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Mental health

Mental health therapist salary

Open mental health therapist jobs post a median of $34.50 an hour, with the middle half paying $27–$43.50: about $71,800 a year full time. Measured from 656 jobs at 224 employers that state their pay, read from each employer's own job board.

$34.50
Median posted /hr
$27–$44
Middle half /hr
$71,800
A year, full time
estimate, 2,080 hours
$28.53
BLS median /hr
May 2025

The jobs themselves: Mental health therapist jobs

What mental health therapists are paid

Each bar counts the open jobs posting an hourly rate in its step of pay (a range at its midpoint). The middle half of employers' rates is in the darker color.

Posted hourly rates of 656 open jobs. The chart spans the 2nd to the 98th percentile; the lowest rate posted is $15, the highest $100.

Posted on open jobs

$27–$43.50/hr

Middle half of 478 employer rates (each employer's advertised range once), median $34.50. 21% of the 3,153 open mental health therapist jobs state an hourly rate. 18 more state an "up to" ceiling, a weekly travel rate, a per-visit fee, or a rate far from the rest (a differential read as pay), left out.

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Mental health therapist pay by employer

What each employer posts for mental health therapists, the employers with the most jobs stating pay first. An employer with at least 5 such jobs has a page of its own with every range it posts.

EmployerMedian postedPosted rangeJobs stating pay
UPMC$30.75$18.19–$49.2033
Helio Health$28$15–$3526
Kaiser Permanente$61.25$44.93–$72.3824
Providence$48.25$28.41–$68.8623
Open Sky Community Services$21.25$17–$44.4123
Advocate Health$39.75$25.30–$57.3016
MultiCare Health System$48.50$30.40–$61.3713
ARC Health Partners$54.50$30–$10011
Universal Health Services$33$25–$4011
Shiloh Home$23.75$21.35–$28.759
BetterHelp$56.50$43–$708
CommonSpirit Health$38.75$27.97–$678
Northwestern Medicine$33.75$23.60–$47.828
University of Rochester Medical Center$27$17.50–$40.958
Montage Health$64.75$55.36–$74.047
Endeavor Health$41.50$31.06–$49.867
Sanford Health$37.25$21.50–$46.507
Acadia Healthcare$34$27–$48.647
Samaritan Daytop Village$28.75$23.07–$37.047
COMHAR$19.75$18–$417
Atlantic Health$48$34.82–$88.286
Crouse Hospital$30.75$19.38–$38.046
Beth Israel Lahey Health$25$19.50–$45.856
UnitedHealth Group$25$22–$526
Vinfen$23$19.22–$23.586
New View Alliance$80$19–$805
HealthPartners$49.75$26.27–$68.625
Acenda Integrated Health$40$28.85–$455
Carle Health$39.75$23.36–$55.135
RWJBarnabas Health$38.50$29.55–$49.235
Sutter Health$64$50.83–$80.504
Legacy Health$58$43.11–$81.974
Inova$56.75$38.42–$70.454
Kaweah Health$50.75$38.92–$63.164
Allina Health$40.50$29.31–$48.814
Izzo Marriage & Family Therapy$40$404
Adventist HealthCare$39.50$29.08–$48.254
Easter Seals Blake Foundation$33.75$20.40–$45.674
Conifer Park$28.50$18.78–$41.134
Luminis Health$28$19–$314

Median of each employer's own jobs (a range at its midpoint), and the lowest and highest rate it posts. Jobs stating pay link to the employer's open jobs.

Mental health therapist pay by state

States where at least 8 open jobs from 3 employers state an hourly rate, highest median first. Each opens the state's own page, with its towns and employers.

StateMedian postedMiddle halfBLS medianJobs
Tennessee$56.50$43.75–$62.50$23.84 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)12
Oregon$51.50$33.50–$56.50$35.86 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)24
California$50.50$33.50–$59.25$28.48 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)99
Georgia$47.50$37–$53.50$28.35 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)17
Washington$43.25$38.50–$50.75$33.13 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)43
New Jersey$40.50$33.75–$48$30.20 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)29
Virginia$40$36.75–$56.75$28.79 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)22
Utah$40$35.75–$50.50$30.72 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)13
North Carolina$39.75$34.50–$55$26.68 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)21
Minnesota$39$32–$50.75$28.26 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)24
Maryland$37.50$31.50–$45$28.62 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)22
North Dakota$37.50$36.75–$38.50$33 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)11
Nebraska$36.75$35.25–$45.75$30.66 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)12
Arizona$36$33.75–$39$31.39 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)9
Colorado$35.25$25.25–$45$30 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)28
Wisconsin$35$33.75–$42.50$29.91 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)12
Florida$34.75$30–$47.75$27.30 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)14
South Dakota$34.50$31.75–$38.25$25.79 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)11
Illinois$34.25$29–$39.75$29.20 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)48
Ohio$32$22–$56.50$28.06 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)8
Maine$31.75$27.50–$36.75$28.83 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)9
Pennsylvania$29.75$25.25–$39$25.01 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)56
New York$28.50$22.75–$32.50$28.58 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)100
New Hampshire$27.75$24.50–$53.75$26.36 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)12
Massachusetts$27$22.75–$39$28.80 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)79

Median and middle half of employers' rates in the state. BLS medians are for the occupation's main SOC code in the state (May 2025).

Night shift mental health therapist pay

Where one employer posts both night and other mental health therapist jobs in the same state (11 such employers and states), the night jobs post a median $2 an hour less than the rest. Many employers state a night differential apart from the base pay, which this does not count.

