Credit Counselors in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,244
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$12,206
20.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,404
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$60,450
Kept after tax
$48,244
Worth in national money
$46,404
State rank
9
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maryland is one of the better-paying states for credit counselors. The middle earner takes $60,450, which ranks 9 of 46 states with published figures. That is about 15.74% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Credit counselors ranks 263 among 489 occupations Maryland publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $60,450 the take-home is $48,244. But Maryland costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $46,404 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $63,310, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Maryland ranks 9 of 46 states publishing a median for credit counselors, at $60,450 — about 15.74% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Position 263 of 489 in Maryland places credit counselors in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Maryland income tax is $48,244 for credit counselors, from $60,450. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $46,404. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $63,310 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Credit Counselors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,960 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,450 |
| Top tenth earn over | $81,720 |
| This salary | $60,450 |
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 Maryland | $48,244 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,752 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,823 |
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 | $57,329 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,042 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of credit counselors in Maryland earn under $60,450 and half over. The published range runs $45,960 at the tenth percentile to $81,720 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Maryland's $48,244, worked from $60,450. 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 263 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of Maryland, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $46,404, the adjusted value of that $60,450 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 263 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for credit counselors in Maryland, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $45,960 to $81,720; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Maryland take-home of $48,244, on $60,450 for work ranking 263 of 489 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 263 of 489 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Maryland, so $46,404 — the adjusted value of that $60,450 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 263 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $63,310 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $45,960 and the top tenth $81,720, so most people doing this work in Maryland sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $46,404 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Maryland's own levy, $48,244 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 Maryland is $63,310. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($45,960 to $81,720) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maryland rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $46,404 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $48,244 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.