Drug Abuse Counselors: Job, Salary, and School Information from The Riley Guide

Job Numbers and Growth

There are about 83,000 jobs for people working as drug abuse counselors. People pursuing jobs in this occupation should expect a low overall unemployment rate.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

Government survey data shows that 15% of employees work fewer than 40 hours per week. Some 6% of drug abuse counselors work primarily as a consultant.

Training and Education

Having a bachelor's degree may make it easier to find a job. Employees with a bachelor's degree or higher are 73% of the total. About 18% of drug abuse counselors have some college education, but do not have a degree. High school was all the education required by 9% of workers to get a job. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which, if any, could help you with this career.

Area Job Conditions

Cities with few jobs per capita for employees are Evansville (Indiana), Warren (Michigan), and Raleigh (North Carolina). The most jobs are found in Spokane (Washington), Elmira (New York), and Waterbury (Connecticut).

Within the US, the highest salaries for drug abuse counselors are found in State College (Pennsylvania), Rochester (Minnesota), and New Orleans (Louisiana), and the lowest are found in Alexandria (Louisiana), Fayetteville (Arkansas), and Grand Rapids (Michigan).

Career Overview Video About Drug Abuse Counselors

Drug Abuse Counselors: Job and Salary Data by Metropolitan Area

The table below shows data for Drug Abuse Counselors, as of 2008. The Popularity in Area number tells you how common jobs for Drug Abuse Counselors are in the area, compared to other US metro areas. A value of 1.0 means an average number of people in the position for area population. Lower numbers mean fewer of these positions in the metro area. The most popular areas for Drug Abuse Counselors are starred .

