Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers vs Rehabilitation Counselors: $60K vs $47K Median Pay

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers vs Rehabilitation Counselors: what changes?

Consider Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers if you want to assess and treat individuals with mental, emotional, or substance abuse problems, including abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and/or other drugs. Consider Rehabilitation Counselors if you would rather counsel individuals to maximize the independence and employability of persons coping with personal, social, and vocational difficulties that result from birth defects, illness, disease, accidents, aging, or the…. Both list master's degree; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers and Rehabilitation Counselors. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

National median pay (2025): $60,280
Route into the job: Master's degree; Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements.
Work to investigate: Counsel clients in individual or group sessions to assist them in dealing with substance abuse, mental or physical illness, poverty, unemployment, or physical abuse.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 12,500

Know before you choose

Training continues through internship/residency after the degree path.

See the full Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers brief

Rehabilitation Counselors

National median pay (2025): $46,850
Route into the job: Master's degree
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Prepare and maintain records and case files, including documentation, such as clients' personal and eligibility information, services provided, narratives of client contacts, or relevant correspondence.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 8,200

Know before you choose

The helping mission includes documentation, direct care, and safety-critical routines where a missed detail can affect a patient.

See the full Rehabilitation Counselors brief

How the national numbers differ

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers has the edge on projected growth

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers is at 10.3% projected growth, compared with 2.2% projected growth for Rehabilitation Counselors.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers has the edge on median pay

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers is at $60,280, compared with $46,850 for Rehabilitation Counselors.

Typical preparation differs.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers: Master's degree; Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements Rehabilitation Counselors: Master's degree Preparation categories do not establish admission difficulty, calendar time, tuition, time without earnings, or licensing difficulty.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers has the edge on annual openings

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers is at 12,500 annual openings, compared with 8,200 annual openings for Rehabilitation Counselors.

59.7/ 100

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

40.3/ 100

Rehabilitation Counselors

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers vs Rehabilitation Counselors

Dimension	Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers	Rehabilitation Counselors
Median pay (2025)	$60,280	$46,850
Pay percentile	48.5 percentile	22.9 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	10.3%	2.2%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	12,500	8,200
2025 employment	138,900	96,900
How you qualify	Master's degree; Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements	Master's degree
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 5	Job Zone 4
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements.	BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers brief Read Rehabilitation Counselors brief

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers vs Rehabilitation Counselors: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

Rehabilitation Counselors

How the national numbers differ

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers has the edge on projected growth

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers has the edge on median pay

Typical preparation differs.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers has the edge on annual openings

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers vs Rehabilitation Counselors

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