Employer, stateNight jobs, medianOther jobs, median
Helio Health, NY$16.75 (1)$28.50 (25)
Open Sky Community Services, MA$20 (10)$22 (13)
Shiloh Home, CO$24.75 (3)$23.50 (6)
Samaritan Daytop Village, NY$26 (1)$28.75 (6)
Atlantic Health, NJ$48 (1)$48 (5)
Vinfen, MA$19.25 (1)$23 (5)
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rochester, NY$19 (1)$23 (3)
East House, NY$17.75 (1)$19.25 (3)

A job counts as a night job when its title names nights ("Nights", "NOC", "7p-7a"). Jobs in brackets.

Mental health therapist jobs that state a yearly salary

Some jobs state a salary for the year instead of an hourly rate. They are measured on their own here, never converted.

576 open jobs from 206 employers state a yearly salary: a median of $73,000, the middle half $63,400 to $86,000, from $10,000 to $165,339 posted.

Mental health therapist specialties

What each specialty posts. A specialty's jobs also count in the mental health therapist figures above.

Best-paid open mental health therapist jobs

The open jobs posting the highest hourly rates tonight, at most two from one employer.

Every open job: Mental health therapist jobs

What BLS measures

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys what people employed in the occupation earn, at every level of experience. A posting advertises what a new hire is offered, so the two measure different things.

Hourly wages, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Each figure opens its BLS page.
BLS occupation10th pct25th pctMedian75th pct90th pctEmployed
Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors (21-1018)$18.72 (source: BLS OEWS, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors, opens in a new tab)$22.65 (source: BLS OEWS, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors, opens in a new tab)$28.53 (source: BLS OEWS, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors, opens in a new tab)$36.80 (source: BLS OEWS, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors, opens in a new tab)$46.92 (source: BLS OEWS, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors, opens in a new tab)491,930 (source: BLS OEWS, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors, opens in a new tab)

The posted median ($34.50) is $5.97 above the BLS median ($28.53 (source: BLS OEWS May 2025, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors, opens in a new tab)). Posted ranges run from a new hire's rate to an experienced one's, and their midpoint is counted here.

Mental health therapist salary: common questions

How much does a mental health therapist make an hour?

Open mental health therapist jobs on CareJobs.Now that state an hourly rate post a median of $34.50, with the middle half between $27–$43.50 (656 jobs from 224 employers, each employer's advertised range counted once). Postings advertise a base rate, usually before shift differentials and bonuses. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics measured a median of $28.53/hr ($59,350 a year) for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors in May 2025.

How much does a mental health therapist make a year?

At the posted median of $34.50 an hour, full time (2,080 hours a year) comes to about $71,800, and the middle half to $56,200 to $90,500. That is arithmetic on the hourly rate, not a salary any job states. 576 open jobs state a yearly salary instead, a median of $73,000.

Which states pay mental health therapists the most?

By the median hourly rate open jobs post: Tennessee ($56.50), Oregon ($51.50) and California ($50.50). The lowest: Massachusetts ($27), New Hampshire ($27.75) and New York ($28.50). Each state's page breaks its pay down by town and employer.

Which employers pay mental health therapists the most?

Among employers stating a rate on at least 5 open jobs: New View Alliance ($80), Montage Health ($64.75) and Kaiser Permanente ($61.25). The employer table lists the 40 employers with the most jobs stating pay.

Do night shift mental health therapists earn more?

Where one employer posts both night and other mental health therapist jobs in the same state (11 such employers and states), night jobs post a median $2 an hour less. Many state a night differential on top of that.

Where do these figures come from?

From the pay CareJobs.Now's open jobs state, read every night from each employer's own job board: 656 of 3,153 open mental health therapist jobs (21%) state an hourly rate. No pay is estimated for a job that states none, "up to" ceilings and weekly travel rates are left out, and each employer's advertised range counts once in the median, so no single employer sets it.

More pay by job: Mental health

Mental health therapist jobs →Every healthcare salary →Pay explorer →

Sources and method

Only pay a job states is used: a plain hourly or yearly figure or range in US dollars, read from the job's own posting. A range counts at its midpoint. In the median and the middle half each employer's advertised range counts once, so an employer posting one range in many towns does not set the figure; an employer's own figures count its jobs one by one. "Up to" ceilings, weekly travel rates and rates under a third or over three times the occupation's median are left out. The yearly estimate is the hourly rate times 2,080 hours (40 a week). A job counts under its occupation and every occupation above it, and under every state it is open in. A page exists while at least 8 jobs from 3 employers state a rate. BLS figures are as published.
  1. CareJobs.Now job board: the pay open jobs state, read nightly from each employer's own careers site, published October 24, 2026
  2. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors (SOC 21-1018), published May 15, 2026
  3. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: Marriage and Family Therapists (SOC 21-1013), published May 15, 2026
  4. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers (SOC 21-1023), published May 15, 2026
  5. BLS OEWS May 2025: Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors by state, published May 15, 2026
  6. BLS Employment Projections 2025-2035: Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors (Occupational Outlook Handbook), published August 27, 2026
  7. BLS Employment Projections 2025-2035: Marriage and Family Therapists (Occupational Outlook Handbook), published August 27, 2026
  8. BLS Employment Projections 2025-2035: Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers (Occupational Outlook Handbook), published August 27, 2026

Cite this page

CareJobs.Now. (2026). Mental health therapist salary. Data as of October 24, 2026. https://carejobs.now/salaries/mental-health-therapist

How the board counts