Average Genetic Counselor Salary

People with the genetic counselor salary and job description are generally tasked with assessing the individual, as well as the family risk for developing a wide array of inherited health issues. These include, and are mostly limited to birth defects and genetic disorders. So, what is the average genetic counselor salary, and what can one do to obtain it?

Genetic counselors also have to provide the concerned parties with information about the inherited conditions, as well as to advise the individuals and family members on how to proceed with the information they get. Some individuals with the genetics counselor salary also conduct research related to their field of expertise.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary of a genetic counselor was reported at $72,000 per year in 2015. Meanwhile, taking no note of bonuses, overtimes, or any other sources of income, payscale.com estimated the median genetic counselor salary at slightly more than $62,000 per year.

The yearly and hourly genetic counselor salaries sorted by percentile are depicted in the table below:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$23.92	$28.27	$34.66	$43.12	$52.72
Annual Wage	$49,760	$58,810	$72,090	$89,690	$109,650

Factors that Influence the Genetic Counselor Salary

Since the genetic counselor salary was estimated with a difference of more than $10,000 by two different sources, it means that the occupation usually has a salary which varies by much depending on several factors. Some of these factors are dependent upon the employee, whereas others depend on either the employer or on something much larger.

The three factors which influence the genetic counselor salary the most are the geographic location of the place of employment, the level of experience of each employee, and the industry of the profession. These factors can usually more than double the average counseling geneticist salary. So, how big of an influence is each of these factors?

Geographic Area

Genetic counseling, despite common belief, is a very populated field of medicine. Still, with each city having its own programs, clinical trials, as well as genetic counseling needs, it’s obvious that every area, state, and country has a different genetic counselor salary.

Below, we have compiled a series of tables documenting the states and the metropolitan areas with the highest salaries and levels of employment for the occupation. However, we will only focus on areas in the United States, mainly because of the large differences going on at a national level.

The states with the highest levels of employment for individuals with the genetic counselor salary are as follows:

State	Employment	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage
California	510	0.03	1.82	$41.13	$85,560
New York	180	0.02	1.08	$34.85	$72,480
Massachusetts	170	0.05	2.78	$34.48	$71,720
Ohio	140	0.03	1.41	$31.25	$64,990
Florida	130	0.02	0.91	$35.68	$74,200

Meanwhile, the highest salaries for the profession sorted by state are the following:

State	Employment	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage
Maryland	Not released	Not released	Not released	$43.89	$91,290
South Carolina	Not released	Not released	Not released	$43.85	$91,200
New Jersey	40	0.01	0.61	$41.78	$86,900
California	510	0.03	1.82	$41.13	$85,560
Illinois	90	0.01	0.80	$39.57	$82,310

For those interested in more vaguely distributed information, we have also compiled tables featuring the metropolitan areas with the highest salaries and the highest levels of employment for the occupation.

The metropolitan areas offering the highest employment levels for people with the genetic counselor salary are as follows:

Metropolitan area	Employment	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage
New York – Jersey City – White Plains, NY – NJ Metropolitan Division	150	0.02	1.28	$39.32	$81,790
Boston – Cambridge – Newton, MA NECTA Division	150	0.09	4.71	$34.53	$71,830
Los Angeles – Long Beach – Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division	90	0.02	1.21	$41.52	$86,370
Chicago – Naperville – Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division	80	0.02	1.27	$39.76	$82,690
Tampa – St. Petersburg – Clearwater, FL	60	0.05	2.69	$40.42	$84,060
Oakland – Hayward – Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Division	60	0.05	3.01	$42.51	$88,430
Anaheim – Santa Ana – Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division	50	0.03	1.84	$43.60	$90,680
Salt Lake City, UT	50	0.07	4.02	$31.15	$64,790
Cincinnati, OH – KY – IN	50	0.05	2.56	$31.46	$65,430
Indianapolis – Carmel – Anderson, IN	50	0.05	2.58	$32.42	$67,420

Last, but not least, the metropolitan areas offering the highest paying jobs for the profession are:

