Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,479
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$12,091
20.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,772
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — 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
$59,570
Kept after tax
$47,479
Worth in national money
$52,772
State rank
36
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Alabama is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $59,570, ranking 36 of 51 states — about 7.4% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 482 occupations Alabama reports figures for, this is number 199.
- Alabama is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $59,570 the take-home is $47,479; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $52,772 would nationally. The average lands at $59,540, below the middle of the range.
- Alabama ranks 36 of 51 for educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors, with a median of $59,570 — about 7.4% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- In Alabama's occupational distribution, educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors sits at 199 of 482 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors in Alabama, on $59,570, is $47,479 — equivalent to $52,772 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $59,540 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,670 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,570 |
| Top tenth earn over | $78,570 |
| This salary | $59,570 |
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 Alabama | $47,479 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,044 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,273 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $56,378 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,540 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Alabama earn less than $59,570. The published range is $37,670 up to $78,570, 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 Alabama's $47,479, worked from $59,570. 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 199 of 482.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $52,772 uses one figure for the whole of Alabama. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 199.
- Reported values are medians; for educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors in Alabama the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $37,670 to $78,570. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Alabama take-home of $47,479, on $59,570 for work ranking 199 of 482 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 199 of 482 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $52,772, worked from $59,570, 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 Alabama address, on work sitting at 199 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $37,670 and the top tenth $78,570, so most people doing this work in Alabama sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $52,772.
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 Alabama's own levy, $47,479 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,670 to $78,570) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama'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 $52,772 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 $47,479 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.