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The Best (& Worst) States to be a Drug and Alcohol Counselor

Jul 24, 2024

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young man talking with a drug and alcohol counselor

As someone working in the substance abuse field, you see every day how prevalent and destructive alcohol and drug use disorders are. According to the most recent reported data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), an estimated 14.5 million U.S. teens and adults have an alcohol use disorder. Another 1.6 million have opioid use disorders. Methamphetamine and cocaine continue to be problems, as does the unregulated, plant – based substance Kratom.

For this reason, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), jobs in substance abuse, mental health, and behavioral disorders are expected to grow 23% from 2020 to 2030. As you explore where you want to work, you’ll want to know how much drug and alcohol counselors make in each state, as well as compare other factors that affect professional and personal satisfaction. We’ve identified four important factors that contribute to states’ being considered the “best” (or “worst”) to work in as a drug and alcohol counselor:

  • Salary
  • Affordability/Cost of Living
  • Job Demand
  • Quality of Life

The Best & Worst States for Drug & Alcohol Counselors

For each metric, we pulled the most recent data for drug and alcohol counselors. Keep in mind the BLS combines the data for drug and alcohol counselors with behavioral and mental health counselors.

How Much Do Drug & Alcohol Counselors Make?

The median salary for drug and alcohol counselors, behavioral health, and mental health in the U.S. is $48,520 or roughly $23.33 per hour. However, around 10% of drug and alcohol counselors make less than $31,000, so it goes without saying, you should explore your options. For our analysis, we use each state’s mean average.

The Best & Worst States for Drug & Alcohol Counselors: Salary

According to the BLS, a pre-certified or certified drug and alcohol counselor could make the most money in these states:

The 5 Highest-Paying States for Drug & Alcohol Counselors
Rank State Average Annual Salary Average Hourly Pay
1 Utah $66,190 $31.82
2 Alaska $65,090 $31.29
3 Rhode Island $64,640 $31.08
4 New Jersey $63,430 $30.50
5 Wyoming $61,840 $29.73

 

Worst-Paying States: Where Drug & Alcohol Counselors Earn the Least

On the other side of the drug and alcohol counselor salary chart are the worst – paying states:

The 5 Lowest-Paying States for Drug & Alcohol Counselors
Rank State Average Annual Salary Average Hourly Pay
46 Alabama $43,250 $20.79
47 Mississippi $42,830 $20.59
48 Tennessee $42,210 $20.29
49 West Virginia $41,520 $19.96
50 Louisiana $39,970 $19.21

 

The Best & Worst States for Drug & Alcohol Counselors: Affordability/Cost of Living

Of course, you want to make the most money. But that’s only half of the equation when you’re applying for drug and alcohol counselor jobs. In some states, you’ll make less, but the cost of living is also much lower and vice versa.

Cost of living is certainly something you’ll want to factor into your job search because it tells you how far your money will go. Here, we’ve turned to U.S. News & World Report’s state affordability rankings for 2021. To determine each state’s “affordability score,” U.S. News analysts gave each state scores for two sub – metrics: cost of living and housing affordability. Then, each state received an overall affordability ranking on a scale of 1 to 50, with 1 being the most affordable and 50 being the least.

Here are the five most and least affordable states for drug and alcohol counselors:

The 5 Most Affordable States for Drug & Alcohol Counselors
Rank State Cost of Living Score Housing Affordability Score
1 Ohio 6 2
2 Oklahoma 8 3
3 Michigan 4 7
4 Iowa 17 1
5 Missouri 3 9

 

The 5 Least Affordable States for Drug & Alcohol Counselors (May 2021)
Rank State Cost of Living Score Housing Affordability Score
46 Oregon 40 46
47 Alaska 48 36
48 Massachusetts 47 40
49 California 50 49
50 Hawaii 49 50

 

The Best & Worst States for Drug & Alcohol Counselors: Job Demand

The answer to how much do drug and alcohol counselors make means nothing if no drug and alcohol counselor jobs are available. Next, let’s see how the states stack up for job projections.

California, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Texas lead the way with the highest demand for licensed drug and alcohol counselors. For example, in California, for every 1,000 jobs in the state, 2.11 are drug and alcohol counselor jobs.

