Residential Advisors Salary: $52,913 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 82,810 residential advisors nationally earn a mean of $52,913. Employment in the series shown fell about 19% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 13.5% annual growth.
Key Statistics
Residential Advisors: what the data shows
Common questions about residential advisors careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a residential advisors?
Residential Advisors is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 39-9041.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 82,810 workers.
What does a residential advisors do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Assisting and Caring for Others, Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, Getting Information, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a residential advisors make?
BLS national median annual wage: $39,180 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $52,913 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $37,425 |
| 25th percentile | $41,117 |
| Median (50th) | $48,182 |
| 75th percentile | $62,086 |
| 90th percentile | $72,124 |
What education do you need?
For Residential Advisors, 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 Social Perceptiveness, Active Listening, Monitoring, Coordination, Speaking, Critical Thinking, and knowledge areas including Customer and Personal Service, Administration and Management, Public Safety and Security, Education and Training. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is residential advisors in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 13.5% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 88.2%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 254.3%.
Current U.S. headcount: 82,810.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do residential advisorss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 82,810 | 17.4% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 72,100 | 15.2% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 59,220 | 12.4% |
| Nursing and Residential Care Facilities | 33,780 | 7.1% |
| Educational Services | 28,270 | 5.9% |
| Social Assistance | 22,610 | 4.8% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Residential Advisors in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Residential Advisors workforce.
Employment Over Time
82,810 Workforce in 2023
The Residential Advisors workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Residential Advisors.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$52,913 Average Wage
In 2023, Residential Advisors earned an average of $52,913.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Residential Advisors.
Salary distribution for Residential Advisors.
Employment Growth Projections
13.5% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
55,261 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 88.2%
104,012 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 254.3%
This occupation is projected to grow at 13.5% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Residential Advisors.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Residential Advisors and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Residential Advisors employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Residential Advisors.
Wage Trends by Industry
-5.7% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Residential Advisors.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Residential Advisors.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 7,400 employees, $51,450 avg wage
- PA: 5,150 employees, $40,020 avg wage
- NY: 4,930 employees, $45,890 avg wage
- MA: 4,520 employees, $49,130 avg wage
- MN: 3,580 employees, $47,350 avg wage
- TN: 3,220 employees, $33,390 avg wage
- OH: 3,170 employees, $37,720 avg wage
- TX: 3,120 employees, $37,790 avg wage
- NC: 2,850 employees, $37,690 avg wage
- GA: 2,720 employees, $37,530 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Residential Advisors.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 3,900 employees, $47,530 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 2,780 employees, $51,260 avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 2,770 employees, $46,080 avg wage
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 2,520 employees, $49,670 avg wage
- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI: 2,020 employees, $48,470 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 1,910 employees, $41,190 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 1,740 employees, $42,030 avg wage
- Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD: 1,270 employees, $43,010 avg wage
- Pittsburgh, PA: 1,180 employees, $40,070 avg wage
- Providence-Warwick, RI-MA: 1,140 employees, $46,870 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Residential Advisors.
Diversity
Demographic information on Residential Advisors in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Residential Advisors in 2023 was 82,810 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Residential Advisors.
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 Residential Advisors.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Residential Advisors.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Residential Advisors in 2023 were Business Administration, Business, Social Sciences.
Common majors for Residential Advisors.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Residential Advisors workers.
Education level distribution for Residential Advisors.
Skills
Residential Advisors need many skills, but most especially Social Perceptiveness, Active Listening, Monitoring, Coordination, Speaking.
Required skills for Residential Advisors.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Residential Advisors.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Residential Advisors include Customer and Personal Service, Administration and Management, Public Safety and Security, Education and Training, English Language.
Knowledge areas required for Residential Advisors.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Residential Advisors include Oral Expression, Problem Sensitivity, Oral Comprehension, Speech Clarity, Speech Recognition.
Required abilities for Residential Advisors.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Residential Advisors.
Daily Activities
Residential Advisors spend their time on activities such as Assisting and Caring for Others, Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events.
Most important work activities for Residential Advisors.
About
Residential Advisors
The average yearly wage for Residential Advisors was $52,913 in 2023.
SOC Code
39-9041 - Residential Advisors
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Residential Advisors reports an average salary of $52,913.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 82,810 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 13.5%, 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.