Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors Salary in Columbus, OH
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors in the Columbus, OH metro area earn a median $62,080 a year — 3% less than the national median. After 2026 taxes, that is $51,136 take-home, or $4,261 a month.
Take-home pay calculator
Pre-filled with the median educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors salary in Columbus, OH. Enter your own offer to see your paycheck.
- Federal income tax$5,270
- Social Security (6.2%)$3,849
- Medicare (1.45%)$900
- Ohio income tax$925
- Take-home pay$51,136
Marginal rate: 12% federal + 2.75% state
Living in Columbus? City residents also pay Columbus’s city income tax — about $1,552 a year on this salary — which lowers take-home pay to $49,584 ($4,132 a month). Choose “Columbus” under City income tax in the calculator. Suburban residents usually don’t pay it.
Got an offer somewhere else? Compare it with this one after taxes and rent →
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors pay by experience in Columbus, OH
| Percentile | Salary | Hourly | Take-home / yr | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile (entry level) | $46,840 | $22.52 | $39,310 | $3,276 |
| 25th percentile | $49,650 | $23.87 | $41,491 | $3,458 |
| Median (50th) | $62,080 | $29.85 | $51,136 | $4,261 |
| 75th percentile | $81,990 | $39.42 | $65,038 | $5,420 |
| 90th percentile (top earners) | $106,610 | $51.25 | $81,681 | $6,807 |
Wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Take-home: single filer, Ohio resident, 2026 tax rules.
What $62,080 buys in Columbus, OH
Prices in Columbus, OH are 4.5% lower than the U.S. average (housing costs are 12% below the national average). Adjusted for local prices, a median educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors's $51,136 take-home pay has the buying power of $53,563 in a typical American city.
Rents: HUD Fair Market Rents, FY2026 (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities). Price levels: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors jobs are about as common in Columbus, OH as in the U.S. overall (location quotient 0.97).
Best-paying cities for educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors, adjusted for cost of living
Columbus, OH ranks #14 of 31 metro areas once taxes and local prices are taken into account.
| # | Metro area | Median salary | Take-home | Real value* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sacramento, CA | $100,930 | $73,365 | $68,778 |
| 2 | Riverside, CA | $96,780 | $70,886 | $66,596 |
| 3 | San Jose, CA | $95,390 | $70,055 | $63,442 |
| 4 | Seattle, WA | $87,280 | $70,231 | $63,196 |
| 5 | Houston, TX | $75,930 | $62,247 | $63,112 |
| 6 | Dallas, TX | $76,380 | $62,563 | $60,688 |
| 7 | San Francisco, CA | $94,600 | $69,583 | $60,186 |
| 8 | Boston, MA | $80,760 | $61,827 | $57,106 |
| 14 | Columbus, OH | $62,080 | $51,136 | $53,563 |
*Take-home pay divided by the BEA price level, so every city is measured in U.S.-average dollars. See all 31 metros →
About the job: educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors
Advise and assist students and provide educational and vocational guidance services.
- Typical education
- Master's degree
- Work experience
- None required
- On-the-job training
- None
- Job outlook, 2025–35
- +2.9% (about average)
Source: BLS Standard Occupational Classification and Employment Projections, 2025–35.
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors salaries elsewhere in Ohio
- Cleveland, OH — $61,620
- Cincinnati, OH — $61,830
Frequently asked questions
How much does a educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors make in Columbus, OH?
The median educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors salary in the Columbus, OH metro area is $62,080 a year, or about $29.85 an hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025). The middle half earn between $49,650 and $81,990.
What is a educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors’s take-home pay in Columbus, OH?
On the median $62,080 salary, a single filer living in Ohio takes home about $51,136 a year ($4,261 a month) after federal tax, Social Security, Medicare and $925 in Ohio taxes in 2026.
Is Columbus, OH a good place to work as a educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors?
Pay here is 3% below the national median of $64,330. Local prices are 4.5% below the U.S. average, so the take-home pay buys what $53,563 would in a typical U.S. city. Columbus, OH ranks #14 of 31 metro areas for cost-of-living-adjusted pay in this job.
Can a educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors afford rent in Columbus, OH?
HUD’s fair market rent for a one-bedroom in Columbus, OH is $1,179 a month ($1,416 for two bedrooms) — 28% of a median educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors’s monthly take-home pay. Financial planners usually suggest keeping rent under about 30%.