Clinical and Counseling Psychologists in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$70,640
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$21,230
23.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$72,451
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$91,870
Kept after tax
$70,640
Worth in national money
$72,451
State rank
28
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pennsylvania sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $91,870, ranking 28 of 48 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Within Pennsylvania this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 88 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $91,870 the take-home is $70,640, which is worth about $72,451 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $108,710, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Pennsylvania occupies the middle band for clinical and counseling psychologists: a median of $91,870, ranking 28 of 48. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Ranked against every occupation Pennsylvania publishes a median for, clinical and counseling psychologists sits 88 of 492 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Pennsylvania's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for clinical and counseling psychologists on its $91,870 median: $70,640 retained after tax becomes $72,451 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $108,710 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Clinical and Counseling Psychologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $61,340 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $91,870 |
| Top tenth earn over | $175,410 |
| This salary | $91,870 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Pennsylvania | $70,640 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $73,461 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,145 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $87,861 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,344 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Pennsylvania earn less than $91,870. The published range is $61,340 up to $175,410, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Pennsylvania's $70,640, worked from $91,870. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 88 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $72,451 uses one figure for the whole of Pennsylvania. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 88.
- Reported values are medians; for clinical and counseling psychologists in Pennsylvania the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $61,340 to $175,410. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Pennsylvania take-home of $70,640, on $91,870 for work ranking 88 of 492 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 88 of 492 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $72,451, worked from $91,870, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Pennsylvania address, on work sitting at 88 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $108,710, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $61,340 and the top tenth $175,410 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Pennsylvania sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $72,451 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Pennsylvania adds its own income tax on top — which is why $70,640 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 48 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Pennsylvania is $108,710. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($61,340) and the ninetieth ($175,410) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Pennsylvania's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $72,451 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $70,640 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.