State	Area	Positions	Typical Pay	Popularity in Area
Alabama	Anniston	50	$29,450	2.4
Alabama	Mobile	90	$40,300	1
Alabama	Montgomery	30	$41,560	0.4
Alaska	Anchorage	70	$47,700	0.9
Arizona	Phoenix	500	$49,380	0.5
Arizona	Tucson	210	$35,610	1.1
Arizona	Yuma	50	$45,720	1.8
Arkansas	Fayetteville	50	$27,310	0.5
Arkansas	Fort Smith	40	$35,820	0.7
Arkansas	Little Rock	90	$32,910	0.5
California	Bakersfield	110	$31,840	0.8
California	Chico	110		3.4
California	Fresno	230	$34,500	1.4
California	Modesto	200	$36,490	2.5
California	Oakland	630	$33,970	1.2
California	Oxnard	120	$40,620	0.8
California	Redding	70	$39,570	2.3
California	Riverside	740	$41,990	1.1
California	Sacramento	310	$36,850	0.7
California	Salinas	40	$40,180	0.5
California	San Diego	750	$37,420	1.1
California	San Francisco	960	$35,190	1.9
California	San Jose	460	$32,490	1
California	Santa Ana	370	$34,370	0.5
California	Santa Rosa	150	$34,740	1.6
California	Vallejo	50	$34,170	0.8
California	Visalia	170	$30,140	2.6
Colorado	Denver	330	$34,400	0.5
Colorado	Pueblo	90		3.7
Connecticut	Bridgeport	280	$40,590	1.3
Connecticut	Hartford	490	$41,750	1.6
Connecticut	New Haven	240	$45,070	1.7
Connecticut	Norwich	70	$42,350	1.2
Connecticut	Waterbury	140	$38,430	4.4
Delaware	Wilmington	190	$35,380	1.1
District of Columbia	Washington	1,020	$45,760	0.9
Florida	Fort Lauderdale	360	$52,830	1
Florida	Jacksonville	210	$36,540	0.7
Florida	Miami	390	$41,340	0.8
Florida	Ocala	110	$32,680	2.5
Florida	Orlando	340	$35,110	0.6
Florida	Pensacola	100	$39,720	1.4
Florida	Port St Lucie	70	$45,920	1.1
Florida	Sarasota	150	$35,400	1.1
Florida	Tampa	520	$39,820	0.8
Florida	West Palm Beach	270	$35,680	1
Georgia	Atlanta	600	$37,890	0.5
Georgia	Augusta	140	$37,920	1.4
Georgia	Macon	60	$37,820	1.3
Hawaii	Honolulu	280	$46,850	1.3
Idaho	Boise	180	$36,050	1.3
Idaho	Coeur Dalene	50	$38,620	2
Illinois	Chicago	2,410	$36,540	1.2
Illinois	Peoria	40	$44,730	0.5
Indiana	Elkhart	40	$41,450	0.6
Indiana	Evansville	30	$39,430	0.3
Indiana	Fort Wayne	100	$36,790	0.9
Indiana	Gary	80	$33,040	0.6
Indiana	Indianapolis	250		0.5
Indiana	Michigan City	40	$34,660	2.1
Indiana	Terre Haute	60	$30,620	1.9
Iowa	Cedar Rapids	90	$36,100	1.4
Iowa	Davenport	130	$32,350	1.4
Iowa	Des Moines	150	$34,600	0.9
Kansas	Topeka	50	$35,890	0.9
Kansas	Wichita	240	$31,380	1.6
Kentucky	Louisville	300	$36,740	0.9
Louisiana	Alexandria	60	$25,610	2.2
Louisiana	Baton Rouge	120	$37,040	0.6
Louisiana	Lafayette	50	$29,690	0.7
Louisiana	New Orleans	360	$49,580	1.4
Louisiana	Shreveport	80	$40,750	0.9
Maine	Bangor	50		1.7
Maine	Lewiston	40	$41,080	1.8
Maine	Portland	190	$44,010	1.9
Maryland	Baltimore	1,770	$40,850	2.6
Maryland	Bethesda	150	$38,720	0.5
Maryland	Hagerstown	110	$42,260	2.3
Maryland	Salisbury	40	$41,400	1.7
Massachusetts	Springfield	270	$42,130	1.8
Massachusetts	Worcester	140	$41,080	1.1
Michigan	Battle Creek	50	$41,120	2.3
Michigan	Detroit	250	$41,410	0.7
Michigan	Grand Rapids	250	$36,990	1.3
Michigan	Warren	150	$44,230	0.3
Minnesota	Duluth	130	$47,120	2.1
Minnesota	Minneapolis	1,020	$45,940	1.1
Minnesota	Rochester	110	$51,170	2.5
Mississippi	Gulfport	50	$34,440	1
Mississippi	Jackson	190	$31,770	1.5
Missouri	Kansas City	450	$37,220	0.8
Missouri	Springfield	150	$43,300	1.5
Missouri	St Louis	640	$31,690	0.9
Montana	Billings	60	$41,590	1.6
Montana	Great Falls	60	$39,150	4
Nebraska	Lincoln	150	$34,800	1.9
Nebraska	Omaha	280	$41,080	1.2
Nevada	Las Vegas	240	$39,540	0.5
New Hampshire	Manchester	70	$35,250	1.4
New Jersey	Atlantic City	120	$38,600	1.7
