Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020
29-9092 Genetic Counselors
Assess individual or family risk for a variety of inherited conditions, such as genetic disorders and birth defects. Provide information to other healthcare providers or to individuals and families concerned with the risk of inherited conditions. Advise individuals and families to support informed decisionmaking and coping methods for those at risk. May help conduct research related to genetic conditions or genetic counseling.
National estimates for Genetic Counselors
Industry profile for Genetic Counselors
Geographic profile for Genetic Counselors
National estimates for Genetic Counselors:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Genetic Counselors:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 2,280 |
4.3 % |
$ 43.13 |
$ 89,710 |
1.2 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Genetic Counselors:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 32.18 |
$ 35.61 |
$ 41.20 |
$ 49.86 |
$ 60.75 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 66,930 |
$ 74,060 |
$ 85,700 |
$ 103,700 |
$ 126,350 |
Industry profile for Genetic Counselors:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Genetic Counselors are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Genetic Counselors, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Genetic Counselors:
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Genetic Counselors:
Top paying industries for Genetic Counselors:
Geographic profile for Genetic Counselors:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Genetic Counselors are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Genetic Counselors, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Genetic Counselors:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
310 |
0.02 |
1.16 |
$ 57.63 |
$ 119,880 |
| New York |
160 |
0.02 |
1.11 |
$ 46.56 |
$ 96,850 |
| North Carolina |
140 |
0.03 |
2.06 |
$ 36.69 |
$ 76,310 |
| Texas |
140 |
0.01 |
0.73 |
$ 43.22 |
$ 89,900 |
| Massachusetts |
130 |
0.04 |
2.35 |
$ 42.86 |
$ 89,140 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Genetic Counselors:
Top paying states for Genetic Counselors:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
310 |
0.02 |
1.16 |
$ 57.63 |
$ 119,880 |
| Connecticut |
40 |
0.03 |
1.66 |
$ 49.90 |
$ 103,790 |
| New York |
160 |
0.02 |
1.11 |
$ 46.56 |
$ 96,850 |
| New Jersey |
50 |
0.01 |
0.81 |
$ 44.04 |
$ 91,610 |
| Colorado |
50 |
0.02 |
1.12 |
$ 44.01 |
$ 91,530 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Genetic Counselors:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
170 |
0.02 |
1.17 |
$ 45.17 |
$ 93,950 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
120 |
0.05 |
2.76 |
$ 42.55 |
$ 88,510 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
120 |
0.05 |
3.07 |
$ 64.25 |
$ 133,640 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
70 |
0.04 |
2.27 |
$ 39.49 |
$ 82,140 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
70 |
0.01 |
0.69 |
$ 48.73 |
$ 101,360 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
60 |
0.03 |
1.82 |
$ 43.32 |
$ 90,110 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
60 |
0.01 |
0.79 |
$ 40.29 |
$ 83,800 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
50 |
0.05 |
2.78 |
(8) |
(8) |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
50 |
0.02 |
0.99 |
$ 42.32 |
$ 88,020 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
40 |
0.01 |
0.67 |
$ 40.21 |
$ 83,640 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Genetic Counselors:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
120 |
0.05 |
3.07 |
$ 64.25 |
$ 133,640 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
50 |
0.05 |
2.78 |
(8) |
(8) |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
120 |
0.05 |
2.76 |
$ 42.55 |
$ 88,510 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
70 |
0.04 |
2.27 |
$ 39.49 |
$ 82,140 |
| Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA |
30 |
0.03 |
2.08 |
$ 64.71 |
$ 134,590 |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN |
30 |
0.03 |
1.93 |
$ 38.36 |
$ 79,790 |
| Pittsburgh, PA |
30 |
0.03 |
1.86 |
$ 37.95 |
$ 78,940 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
60 |
0.03 |
1.82 |
$ 43.32 |
$ 90,110 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
170 |
0.02 |
1.17 |
$ 45.17 |
$ 93,950 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
50 |
0.02 |
0.99 |
$ 42.32 |
$ 88,020 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Genetic Counselors:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA |
30 |
0.03 |
2.08 |
$ 64.71 |
$ 134,590 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
120 |
0.05 |
3.07 |
$ 64.25 |
$ 133,640 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
70 |
0.01 |
0.69 |
$ 48.73 |
$ 101,360 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
170 |
0.02 |
1.17 |
$ 45.17 |
$ 93,950 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
60 |
0.03 |
1.82 |
$ 43.32 |
$ 90,110 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
120 |
0.05 |
2.76 |
$ 42.55 |
$ 88,510 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
50 |
0.02 |
0.99 |
$ 42.32 |
$ 88,020 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
60 |
0.01 |
0.79 |
$ 40.29 |
$ 83,800 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
40 |
0.01 |
0.67 |
$ 40.21 |
$ 83,640 |
| Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA |
(8) |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 40.02 |
$ 83,250 |
About May 2020 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(8) Estimate not released.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2020 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2021
United States Department of Labor
