Credit Counselors Salary: $70,096 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 28,110 credit counselors nationally earn a mean of $70,096. Employment in the series shown fell about 13% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 1.4% annual decline.
Key Statistics
Credit Counselors: what the data shows
Common questions about credit counselors careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a credit counselors?
Credit Counselors is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 13-2071.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 28,110 workers.
What does a credit counselors do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Getting Information, Working with Computers, Documenting/Recording Information, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, Communicating with People Outside the Organization, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a credit counselors make?
BLS national median annual wage: $50,480 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $70,096 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $45,804 |
| 25th percentile | $55,449 |
| Median (50th) | $67,040 |
| 75th percentile | $80,281 |
| 90th percentile | $96,059 |
What education do you need?
For Credit Counselors, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Speaking, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Writing, Critical Thinking, Service Orientation, and knowledge areas including Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Mathematics, Administrative. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is credit counselors in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 1.4% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -6.8%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -13.1%.
Current U.S. headcount: 28,110.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do credit counselorss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 28,110 | 15.6% |
| Educational Services | 27,950 | 15.5% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 20,370 | 11.3% |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools | 17,960 | 9.9% |
| Educational Services | 13,970 | 7.7% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, including State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 7,740 | 4.3% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Credit Counselors in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
What careers are related?
Other occupations linked through shared degree pathways in our mapping:
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Genetic Counselors | 3,510 | $98,910 |
| Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors | — | — |
| Mental Health Counselors | — | — |
| Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors | 342,350 | $65,140 |
| Social Workers, All Other | 64,940 | $69,480 |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Credit Counselors workforce.
Employment Over Time
28,110 Workforce in 2023
The Credit Counselors workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Credit Counselors.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$70,096 Average Wage
In 2023, Credit Counselors earned an average of $70,096.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Credit Counselors.
Salary distribution for Credit Counselors.
Employment Growth Projections
-1.4% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
7,550 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -6.8%
7,039 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -13.1%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Credit Counselors.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Credit Counselors and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Credit Counselors employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Credit Counselors.
Wage Trends by Industry
-0.7% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Credit Counselors.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Credit Counselors.
Metropolitan employment on this page is from the California OEWS extract. Area names omit state codes; all listed metros are in California, so the state chart shows California totals (not a multi-state ranking).
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 1,890 employees, $70,361 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Credit Counselors.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD: 640 employees, $68,127 avg wage
- Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD: 210 employees, $68,142 avg wage
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA: 190 employees, $72,347 avg wage
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA: 150 employees, $77,287 avg wage
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA: 140 employees, $68,925 avg wage
- Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD: 130 employees, $74,357 avg wage
- San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD: 130 employees, $77,520 avg wage
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA: 100 employees, $75,820 avg wage
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA: 60 employees, $65,930 avg wage
- Fresno MSA: 50 employees, $67,774 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Credit Counselors.
Diversity
Demographic information on Credit Counselors in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Credit Counselors in 2023 was 28,110 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Credit Counselors.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Credit Counselors.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Credit Counselors.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Credit Counselors in 2023 were Business Administration, Social Work, Psychology.
Common majors for Credit Counselors.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Credit Counselors workers.
Education level distribution for Credit Counselors.
Skills
Credit Counselors need many skills, but most especially Speaking, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Writing, Critical Thinking.
Required skills for Credit Counselors.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Credit Counselors.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Credit Counselors include Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Mathematics, Administrative, Education and Training.
Knowledge areas required for Credit Counselors.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Credit Counselors include Oral Expression, Oral Comprehension, Written Comprehension, Written Expression, Deductive Reasoning.
Required abilities for Credit Counselors.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Credit Counselors.
Daily Activities
Credit Counselors spend their time on activities such as Getting Information, Working with Computers, Documenting/Recording Information, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge.
Most important work activities for Credit Counselors.
About
Credit Counselors
The average yearly wage for Credit Counselors was $70,096 in 2023.
SOC Code
13-2071 - Credit Counselors
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Credit Counselors reports an average salary of $70,096.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 28,110 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -1.4%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.