Michigan · BLS May 2025

Substance Abuse or Mental Health Counselor Salary in Michigan

Also called mental health counselor, addiction counselor. SOC 21-1018.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 10,100 substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors working in Michigan. Here is what they are paid, what the median leaves after federal, state and FICA tax, and what that is worth against local prices.

Median pay · Michigan

$61,690A year, or $29.66 an hour.
Take-home a month$4,115After federal, state and FICA tax at 20%
Worth at national prices$64,115Prices here sit at 96.2 against 100
Against the nation3.9% aboveNational median $59,350
What substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors earn in Michigan, May 2025
PercentileAnnualHourly
10th percentileEntry and lowest-paid$38,490$18.51
25th percentile$47,990$23.07
MedianHalf earn more, half less$61,690$29.66
75th percentile$77,650$37.33
90th percentileMost experienced and senior$94,400$45.38
MeanThe average, pulled up by the top$65,430$31.46
How we got this
  1. Median wage in MichiganBLS OEWS May 2025. Half of substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors earned more than this, half less.$61,690
  2. Median hourly wagePublished separately by BLS, not divided out of the annual figure.$29.66
  3. Take-home after federal, state and FICA tax$4,115 a month at an effective rate of 20%.$49,377 a year
  4. Worth at national average pricesPrices in Michigan sit at 96.2 against a national 100 (BEA, 2024).$64,115
  5. Against the national medianThe national median is $59,350.3.9% above
  6. Jobs countedA concentration of 0.72 against the nation's 1.00.10,100
What we assumed
  • Wages are BLS OEWS survey estimates for May 2025, not job postings or offers.
  • OEWS surveys wage and salary workers. The self-employed and business owners are outside it.
  • Take-home assumes one 2026 filer, filing single, taking the standard deduction, with no dependents, pre-tax retirement contributions or local income tax.
  • Regional price parities compare price levels between places in one year. They are not inflation, and they do not adjust for what a household actually buys.
Technical details

Method occupation-wage-v1Data bls-oews-2025-05-v1, us-tax-2026-v1, bea-rpp-2024-v1, census-acs5-2024-v1

What lands in the bank

A $61,690 salary in Michigan, for one single filer taking the standard deduction in 2026.

  • Federal income tax. $5,223 a year.
  • State income tax. $2,371 a year.
  • Social Security and Medicare. $4,719 a year.
  • Left over. $49,377 a year, $4,115 a month, an effective rate of 20%.

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What $61,690 is worth in Michigan

Prices in Michigan sit at 96.2 against a national average of 100, so $61,690 earned here buys what $64,115 buys at national average prices.

  • Rents. 82.3 against 100, the component that moves most between states.
  • Against local households. The median household in Michigan takes in $72,875, so this occupation's median is 0.85 times that, on one income.
  • How common the job is here. 28% less concentrated in Michigan than in the country as a whole.

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Common questions

Substance Abuse or Mental Health Counselor pay in Michigan, answered

How much does a substance abuse or mental health counselor make in Michigan?

The median wage for substance abuse or mental health counselors in Michigan is $61,690 a year, or $29.66 an hour.

Half earn more than that and half earn less. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage survey for May 2025.

What is the take-home pay for a substance abuse or mental health counselor in Michigan?

On the median wage of $61,690, one filer taking the standard deduction keeps about $49,377 a year, or roughly $4,115 a month.

That is after federal, state and FICA tax, an effective rate of 20%.

Michigan takes $2,371 of it in state income tax.

Do substance abuse or mental health counselors earn more in Michigan than in the rest of the country?

Yes. The median in Michigan is 3.9% above the national median of $59,350.

Nominal pay is only half the comparison: prices in Michigan sit at 96.2 against a national 100, so the gap in what the money buys is different from the gap in the salary.

Is $61,690 a good salary in Michigan?

It is 0.85 times the median household income of $72,875. A household often has more than one earner, so a single salary at this level goes further than the ratio alone suggests.

Prices in Michigan run at 96.2 against a national average of 100, with rents at 82.3, so $61,690 here buys about what $64,115 buys at national average prices.

What do the highest-paid substance abuse or mental health counselors earn in Michigan?

The top tenth earn $94,400 a year or more, against $38,490 at the bottom tenth.

Experience, specialism, employer and the part of Michigan someone works in all move a wage inside that range; the survey reports the spread, not the reason for it.

How many substance abuse or mental health counselors are there in Michigan?

The survey counted 10,100 of these jobs in Michigan for May 2025.

That makes the occupation 28% less concentrated here than in the country as a whole. It counts wage and salary jobs, so the self-employed are outside it.

Sources

Where this data comes from