Hawaii School Counselor
Hawaii school counselors work with students from pre-K through 12th grade, mostly in public schools. The state projects about 150 openings a year from 2024 to 2034, and the May 2025 median wage for counselors and advisors is $61,730. You’ll need a Hawaii Teacher Standards Board license, usually earned through a state-approved counselor preparation program, though other pathways exist.
Hawaii Links
Hawaii runs its traditional public schools as one statewide district, and that shapes school counseling here in ways the mainland doesn’t. Public charter schools sit outside that district, and counselors in both are licensed by the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board. There’s also no CACREP-accredited school counseling program on the islands, so training takes more planning than in most states.
What School Counselors Do in Hawaii
A ninth grader at a Honolulu high school is falling behind in three classes and has stopped coming to lunch with her friends. Her teachers notice, but they’re managing 30 students each and don’t have time to follow up. Her school counselor does. After a quick conversation, it becomes clear that her grandmother, who raised her, has been hospitalized. The counselor connects her with a community support resource, alerts her teachers, and builds a short-term academic plan to help her stabilize. That’s the job.
The work splits into three areas: academics, career planning, and social and emotional support. In one week, a counselor might teach a lesson on bullying and sit with a student after a family crisis. The same week, they might help a senior with financial aid forms. Plenty happens outside the office, too. Counselors make calls with parents, meet with administrators, and refer families to agencies that can help when the school can’t.
The American School Counselor Association’s ASCA National Model is a framework for designing school counseling programs around data and student outcomes. In practice, that means counselors are expected to show what changed for students, not just what they did.
What does good work look like here? The 2026 Hawai’i School Counselor of the Year, Marisa Toyooka of Ka’ala Elementary in Wahiawā, was recognized partly for attendance work. In 2023-24, she worked with the city’s Department of Transportation Services to set up a walking school bus route. It gave students a safe, consistent way to get to school. Maui High School’s post-high school counselor, Leka Anitema, was one of five national finalists for ASCA’s 2026 School Counselor of the Year.
Job Outlook in Hawaii
Hawaii projects about 150 openings a year from 2024 to 2034 for educational, guidance, school, and vocational counselors, the category that includes school counselors. Most of those openings come from retirements or people leaving the field, not from new positions. Total employment is projected to grow 7.2% over the decade, about 130 added jobs. For comparison, the national projection for the same 2024-2034 period is 3.5%.
If you’re searching for school counselor jobs in Hawaii, the Department of Education is the main employer. It runs all of the state’s traditional public schools as a single statewide district, so you won’t have to hunt district by district as you would in California or Texas. Public charter schools are separate. They have their own governing boards and do their own hiring. Under state law, counselors working half-time or more in a public or public charter school need a current license or permit from the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board. Private schools set their own requirements, so check each posting. Our certification guide covers the license itself.
Most of the jobs are on Oahu. Of the roughly 1,620 counselors and advisors working in Hawaii in May 2025, about 1,170 were in the Urban Honolulu metro. Maui, the Big Island and Kauai account for the rest.
School Counselor Salary in Hawaii
Educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors in Hawaii earned a median of $61,730 in May 2025, below the national median of $64,330. Keep in mind what that BLS category covers. It also includes college academic advisors, career counselors, and other advisors who work outside K-12 schools, so these figures aren’t specific to school counselors. In a state with Hawaii’s housing and grocery costs, the gap is still worth knowing about before you commit.
For Department of Education counselors, pay is generally set by contract rather than negotiated one-on-one. School counselors are in Bargaining Unit 5, represented by the Hawaii State Teachers Association, along with teachers and librarians. The 2023-2027 agreement includes separate 10-month and 12-month salary schedules, and placement depends on factors like your step and class. Ask the hiring school which schedule a position falls under.
| Percentile | Annual Salary (May 2025) |
|---|---|
| 10th | $49,350 |
| 25th | $51,600 |
| Median (50th) | $61,730 |
| 75th | $88,140 |
| 90th | $93,720 |
| Metro Area | Median Salary (May 2025) |
|---|---|
| Kahului-Wailuku, HI | $73,590 |
| Hawaii / Kauai nonmetropolitan area | $61,550 |
| Urban Honolulu, HI | $61,030 |
CACREP-Accredited School Counseling Programs in Hawaii
As of September 30, 2026, when we last checked the CACREP register, Hawaii had no CACREP-accredited school counseling program.
That’s not the same as having no approved program. CACREP is a national accreditor. State approval comes from the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board, which publishes its own list of state-approved preparation programs, including school counselor programs. If you want to study on the islands, start with that list.
It works the other way, too. A CACREP-accredited degree doesn’t automatically qualify you for a Hawaii license. HTSB decides which programs and pathways it accepts, and a program approved in another state may involve extra steps. Before you enroll anywhere, confirm with HTSB that your specific program and pathway lead to a Hawaii school counselor license.
If you still want a CACREP-accredited degree, you can do so online or on the mainland. Washington, Oregon and California all have accredited programs. Our list of online school counseling programs covers the options CACREP has verified as online. For students entering on or after July 1, 2026, CACREP requires at least two synchronous experiences to observe and assess counseling skills, one of them before practicum. Programs can hold them in person or live online, so ask each program which it uses and whether you’d need to travel.
Financial literacy is now part of the Personal Transition Plan
In January 2026, the Hawaii Department of Education announced a new graduation requirement. Starting with the Class of 2030, Hawaii public high school students must complete a financial literacy learning experience before graduating. Students document it in their Personal Transition Plan. Schools can meet it through an elective, lessons inside existing courses, or self-paced options. The Classes of 2027 through 2029 are encouraged to document it too. If you’ll be helping high schoolers plan for life after graduation, expect budgeting and student loans to come up alongside college and career choices.
- Openings tell the story: Hawaii projects about 150 openings a year from 2024 to 2034 in the counselor category, including school counselors, mostly from retirements or departures.
- One statewide district, plus charters: The Department of Education runs Hawaii’s traditional public schools, public charter schools hire separately, and most jobs are on Oahu.
- Pay below the national median: The May 2025 median for Hawaii’s counselors and advisors was $61,730, compared with $64,330 nationally.
- No in-state CACREP program: CACREP accreditation and HTSB approval are separate, so check the board’s approved program list and confirm any program with HTSB.
- Money talk is now part of planning: Starting with the Class of 2030, public high school students document financial literacy in their Personal Transition Plan.
Whatever program you’re considering, the deciding question is whether it meets Hawaii Teacher Standards Board requirements for your pathway. Our step-by-step guide shows you how to check before you enroll.
