Mississippi School Counselor
School counselors in Mississippi earn a median salary of $59,630 per year and support students from kindergarten through 12th grade across public school districts statewide. The state projects approximately 240 job openings annually through 2032. You’ll need a master’s degree in school counseling, supervised fieldwork, and Mississippi certification to practice.
Mississippi Links
Marcus is a ninth grader who hasn’t turned in an assignment in three weeks. His grades were fine in middle school, but something shifted over the summer. His school counselor, after a brief check-in between classes, learns that his parents recently separated and that he’s been helping care for his younger siblings at night. By the end of the week, she’s looped in his teachers, connected the family to a community resource, and adjusted his check-in schedule. That’s what the job looks like in practice — not a list of services, but a specific intervention at exactly the right moment.
School counselors in Mississippi work within a comprehensive framework that spans academic support, social-emotional development, and college and career readiness. The Mississippi Department of Education’s Office of Counseling and Support Services supports programs generally aligned with the ASCA National Model, which structures counselors’ work around prevention, early intervention, and responsive services for every student.
What School Counselors Do in Mississippi
The role looks different depending on where you’re working. At the elementary level, a counselor might spend a morning running small-group lessons on conflict resolution, then pivot to meeting with a parent worried about a child’s anxiety. In a high school, the same counselor job — different building — means fielding FAFSA questions, managing a caseload of seniors who haven’t decided on post-graduation plans, and responding when a student discloses something serious.
What stays consistent is the structure. Mississippi counselors are expected to address the whole student: academics, behavior, mental health, and future planning. That’s not an abstract mission statement — it’s what fills the day. The work is rewarding, but counselors with large caseloads in under-resourced districts will tell you it’s also relentless. Mississippi’s rural communities, in particular, can leave counselors as the primary — and sometimes only — support professionals in a school.
The MDE’s Office of Counseling and Support Services provides professional development and technical assistance to help counselors implement comprehensive programs on a district-by-district basis. The framework they use — rooted in ASCA’s model — pushes counselors toward data-driven practice: tracking outcomes, measuring program effectiveness, and documenting their impact in ways that make the work visible to administrators and school boards.
Mississippi also has active professional organizations for practicing counselors. The Magnolia State School Counselor Association holds an annual conference and connects counselors across the state for networking and continuing education.
Job Outlook in Mississippi
Mississippi projects approximately 240 average annual job openings for school and career counselors through 2032, with total employment expected to grow from around 2,810 to 3,080 — a 9.6% increase over the decade, according to state labor market projections. That’s a solid demand signal for a state of Mississippi’s size, and most of those openings come from turnover and retirements rather than new positions, which means the pipeline is consistently refilling.
Rural districts sometimes struggle to attract and retain qualified counselors, creating localized shortages even in markets with reasonable overall demand. If you’re open to working outside the Jackson metro area, that can actually work in your favor — some districts offer additional incentives for candidates willing to work in harder-to-staff schools.
The state had approximately 2,540 school counselors employed as of May 2024, per BLS occupational employment data. Note that this figure reflects a different dataset than the state labor market projections above — the BLS Occupational Employment survey and state projection models use different methodologies and base years, so minor differences between the two are expected.
School Counselor Salary in Mississippi
Mississippi school counselors earn a median salary of $59,630 per year, below the national median of $65,140 — both from May 2024 BLS data. That gap reflects Mississippi’s broader cost-of-living context and public sector pay scales, but salaries vary meaningfully by district, experience, and location. Mississippi also provides a salary supplement for counselors who earn the National Certified School Counselor (NCSC) endorsement from NBCC, though the supplement amount is set by state statute and may vary — check with your district for current figures.
| Percentile | Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| 10th | $41,750 |
| 25th | $47,740 |
| Median (50th) | $59,630 |
| 75th | $68,080 |
| 90th | $76,400 |
Metro and nonmetro figures below are from the same May 2024 BLS dataset.
| Area | Median Salary |
|---|---|
| Jackson, MS | $55,660 |
| Gulfport-Biloxi, MS | $61,330 |
| Lower East Mississippi (nonmetro) | $62,530 |
| Lower West Mississippi (nonmetro) | $62,170 |
- Steady demand — Mississippi projects approximately 240 annual job openings through 2032, with 9.6% growth expected over the decade.
- Real, varied work — School counselors handle academic support, crisis response, college planning, and mental health coordination, often across large caseloads.
- MDE-supported framework — Mississippi’s school counseling programs are generally aligned with the ASCA National Model, giving counselors a clear structure for their practice.
- Salary below the national median — The state median is $59,630 per year (May 2024 BLS), with coastal and nonmetro areas often outpacing the Jackson metro.
Ready to explore your path to becoming a Mississippi school counselor?