The 5 States With the Highest Employment Levels for Drug & Alcohol Counselors (May 2021)
Rank State Employment Numbers Employment per thousand jobs
1 California 34,820 2.11
2 New York 20,010 2.31
3 Pennsylvania 18,240 3.27
4 Massachusetts 17,020 5.01
5 Texas 16,970 1.39

 

On the other hand, the below states have many fewer drug and alcohol counselor jobs available.

The 5 States With the Lowest Employment Levels for Drug & Alcohol Counselors (May 2021)
Rank State Employment Numbers Employment per thousand jobs
46 Hawaii 950 16.6
47 Maine 690 13.0
48 Rhode Island 570 21.7
49 North Dakota 570 8.3
50 Wyoming 520 7.2

 

The Best & Worst States for Drug & Alcohol Counselors: Quality of Life

To try to quantify and objectively compare quality of life, U.S. News looks at these criteria:

  • Healthcare
  • Education
  • Economy
  • Infrastructure
  • Opportunity
  • Fiscal stability
  • Crime & corrections
  • Natural environment

This information comes from the U.S. News Best States 2021 report.

The 5 Best States for Drug & Alcohol Counselors’ Quality of Life (May 2021)
Rank State Healthcare Score Education Score Economy Score Infrastructure Score Opportunity Score Fiscal Stability Score Crime & Corrections Score Natural Environment Score
1 Washingto 8 4 4 3 25 6 19 15
2 Minnesota 16 17 15 9 2 21 10 3
3 Utah 9 10 2 3 24 5 12 49
4 New Hampshire 13 13 11 34 3 33 1 2
5 Idaho 24 29 3 10 24 4 10 12

 

RankStateHealthcare ScoreEducation ScoreEconomy ScoreInfrastructure ScoreOpportunity ScoreFiscal Stability ScoreCrime & Corrections ScoreNatural Environment Score

The 5 Worst States for Drug & Alcohol Counselors’ Quality of Life (May 2021)
46 Alabama 46 50 45 38 45 23 45 35
47 West Virginia 45 45 48 50 18 38 43 37
48 New Mexico 33 50 44 45 49 35 47 31
49 Mississippi 50 43 49 48 44 41 33 22
50 Louisiana 46 48 47 47 48 42 50 49

 

U.S. State Rankings: Affordability & Quality of Life

Use the tables below to check how states fare on measures of affordability and quality of life, according to the U.S. News’ Best States 2021 report.

National Affordability Rankings (2021)
Rank State Cost of Living Score Housing Affordability Score
1 Ohio 6 2
2 Oklahoma 8 3
3 Michigan 4 7
4 Iowa 17 1
5 Missouri 3 9
6 Indiana 11 4
7 Arkansas 2 13
8 West Virginia 13 5
9 Kentucky 7 15
10 Mississippi 1 20
11 Nebraska 21 6
12 Kansas 16 12
13 Georgia 9 18
14 South Dakota 23 11
15 Pennsylvania 26 8
16 Illinois 19 14
17 Tennessee 5 26
18 Alabama 10 25
19 Wisconsin 20 16
20 Louisiana 15 23
21 North Dakota 32 10
22 Texas 14 28
23 Minnesota 28 17
24 North Carolina 12 31
25 South Carolina 18 32
26 New Mexico 24 35
27 Delaware 34 24
28 Virginia 30 34
29 Arizona 27 37
30 Idaho 22 42
31 Florida 25 41
32 Montana 29 44
33 Wyoming 32 39
34 Utah 31 45
35 Maine 39 30
36 New York 37 38
37 New Jersey 42 22
38 New Hampshire 43 21
39 Vermont 41 29
40 Connecticut 46 19
41 Nevada 35 43
42 Maryland 44 27
43 Colorado 36 48
44 Washington 38 47
45 Rhode Island 45 33
46 Oregon 40 46
47 Alaska 48 36
48 Massachusetts 47 40
49 California 50 49
50 Hawaii 49 50

 

