Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors in Ohio
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,184
after federal, FICA and Ohio tax
Tax takes
$10,176
17.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,481
Ohio costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Ohio — 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
$58,360
Kept after tax
$48,184
Worth in national money
$52,481
State rank
34
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Ohio is 34 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $58,360. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 494 occupations Ohio reports figures for, this is number 251.
- Ohio is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $58,360 the take-home is $48,184; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $52,481 would nationally. The average comes to $60,090, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Ohio ranks 34 of 51 for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors at $58,360. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Ohio's occupational distribution, substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors sits at 251 of 494 — 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 substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors in Ohio, on $58,360, is $48,184 — equivalent to $52,481 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 $60,090 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,010 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,360 |
| Top tenth earn over | $83,730 |
| This salary | $58,360 |
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 Ohio | $48,184 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,072 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,982 |
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 | $57,254 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,397 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
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 substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors in Ohio earn under $58,360 and half over. The published range runs $39,010 at the tenth percentile to $83,730 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Ohio the take-home figure of $48,184, from $58,360, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 251 of 494 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $52,481 uses one figure for the whole of Ohio. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 494 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 251.
- Figures are distribution medians for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors in Ohio, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $39,010 to $83,730; 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.
- Take-home for Ohio is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $48,184 from $58,360. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 251 of 494 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $52,481, worked from $58,360, 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 Ohio address, on work sitting at 251 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $39,010 at the bottom tenth to $83,730 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Ohio sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $52,481 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 Ohio adds its own income tax on top — which is why $48,184 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($39,010) and the ninetieth ($83,730) 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?
Ohio'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 $52,481 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 $48,184 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Ohio 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.