of Income Taken by Housing: 16.3%
% With Mental Illness: 22.1%
% Using Mental Health Services: 19.1%

#8. Iowa

Average Annual Income: $67,995.92
Annual Housing Costs: $10,620
% of Income Taken by Housing: 15.6%
% With Mental Illness: 19.9%
% Using Mental Health Services: 18.2%

#9. Kansas

Average Annual Income: $63,081.23
Annual Housing Costs: $10,200
% of Income Taken by Housing: 16.2%
% With Mental Illness: 19.6%
% Using Mental Health Services: 16.6%

#10. Wyoming

Average Annual Income: $65,325.35
Annual Housing Costs: $10,068
% of Income Taken by Housing: 15.4%
% With Mental Illness: 20.3%
% Using Mental Health Services: 14.9%

#11. Alabama

Average Annual Income: $65,482.88
Annual Housing Costs: $10,656
% of Income Taken by Housing: 16.3%
% With Mental Illness: 21.4%
% Using Mental Health Services: 16.0%

#12. Missouri

Average Annual Income: $62,176.80
Annual Housing Costs: $10,992
% of Income Taken by Housing: 17.7%
% With Mental Illness: 21.4%
% Using Mental Health Services: 17.0%

#13. Ohio

Average Annual Income: $71,344.07
Annual Housing Costs: $11,700
% of Income Taken by Housing: 16.4%
% With Mental Illness: 21.4%
% Using Mental Health Services: 18.3%

#14. Mississippi

Average Annual Income: $74,022.04
Annual Housing Costs: $10,434
% of Income Taken by Housing: 14.1%
% With Mental Illness: 19.5%
% Using Mental Health Services: 13.7%

#15. South Dakota

Average Annual Income: $68,696.13
Annual Housing Costs: $10,740
% of Income Taken by Housing: 15.6%
% With Mental Illness: 17.5%
% Using Mental Health Services: 15.1%

#16. Wisconsin

Average Annual Income: $68,209.79
Annual Housing Costs: $11,940
% of Income Taken by Housing: 17.5%
% With Mental Illness: 19.3%
% Using Mental Health Services: 17.8%

#17. Montana

Average Annual Income: $66,995.12
Annual Housing Costs: $11,532
% of Income Taken by Housing: 17.2%
% With Mental Illness: 20.0%
% Using Mental Health Services: 16.0%

#18. Utah

Average Annual Income: $62,956.97
Annual Housing Costs: $15,000
% of Income Taken by Housing: 23.8%
% With Mental Illness: 25.3%
% Using Mental Health Services: 19.5%

#19. New Mexico

Average Annual Income: $78,607.45
Annual Housing Costs: $11,400
% of Income Taken by Housing: 14.5%
% With Mental Illness: 19.1%
% Using Mental Health Services: 14.1%

#20. Louisiana

Average Annual Income: $64,288.00
Annual Housing Costs: $12,000
% of Income Taken by Housing: 18.7%
% With Mental Illness: 20.6%
% Using Mental Health Services: 14.7%

#21. Nebraska

Average Annual Income: $64,915.85
Annual Housing Costs: $11,640
% of Income Taken by Housing: 17.9%
% With Mental Illness: 18.1%
% Using Mental Health Services: 15.0%

#22. Delaware

Average Annual Income: $67,548.92
Annual Housing Costs: $14,400
% of Income Taken by Housing: 21.3%
% With Mental Illness: 20.0%
% Using Mental Health Services: 17.4%

#23. Michigan

Average Annual Income: $68,578.15
Annual Housing Costs: $13,800
% of Income Taken by Housing: 20.1%
% With Mental Illness: 19.1%
% Using Mental Health Services: 16.4%

#24. Maine

Average Annual Income: $70,531.27
Annual Housing Costs: $16,800
% of Income Taken by Housing: 23.8%
% With Mental Illness: 20.8%
% Using Mental Health Services: 19.4%

#25. Alaska

Average Annual Income: $92,411.31
Annual Housing Costs: $14,400
% of Income Taken by Housing: 15.6%
% With Mental Illness: 20.5%
% Using Mental Health Services: 14.0%

#26. Vermont

Average Annual Income: $74,722.60
Annual Housing Costs: $19,200
% of Income Taken by Housing: 25.7%
% With Mental Illness: 20.7%
% Using Mental Health Services: 22.8%

#27. Rhode Island

Average Annual Income: $71,441.61
Annual Housing Costs: $18,000
% of Income Taken by Housing: 25.2%
% With Mental Illness: 21.3%
% Using Mental Health Services: 20.2%

#28. Tennessee

Average Annual Income: $66,994.63
Annual Housing Costs: $13,800
% of Income Taken by Housing: 20.6%
% With Mental Illness: 18.3%
% Using Mental Health Services: 14.9%

#29. Nevada

Average Annual Income: $98,135.77
Annual Housing Costs: $15,480
% of Income Taken by Housing: 15.8%
% With Mental Illness: 20.7%
% Using Mental Health Services: 14.2%

#30. New Hampshire

Average Annual Income: $68,817.72
Annual Housing Costs: $18,090
% of Income Taken by Housing: 26.3%
% With Mental Illness: 20.6%
% Using Mental Health Services: 18.5%

#31. South Carolina

Average Annual Income: $78,841.80
Annual Housing Costs: $15,252
% of Income Taken by Housing: 19.3%
% With Mental Illness: 18.3%
% Using Mental Health Services: 15.6%

#32. Oregon

Average Annual Income: $68,126.45
Annual Housing Costs: $18,372
% of Income Taken by Housing: 27.0%
% With Mental Illness: 22.5%
% Using Mental Health Services: 17.1%

