Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors Job Outlook
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment of substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors to grow 18.4% from 2025 to 2035 (about 98,000 more jobs), with about 50,500 openings a year, and the May 2025 median pay of $59,350 a year ranks 436th of 825 occupations.
- Projected change
- +18.4%
- Openings a year
- 50,500
- Median pay
- $59,350
- Pay rank
- 436th of 825
Is employment of substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors growing or shrinking?
Growing: BLS projects employment of substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors to rise 18.4% (about 98,000 more jobs) from 2025 to 2035, faster than the 3.5% projected across all occupations. That is faster than the +7.4% summed from BLS's employment levels across the 17 community and social service occupations with a projection. That change ranks 17th of 830 projected occupations.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Employment, 2025 | 533,400 |
| Employment, 2035 | 631,400 |
| Projected change | +18.4% |
| Openings a year | 50,500 |
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035. A projection is a BLS estimate, not a count. The 533,400 jobs here differ from the 491,930 on the salary page because Employment Projections also counts the self-employed and a wider set of workers, while OEWS counts wage and salary jobs in May 2025. BLS published these projections on August 27, 2026; checked November 10, 2026. Confirm any figure in the BLS Employment Projections tables.
BLS's reasons for this projection are at the Occupational Outlook Handbook. State projections are at Projections Central; projections by industry are left to BLS.
How many job openings are there each year?
About 50,500 openings a year, from job growth and from workers leaving the occupation, the 79th most of 830 occupations. About 81% of them replace workers who change occupations or leave the labor force; the rest come from the 9,800 jobs added in an average year.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035.
How does pay for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors rank?
The median of $59,350 a year ranks 436th of 825 occupations with a published median. It sits in the upper half of occupations on openings and the lower half on pay.
Source: BLS OEWS national file, May 2025. Wage and salary jobs only; the self-employed are not counted. OEWS pay excludes overtime, shift differentials and non-production bonuses. Ranks count only the occupations with that published figure: 830 for projected change, 830 for openings, 825 for median pay, which is why the totals differ.
What does it take to start?
- Typical entry-level education: master's degree.
- Typical on-the-job training: internship/residency.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, education and training assignments.