National Quality of Life Rankings (2021)
Rank State Healthcare Score Education Score Economy Score Infrastructure Score Opportunity Score Fiscal Stability Score Crime & Corrections Score Natural Environment Score
1 Washington 8 4 4 3 25 6 19 15
2 Minnesota 16 17 15 9 2 21 15 10
3 Utah 11 10 1 5 30 5 8 47
4 New Hampshire 13 13 11 34 3 33 1 2
5 Idaho 24 29 3 10 24 4 10 12
6 Nebraska 28 9 20 6 10 17 31 6
7 Virginia 12 12 13 39 8 18 9 19
8 Wisconsin 15 8 26 24 9 9 25 17
9 Massachusetts 2 2 5 42 36 43 4 4
10 Florida 25 3 8 20 33 8 26 18
11 Vermont 18 15 25 12 17 37 3 9
12 Iowa 20 18 27 19 1 23 14 20
13 North Carolina 30 7 17 22 28 7 20 27
14 North Dakota 27 25 32 4 23 16 18 8
15 South Dakota 29 19 30 14 27 2 35 3
16 Colorado 10 5 2 15 41 45 41 23
17 Maryland 6 14 35 38 15 29 22 11
18 Georgia 43 26 12 11 13 11 29 25
19 New Jersey 4 1 33 41 19 49 5 33
20 Connecticut 3 6 22 46 45 30 6 28
21 New York 7 16 43 30 46 20 11 5
22 Oregon 17 35 14 2 31 13 40 42
23 Delaware 14 24 24 25 14 12 39 45
24 California 5 20 10 31 50 36 28 35
25 Hawaii 2 27 46 33 34 46 12 1
26 Kansas 41 23 31 7 16 39 27 16
27 Maine 26 28 36 37 29 26 2 14
28 Missouri 42 30 23 27 4 15 45 21
29 Tennessee 40 33 16 17 21 3 42 39
30 Illinois 23 11 39 26 12 50 16 43
31 Texas 31 34 9 16 39 10 37 40
32 Indiana 32 22 21 32 7 32 24 48
33 Montana 36 32 19 13 35 19 34 24
34 Rhode Island 9 39 28 49 32 44 7 7
35 Wyoming 38 21 45 8 42 34 21 13
36 Ohio 37 21 34 29 6 24 32 44
37 Nevada 39 40 6 1 47 27 36 50
38 Michigan 35 38 29 35 5 38 30 32
39 Arizona 21 46 7 23 40 40 38 41
40 Pennsylvania 19 37 42 44 11 47 17 38
41 Kentucky 44 36 40 18 20 48 13 29
42 South Carolina 34 44 18 36 38 31 46 26
43 Oklahoma 48 42 37 21 26 25 44 34
44 Arkansas 49 41 41 43 22 14 48 30
45 Alaska 22 49 50 40 43 1 49 46
46 Alabama 45 47 38 28 37 22 43 37
47 West Virginia 47 45 48 50 18 28 23 36
48 New Mexico 33 50 44 45 49 35 47 31
49 Mississippi 50 43 49 48 44 41 33 22
50 Louisiana 46 47 47 47 48 42 50 49

 

U.S. State Rankings: Job Demand

Use the chart below to see what the long – term employment projections are for drug and alcohol counselors compiled from Projections Central data. Note that an analysis was not performed for every state.

National Long-Term Projections for Drug & Alcohol Counselors (2020-2030)
State Average Number of Job Openings per Year Job Growth Percentage
Arkansas 240 26.9%
California 4330 17.3%
Colorado 1260 35.7%
Connecticut 600 19.6%
Delaware 90 35.0%
Hawaii 130 25.0%
Indiana 860 21.4%
Kansas 220 15.5%
Louisiana 440 11.3%
Montana 240 25.7%
New Hampshire 260 25.4%
New Jersey 1320 21.9%
New York 2700 33.4%
North Carolina 1190 23.9%
North Dakota 90 19.5%
Pennsylvania 2770 18.8%
Rhode Island 80 23.1%
South Dakota 160 13.5%
Tennessee 520 35.0%
Virginia 1700 19.5%
Washington 4100 23.1%

 

Data provided by Projections Central Long-Term Occupational Projections (2020-2030)

Final Thoughts

There are many things to consider when deciding on where to make a life for yourself. How much you make is important, but so is how far your money goes, which requires an analysis of states’ cost of living. Overall quality of life is something to think about too. A high salary or a lower monthly rent might not mean as much as access to healthcare or low crime rates. Something else to consider: opportunity. Identifying where job demand is highest both today and in the future carries significant weight also. With all this to consider, it is important to remember that while location is important, it comes down to personal preferences and where you believe you can build the best overall career and life.

 

Image courtesy of istock.com/grinvalds

 

Last updated on Jul 24, 2024.
Originally published on Aug 11, 2022.

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Leigh Marcy

Leigh Marcy is a health and wellness writer with a background in healthcare, insurance, customer experience analytics, and corporate management.

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