#33. North Carolina

Average Annual Income: $69,371.13
Annual Housing Costs: $15,264
% of Income Taken by Housing: 22.0%
% With Mental Illness: 18.8%
% Using Mental Health Services: 15.1%

#34. Minnesota

Average Annual Income: $66,289.60
Annual Housing Costs: $16,920
% of Income Taken by Housing: 25.5%
% With Mental Illness: 19.3%
% Using Mental Health Services: 17.3%

#35. Pennsylvania

Average Annual Income: $71,800.20
Annual Housing Costs: $16,200
% of Income Taken by Housing: 22.6%
% With Mental Illness: 18.2%
% Using Mental Health Services: 16.4%

#36. Connecticut

Average Annual Income: $83,633.31
Annual Housing Costs: $17,220
% of Income Taken by Housing: 20.6%
% With Mental Illness: 19.0%
% Using Mental Health Services: 17.2%

#37. Arizona

Average Annual Income: $76,546.59
Annual Housing Costs: $16,428
% of Income Taken by Housing: 21.5%
% With Mental Illness: 19.2%
% Using Mental Health Services: 14.9%

#38. Washington

Average Annual Income: $77,218.85
Annual Housing Costs: $20,388
% of Income Taken by Housing: 26.4%
% With Mental Illness: 22.2%
% Using Mental Health Services: 17.0%

#39. Colorado

Average Annual Income: $68,712.83
Annual Housing Costs: $21,000
% of Income Taken by Housing: 30.6%
% With Mental Illness: 21.5%
% Using Mental Health Services: 17.3%

#40. Illinois

Average Annual Income: $70,154.39
Annual Housing Costs: $18,600
% of Income Taken by Housing: 26.5%
% With Mental Illness: 18.1%
% Using Mental Health Services: 15.0%

#41. Georgia

Average Annual Income: $72,219.85
Annual Housing Costs: $17,400
% of Income Taken by Housing: 24.1%
% With Mental Illness: 18.1%
% Using Mental Health Services: 13.0%

#42. Massachusetts

Average Annual Income: $77,875.87
Annual Housing Costs: $29,400
% of Income Taken by Housing: 37.8%
% With Mental Illness: 21.2%
% Using Mental Health Services: 20.9%

#43. Virginia

Average Annual Income: $69,019.60
Annual Housing Costs: $19,800
% of Income Taken by Housing: 28.7%
% With Mental Illness: 17.4%
% Using Mental Health Services: 14.7%

#44. Texas

Average Annual Income: $70,611.16
Annual Housing Costs: $17,040
% of Income Taken by Housing: 24.1%
% With Mental Illness: 16.2%
% Using Mental Health Services: 11.7%

#45. Maryland

Average Annual Income: $72,264.17
Annual Housing Costs: $18,984
% of Income Taken by Housing: 26.3%
% With Mental Illness: 17.0%
% Using Mental Health Services: 13.2%

#46. Florida

Average Annual Income: $71,811.15
Annual Housing Costs: $19,548
% of Income Taken by Housing: 27.2%
% With Mental Illness: 17.4%
% Using Mental Health Services: 12.4%

#47. New York

Average Annual Income: $74,404.49
Annual Housing Costs: $27,600
% of Income Taken by Housing: 37.1%
% With Mental Illness: 18.3%
% Using Mental Health Services: 14.6%

#48. New Jersey

Average Annual Income: $91,979.03
Annual Housing Costs: $22,800
% of Income Taken by Housing: 24.8%
% With Mental Illness: 16.1%
% Using Mental Health Services: 12.8%

#49. Hawaii

Average Annual Income: $77,004.37
Annual Housing Costs: $24,600
% of Income Taken by Housing: 31.9%
% With Mental Illness: 17.6%
% Using Mental Health Services: 11.4%

#50. California

Average Annual Income: $81,355.71
Annual Housing Costs: $29,940
% of Income Taken by Housing: 36.8%
% With Mental Illness: 18.5%
% Using Mental Health Services: 12.0%

Conclusion

While thousands of mental health professionals are already well-established in their careers wherever they live, there are thousands more who are just starting out and even more students who are only now beginning their educational journeys. It’s true that there are dozens or even hundreds of factors that play into where a person chooses to live and work, but our Mental Health Professionals Index indicates that some states are clearly better options than others.

How We Collected Data for This Analysis

The salary data used in this analysis came from Indeed.com. We used average salaries for 15 jobs in mental health for each state from over 10,000 employees, users, and past and present job advertisements on Indeed over the past 36 months. In some cases, annual salaries were listed, but for jobs where hourly, weekly or monthly rates were listed, those were converted to an annual full-time equivalent.

Here are the 15 jobs we analyzed:

Behavior Therapist
Clinical Psychologist
Clinician
Counselor
Family Therapist
Mental Health Case Manager
Mental Health Technician
Psychiatric Technician
Psychiatrist
Psychologist
Registered Mental Health Nurse
School Psychologist
Social Worker
Substance Abuse Counselor
Therapist

To quantify housing affordability for mental health professionals in each state, we used data published by Zillow.com that estimated the median rent list price for a two-bedroom dwelling in each state at the end of 2019. Zillow data can be accessed here and changes regularly.

Information on the prevalence of mental illness and mental health services was published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration during its most recent research cycle, which ran from 2017-2018. Our data, which the agency published in 2019, covered the percentage of adults in each state with a mental illness and the percentage of adults who used mental health services in the past year.

Additional Resources

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors. (2019.) Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/substance-abuse-behavioral-disorder-and-mental-health-counselors.htm#tab-6
American Psychological Association, Survey: Americans Becoming More Open About Mental Health. (2019.) Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2019/05/mental-health-survey

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