Metropolitan area	Employment	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage
Baltimore – Columbia – Towson, MD	Not released	Not released	Not released	$45.80	$95,260
Anaheim – Santa Ana – Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division	50	0.03	1.84	$43.60	$90,680
Oakland – Hayward – Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Division	60	0.05	3.01	$42.51	$88,430
Los Angeles – Long Beach – Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division	90	0.02	1.21	$41.52	$86,370
Tampa – St. Petersburg – Clearwater, FL	60	0.05	2.69	$40.42	$84,060
Chicago – Naperville – Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division	80	0.02	1.27	$39.76	$82,690
New York – Jersey City – White Plains, NY – NJ Metropolitan Division	150	0.02	1.28	$39.32	$81,790
Sacramento – Roseville – Arden – Arcade, CA	Not released	Not released	Not released	$39.31	$81,770
San Francisco – Redwood City – South San Francisco, CA Metropolitan Division	Not released	Not released	Not released	$38.00	$79,040
Seattle – Bellevue – Everett, WA Metropolitan Division	50	0.03	1.64	$36.75	$76,440

Experience

Yet another highly influencing factor, the experience gathered by an employee over the course of any careers in genetic counseling longer than twenty years can influence it by more than $30,000 a year. And this is without taking into account bonuses, overtimes, or any of the other influential factors.

According to payscale.com, the average starting salary for most genetic counselors is somewhere around $61,000 a year. Over the course of a career longer than twenty years, the genetic counselor salary range can change in the following ways:

• From $61,000 to $67,000 over the first five to ten years on the job;
• From $67,000 to $79,000 over the first ten to twenty years on the job;
• From $79,000 to $83,000 after more than twenty years of experience.

While the level of experience can influence the genetic counselor salary by quite a lot, it’s certainly not the only factor to do that. It does, however, help greatly with the highly favorable job outlook this occupation has.

Industry

The last of the three big factors to influence the genetic counselor salary, the industry of the profession is very important. It not only dictates the salary for the profession, but also the job description. Below, you can find a series of tables documenting the industries offering the highest genetic counselor salary, as well as those with the highest levels of employment.

For those interested in getting a job quickly, the industries with the highest genetic counselor employment levels are as follows:

Industry	Employment	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	880	0.02	$34.65	$72,070
Offices of Physicians	610	0.02	$34.63	$72,020
Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories	400	0.16	$43.63	$90,760
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	240	0.01	$30.57	$63,580
Outpatient Care Centers	100	0.01	$40.79	$84,850

Finally, the industries which provide the highest salaries for the occupation are the following:

Industry	Employment	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage
Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories	400	0.16	$43.63	$90,760
Outpatient Care Centers	100	0.01	$40.79	$84,850
Management of Companies and Enterprises	70	Less than .005	$39.93	$83,050
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals	90	0.03	$34.85	$72,490
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	880	0.02	$34.65	$72,070

Work Hours

Usually, individuals with the genetic counselor salary work eight to five work days. This means that the average work week for the profession is somewhere around 45 hours long. These hours are generally spent researching, performing genetic testing, and talking to patients.

As with most places of employment, genetic counselors may work overtimes depending on their place of employment. If the employer requests overtimes, then the genetic counselor work week will most likely be far longer than 45 hours. However, the genetic counselor salary still goes to one of the least stressful healthcare jobs out there.

Bonuses and Benefits Packages

According to payscale.com, the genetic counselor salary is rarely joined by bonuses, commissions, profit sharing opportunities, or any other such additional sources of income. Bonuses are usually awarded to people in the position, but they don’t amount to very much. In fact, it is estimated that genetic counselor bonuses rarely go over $2,000 per year.

As for the benefits packages, that is a totally different story. A more than fair number of paid and sick leave days, as well as a 401(K) plan are par for the course. Similarly, 92% of all employees with the genetic counselor salary and job description get medical insurance, 81% get dental, and 67% get vision. Only 7% get not insurance whatsoever.

Job Outlook

The job outlook for the profession is highly favorable, with bls.com estimating the employment rate to go up 29% by 2024. This is owed to a number of factors, depending either on the employer or on the job market. Let’s take a look at these factors.

One of the main reasons for the extremely favorable job outlook (compared to 8% for the national average) is that the medical industry has been going through advances never before seen. Another one would be the high genetic counselor salary, while another one would be the very low stress levels for the profession.

All the tables in this article about the genetic counselor salary across the United States are courtesy of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.