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Salary · Genetic Counselor · United States

Genetic Counselor salary: $100,040 median, and how to negotiate yours.

The full pay range by percentile, every state, the top-paying metro areas and similar roles, from the latest BLS survey. Place your own offer on the range.

Updated Nov 2, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025
Annual wage range · U.S. · BLS May 2025
$100,040median ($48.09/hr)

Hourly pay, BLS May 2025: 10th percentile $37.63 · 25th $42.74 · median $48.09 · 75th $55.84 · 90th $66.71.

Quick answer

The median annual wage for genetic counselors in the United States was $100,040 in May 2025 (BLS). The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $78,270 and the top 10% earned more than $138,760. That median is 2.0 times the $50,980 median for all occupations. The highest-paying state was California ($137,650).

10th percentile
$78,270
lowest-paid 10% earn less
25th percentile
$88,900
a quarter earn less
75th percentile
$116,140
a quarter earn more
90th percentile
$138,760
top 10% earn more
Key facts

More on genetic counselor pay

  • The median hourly wage for genetic counselors in the United States was $48.09 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • The middle half of genetic counselors in the United States earned between $88,900 and $116,140 a year in May 2025 (25th to 75th percentile, BLS).

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • The lowest-paid 10% of genetic counselors in the United States earned less than $78,270 a year in May 2025, and the top 10% more than $138,760 (BLS).

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • The mean annual wage for genetic counselors in the United States was $104,620 in May 2025, according to BLS; the mean is a different measure from the median.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • BLS estimated that 3,740 people were employed as genetic counselors in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

Pay by state

Genetic Counselor salary in every state

Data BLS state estimates, May 2025. 28 states and DC published a median for this occupation. Sort by pay or by number employed.

Highest median pay
  1. California$137,650
  2. New Jersey$117,750
  3. New York$107,450
  4. Colorado$106,100
  5. Delaware$106,010
Most people employed
  1. California440
  2. Tennessee340
  3. New Jersey240
  4. New York240
  5. Pennsylvania230
Median annual wage by state
State10th–90th percentile
California$137,650$105,810–$178,040440
New Jersey$117,750$59,000–$164,060240
New York$107,450$88,530–$141,430240
Colorado$106,100$77,700–$125,92040
Delaware$106,010$83,850–$146,45040
Washington$102,920$65,470–$133,410100
Arizona$102,730$81,560–$138,83050
Florida$102,330$74,860–$124,950100
Minnesota$102,010$82,580–$111,520160
Connecticut$101,640$72,290–$129,99050
Ohio$100,670$80,860–$108,940120
District of Columbia$100,380$77,450–$114,96040
Virginia$99,960$73,610–$134,220100
Kentucky$99,770$80,410–$114,29050
Texas$99,450$76,380–$118,840n/a
Utah$98,430$84,170–$134,92050
Massachusetts$97,240$81,510–$145,310200
Illinois$95,880$83,840–$116,14090
Pennsylvania$94,930$81,790–$121,120230
Tennessee$94,380$94,380–$94,380340
Maryland$94,050$81,800–$130,87050
South Carolina$93,600$79,240–$114,11040
North Carolina$93,570$79,540–$111,84080
Wisconsin$92,170$55,090–$112,270110
Indiana$89,640$50,900–$115,25040
Michigan$84,970$73,750–$107,96080
Missouri$83,980$78,090–$110,26040
Georgia$82,750$40,450–$131,150n/a
Top-paying metro areas

Where the median is highest

Data Metropolitan areas with at least 100 people employed in the occupation, BLS May 2025.

  1. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$177,990
  2. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA$120,560
  3. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$109,130
  4. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD$106,010
  5. Pittsburgh, PA$99,030
  6. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH$97,240
Similar roles

How the pay compares

Data National medians for related occupations (O*NET related roles, BLS pay).

  1. Psychiatrist$281,870
  2. Neurologist$248,560
  3. Family Medicine Physician$244,180
  4. Pediatrician$210,040
  5. Clinical Neuropsychologist (BLS: Psychologists, All Other)$110,840
  6. Clinical Psychologist$100,580
  7. Genetic Counselor$100,040
Negotiation script builder

Ask for more, calmly and in writing

Advice Uses only what you type. Replace anything in brackets with something true.

Our view If you cite market data, cite this page's source: the BLS median for your state and the percentile your offer sits at. A specific, sourced number is easier to agree to than a feeling.

Method

How this page is built

Wages are BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates for May 2025 (national, state and metropolitan area), for the occupation shown. OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay: they include base pay, commissions, production bonuses and tips, and exclude overtime, shift differentials, non-production bonuses and benefits. Percentiles describe all workers in the occupation, not entry or senior levels.

What this page can't tell you
  • Pay at a specific employer, or for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Experience level: percentiles are not seniority bands.
  • Equity, bonuses outside OEWS's definition, and benefits.
Sources
  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
  2. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.

How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.

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