New Jersey	Camden	530	$41,150	2
New Jersey	Edison	820	$50,570	1.5
New Jersey	Vineland	100	$40,320	3.9
New Mexico	Albuquerque	260	$34,430	1.3
New Mexico	Farmington	50	$43,360	2.1
New Mexico	Santa Fe	40	$44,180	1.4
New York	Albany	840	$34,600	3.8
New York	Binghamton	150	$38,670	2.9
New York	Buffalo	670	$35,680	2.4
New York	Elmira	80	$37,630	5.3
New York	Glens Falls	30	$42,910	1.3
New York	Kingston	90	$43,470	3.3
New York	Nassau	990	$45,420	1.5
New York	New York	6,670	$44,750	2.5
New York	Poughkeepsie	330	$39,740	2.8
New York	Rochester	590	$37,950	2.3
New York	Syracuse	510	$33,650	3.3
New York	Utica	90	$45,070	1.5
North Carolina	Asheville	50	$33,680	0.6
North Carolina	Charlotte	180	$42,380	0.4
North Carolina	Durham	70	$42,880	0.5
North Carolina	Fayetteville	40	$44,290	0.7
North Carolina	Greensboro	70	$38,490	0.4
North Carolina	Raleigh	50	$40,220	0.2
North Dakota	Bismarck	70	$39,230	2.7
North Dakota	Fargo	80	$39,240	1.4
Ohio	Akron	120	$39,050	0.7
Ohio	Canton	100	$37,730	1.2
Ohio	Cincinnati	330	$40,450	0.6
Ohio	Cleveland	510	$36,420	0.9
Ohio	Columbus	370	$40,780	0.8
Ohio	Dayton	130	$40,740	0.7
Ohio	Mansfield	90	$31,940	3.9
Ohio	Toledo	210	$41,510	1.3
Ohio	Youngstown	170	$36,850	1.5
Oklahoma	Lawton	30	$45,990	1.9
Oklahoma	Oklahoma City	490	$37,150	1.7
Oklahoma	Tulsa	310	$42,260	1.4
Oregon	Medford	110	$27,010	2.8
Oregon	Portland	1,050	$39,660	2
Oregon	Salem	130	$36,830	1.8
Pennsylvania	Allentown	290	$39,990	1.7
Pennsylvania	Erie	160	$34,230	2.6
Pennsylvania	Harrisburg	270	$36,670	1.7
Pennsylvania	Johnstown	50	$31,050	2
Pennsylvania	Lancaster	150	$31,720	1.3
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	2,470	$40,310	2.5
Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh	990	$33,970	1.7
Pennsylvania	Reading	80	$37,430	1
Pennsylvania	Scranton	270	$42,100	2.1
Pennsylvania	State College	50	$48,730	2
Pennsylvania	York	70	$32,470	0.8
Rhode Island	Providence	340	$38,980	1.2
South Carolina	Columbia	130	$38,430	0.7
South Carolina	Myrtle Beach	40	$36,570	0.7
South Dakota	Rapid City	80	$32,370	2.8
South Dakota	Sioux Falls	190	$38,920	2.8
Tennessee	Chattanooga	80	$35,240	0.7
Tennessee	Knoxville	190	$30,690	1.1
Tennessee	Memphis	520	$39,880	1.6
Tennessee	Nashville	330	$42,740	0.8
Texas	Abilene	30	$37,750	1.1
Texas	Amarillo	40	$30,400	0.8
Texas	Austin	280	$32,370	0.7
Texas	Beaumont	70	$31,840	0.9
Texas	Dallas	410	$33,380	0.4
Texas	El Paso	150	$31,370	1.1
Texas	Fort Worth	240	$36,220	0.5
Texas	Houston	850	$36,590	0.6
Texas	Longview	50	$30,160	1.1
Texas	Lubbock	100	$30,480	1.7
Texas	Mcallen	60	$28,530	0.5
Texas	San Antonio	230	$39,310	0.5
Utah	Ogden	60	$41,410	0.6
Utah	Provo	80	$44,640	1
Utah	Salt Lake City	190	$41,510	0.6
Utah	St George	40	$48,520	1.9
Vermont	Burlington	100	$37,200	1.9
Virginia	Blacksburg	120	$42,330	4.3
Virginia	Richmond	430	$40,710	1.4
Virginia	Virginia Beach	180	$41,150	0.5
Washington	Kennewick	150	$38,850	3.6
Washington	Mount Vernon	50	$48,780	2.5
Washington	Olympia	110	$38,530	2.5
Washington	Seattle	680	$40,190	0.9
Washington	Spokane	640	$29,450	6.1
Washington	Tacoma	100	$37,760	0.7
West Virginia	Huntington	50	$40,480	0.9
West Virginia	Wheeling	40	$34,820	1.4
Wisconsin	Eau Claire	70	$52,600	2
Wisconsin	Green Bay	30	$40,840	0.4
Wisconsin	La Crosse	90	$47,850	2.8
Wisconsin	Madison	80	$45,200	0.5
Wisconsin	Milwaukee	340	$44,230	0.8
Wisconsin	Oshkosh	40	$50,860	1
Wisconsin	Racine	40	$35,490	1.1

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Drug Abuse Counselors