Occupation salary profile

Rehabilitation Counselors

SOC 21-1015 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

Counsel individuals to maximize the independence and employability of persons coping with personal, social, and vocational difficulties that result from birth defects, illness, disease, accidents, aging, or the stress of daily life. Coordinate activities for residents of care and treatment facilities. Assess client needs and design and implement rehabilitation programs that may include personal and vocational counseling, training, and job placement. Excludes “Occupational Therapists” (29-1122).

National median · BLS
$46,850
▲ +1.6% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$40,664
▲ +2.73% YoY · 621 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$51,820
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
94,740
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.

Pay range for Rehabilitation Counselors

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 621 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS) H-1B sponsored
10th — entry pay$35,060$38,605
25th$38,770$38,605
Median (50th)$46,850$40,664
75th$59,260$45,760
90th — top pay$77,170$50,112
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $40,664 for Rehabilitation Counselors — 13.2% below the BLS national median of $46,850.

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Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Rehabilitation Counselors

BLS projects employment of rehabilitation counselors to grow 2.2% from 2025 to 2035, slower than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 8,200 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
96,900 → 99,000
+2,200 jobs
Projected change
+2.2%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
8,200
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Master's degree
No related experience required
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 5)
Extensive Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Fastest-growing jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a master's degree →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

H-1B sponsored pay

Pay by H-1B wage level

Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.

H-1B median $40,664
Change vs prior year +2.73%
After inflation (CPI-U) -0.39%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 474 76.3% $38,605 $39,520 $41,600
Level II 110 17.7% $45,760 $48,838 $49,920
Level III 28 4.5% $56,191 $57,637 $60,000
H-1B job titles

Salaries by job title in Rehabilitation Counselors

The 8 most-filed job titles inside SOC 21-1015, from 621 H-1B filings. Seniority words and level numbers are grouped (“Senior Data Engineer II” counts as Data Engineer). Tap a title for its full range, wage levels and the exact titles employers used.

Job title LCAs Share P25 Median P75 YoY
Habilitation Counselor 145 23.35% $38,418 $38,605 $39,208 +0%
Direct Support Professional 145 23.35% $38,605 $40,664 $40,664 +5.33%
Residential Habilitation Specialist 71 11.43% $39,520 $39,520 $39,520 —
Rehabilitation Counselor 63 10.14% $43,680 $43,680 $48,838 +10.35%
Youth Development Professional 32 5.15% $44,554 $45,000 $45,406 +0%
Residential Counselor 31 4.99% $41,600 $41,870 $45,760 +0.65%
Qualified Intellectual Disabilities Professional 11 1.77% $48,370 $57,637 $57,938 —
Clinician 11 1.77% $58,000 $60,000 $62,000 +3.45%

Titles are cleaned from the employer's own LCA text (codes and typos removed, nothing invented). Rows need 10+ filings in this SOC.

Skills & tools

Skills needed for Rehabilitation Counselors

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Active Listening4.1
  • Monitoring4.1
  • Social Perceptiveness4.1
  • Speaking4.1
  • Coordination4.0
  • Service Orientation4.0
  • Critical Thinking3.9
  • Reading Comprehension3.9
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.5
  • Writing3.5
Top knowledge areas
  • Therapy and Counseling4.8
  • Psychology4.4
  • Customer and Personal Service4.1
  • English Language4.1
  • Administrative3.6
  • Education and Training3.6
  • Sociology and Anthropology3.3
  • Administration and Management3.0
Software and technology used
Microsoft Office softwareMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft WordAdobe Acrobat ReaderBudgeting softwareChart LinksClient information database softwareData input softwareElectronic medical record EMR softwareEmail softwareEncryption softwareFanatic Software InformantGlobal positioning system GPS softwareMicrosoft ActiveSyncMicrosoft Internet ExplorerMicrosoft Mobile Explorer MME

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What rehabilitation counselors do

  • Develop rehabilitation plans that fit clients' aptitudes, education levels, physical abilities, and career goals.
  • Confer with clients to discuss their options and goals so that rehabilitation programs and plans for accessing needed services can be developed.
  • Prepare and maintain records and case files, including documentation, such as clients' personal and eligibility information, services provided, narratives of client contacts, or relevant correspondence.
  • Locate barriers to client employment, such as inaccessible work sites, inflexible schedules, or transportation problems, and work with clients to develop strategies for overcoming these barriers.
  • Analyze information from interviews, educational and medical records, consultation with other professionals, and diagnostic evaluations to assess clients' abilities, needs, and eligibility for services.
  • Monitor and record clients' progress to ensure that goals and objectives are met.
  • Develop and maintain relationships with community referral sources, such as schools or community groups.
  • Maintain close contact with clients during job training and placements to resolve problems and evaluate placement adequacy.
Also called
CRC (Certified Rehabilitation Counselor)Job CoachVocational Placement SpecialistVRC (Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor)Classification CounselorEmployment AdvisorRehabilitation SpecialistVocational CounselorVocational Services SpecialistWork Counselor
More job titles for this occupation (23)
Blind Rehabilitation SpecialistDirect Care CounselorDisability CounselorEmployment NavigatorGroup CounselorHomemaking Rehabilitation ConsultantLPC (Licensed Professional Counselor)Options AdvisorPsychiatric Rehabilitation CounselorPsychiatric Rehabilitation Services Coordinator (PRSC)Psychosocial Rehabilitation CounselorPsychosocial Rehabilitation SpecialistRehabilitation Liaison (Rehab Liaison)Rehabilitation Services SpecialistRehabilitation Technician (Rehabilitation Tech)Veterans Rehabilitation CounselorVeterans' Rehabilitation CounselorVocational Rehabilitation Case ManagerVocational Rehabilitation ConsultantVocational Rehabilitation Job CoachVocational Rehabilitation SpecialistVocational Rehabilitation SupervisorVocational Rehabilitation Technician (Vocational Rehabilitation Tech)

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.