Community and Social Service Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages O*NET task lead SOC 21-1015

Rehabilitation Counselors

O*NET task statements lead this Rehabilitation Counselors card before OEWS pay; neighboring titles include Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists, Counselors, All Other, Community Health Workers, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Rehabilitation Counselors: Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists ($66K) , Counselors, All Other ($51K) , Community Health Workers ($52K) , Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors ($59K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Rehabilitation Counselors publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 21-1015 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Prepare and maintain records and case files, including documentation, such as clients' personal and eligibility information, services pro…
  2. 2. Confer with clients to discuss their options and goals so that rehabilitation programs and plans for accessing needed services can be dev…
  3. 3. Develop rehabilitation plans that fit clients' aptitudes, education levels, physical abilities, and career goals
  4. 4. Locate barriers to client employment, such as inaccessible work sites, inflexible schedules, or transportation problems, and work with cl…
  5. 5. Monitor and record clients' progress to ensure that goals and objectives are met
  6. 6. Participate in job development and placement programs, contacting prospective employers, placing clients in jobs, and evaluating the succ…
  7. 7. Analyze information from interviews, educational and medical records, consultation with other professionals, and diagnostic evaluations t…
  8. 8. Collaborate with clients' families to implement rehabilitation plans, such as behavioral, residential, social, or employment goals
  9. 9. Develop and maintain relationships with community referral sources, such as schools or community groups
  10. 10. Maintain close contact with clients during job training and placements to resolve problems and evaluate placement adequacy
  11. 11. Arrange for on-site job coaching or assistive devices, such as specially equipped wheelchairs, to help clients adapt to work or school en…
  12. 12. Arrange for physical, mental, academic, vocational, and other evaluations to obtain information for assessing clients' needs and developi…

Rehabilitation Counselors: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 21-1015 - lead skill Active Listening at 4.0 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 4.0
  2. 2. Speaking 4.0
  3. 3. Social Perceptiveness 4.0
  4. 4. Service Orientation 4.0
  5. 5. Monitoring 3.9
  6. 6. Reading Comprehension 3.8
  7. 7. Writing 3.6
  8. 8. Critical Thinking 3.6

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 4.1
  2. 2. Therapy and Counseling 4.1
  3. 3. Psychology 4.0
  4. 4. Education and Training 3.9
  5. 5. English Language 3.9
  6. 6. Administrative 3.9
National median after O*NET task lead
$46,850
/year · 12 published task lines above
Lead task: Prepare and maintain records and case files, including documentation, such as clients' personal and eligibility information, services pro…
$47K
National median
↑ +1%
Growth 2024-2034
10,000
Annual openings
94,740
Estimated US jobs
Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists
Highest-pay peer · $66K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Master's degree

Top Paying States for Rehabilitation Counselors

1. Wyoming $67,640
2. Connecticut $56,340
3. Washington $58,050
4. Oregon $54,970
5. Alaska $61,590
6. Georgia $55,000
7. North Dakota $63,050
8. Alabama $54,040
9. Kentucky $58,540
10. Idaho $54,550

Other Community and Social Service Occupations titles

  1. 1. Community Health Workers $51,850
  2. 2. Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors $59,350
  3. 3. Counselors, All Other $50,860
  4. 4. Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors $64,330
  5. 5. Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists $66,270
  6. 6. Health Education Specialists $64,070

O*NET publishes 12 leading task statements for Rehabilitation Counselors (SOC 21-1015). The national OEWS median is $46,850 inside Community and Social Service Occupations. Same-group neighbors: Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists, Counselors, All Other, Community Health Workers, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors. Lead published task: Prepare and maintain records and case files, including documentation, such as clients' personal and eligibility information, services pro….

Employment Projections expect +1% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 10,000 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Master's degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Wyoming at $67,640. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists at $66,270. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Rehabilitation Counselors pay-rank #15 in Community and Social Service Occupations

On the Community and Social Service Occupations median table (17 detailed occupations with OEWS medians), Rehabilitation Counselors lands at #15, in the lower third. That rank is a table position, not a statement about individual workers.

Other lower-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 21-1015 · national median $46,850 · lower third of Community and Social Service Occupations (#15/17). The day-to-day tasks above set this role apart from peers with a similar title.

Rehabilitation Counselors salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 21-1015

Wyoming · top state for Rehabilitation Counselors

$68K published median

Connecticut · #2 state pay

$56K · behind Wyoming

Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists

Highest-pay peer vs Rehabilitation Counselors · $66K

Counselors, All Other

Lower-pay peer beside Rehabilitation Counselors · $51K

Compare Rehabilitation Counselors

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Rehabilitation Counselors with another occupation →

Role and task next reads

Rehabilitation Counselors full salary map

State and metro OEWS after the task lead

Compare tasks and pay

Side-by-side with another occupation

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Rehabilitation Counselors land on the Community and Social Service Occupations median table? ▼
Rehabilitation Counselors is pay-rank #15 of 17 in this major group, lower third of the median table. Closest lower-third titles: Social and Human Service Assistants ($46K), Religious Workers, All Other ($45K), Counselors, All Other ($51K), Community Health Workers ($52K). That position is a table rank, not a worker percentile.
What do rehabilitation counselors do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Rehabilitation Counselors. Leading ones include: Prepare and maintain records and case files, including documentation, such as clients' personal and eligibility information, services pro…; Confer with clients to discuss their options and goals so that rehabilitation programs and plans for accessing needed services can be dev…; Develop rehabilitation plans that fit clients' aptitudes, education levels, physical abilities, and career goals; Locate barriers to client employment, such as inaccessible work sites, inflexible schedules, or transportation problems, and work with cl…. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for rehabilitation counselors? ▼
For SOC 21-1015, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (4.0), Speaking (4.0), Social Perceptiveness (4.0), Service Orientation (4.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, Therapy and Counseling, Psychology. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Rehabilitation Counselors? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $46,850 as the national median for Rehabilitation Counselors. The published 10th-90th range is $35,060 to $77,170. Beside Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists ($66,270), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Rehabilitation Counselors? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Rehabilitation Counselors is +1%. Projected annual openings: about 10,000. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Rehabilitation Counselors? ▼
BLS assigns Master's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Rehabilitation Counselors. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Rehabilitation Counselors? ▼
Wyoming ($67,640), Connecticut ($56,340), Washington ($58,050) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Rehabilitation Counselors card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 21-1015. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Rehabilitation Counselors. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics