Missouri School Counselor
Missouri school counselors earn a median salary of $53,790 per year and support students from pre-K through 12th grade. The state projects strong ongoing demand for counselors through 2032. You’ll need a master’s degree in school counseling, supervised fieldwork, and Missouri DESE certification to practice.
- Top Picks
Featured Universities with School Counseling Programs
#1
Walden University
MS in School Counseling - General Program. Click here to contact Walden University and request information about their programs.
#2
University of Denver
Earn a Master's degree in School Counseling online from the University of Denver. Learn from doctoral-level faculty in live classes and gain experience through mock counseling and in-field training. No GRE required. Click here to contact University of Denver and request information about their programs.
#3
Campbellsville University
Online Master of Arts in Education in School Counseling Click here to contact Campbellsville University and request information about their programs.
#4
Sacred Heart University
Online Master of Arts in School Counseling Click here to contact Sacred Heart University and request information about their programs.
#5
Winthrop University
M.Ed. in Counseling Development - School Counseling Concentration Click here to contact Winthrop University and request information about their programs.
#6
Auburn University at Montgomery
Education Specialist in Counseling- School Counseling. Click here to contact Auburn University at Montgomery and request information about their programs.
#7
Butler University
Master of Science in School Counseling. Click here to contact Butler University and request information about their programs.
#8
University of West Alabama
Master of Education: School Counseling Click here to contact University of West Alabama and request information about their programs.
Missouri Links
Missouri employs around 8,960 school counselors who work with students on academic planning, mental health support, and career readiness. The state has built one of the more structured, comprehensive counseling frameworks in the country, and it recently updated its core learning standards for the first time in decades. For full certification details, see the Missouri school counselor certification page.
What School Counselors Do in Missouri
Missouri’s comprehensive school counseling framework is built around three areas: academic development, career readiness, and intrapersonal/interpersonal growth. That’s the language from Missouri DESE’s school counseling program. In practice, it means counselors show up for students across a wide range of situations, often on the same afternoon.
Take a high school counselor in St. Louis. One period, she’s helping a junior map out community college options after he decided a four-year university isn’t the right fit. Next, she’s meeting with a teacher about a ninth-grader who’s been withdrawn since winter break. By the end of the day, she’s leading a small group session on conflict resolution for a cluster of seventh-graders. That’s a typical Tuesday.
Missouri’s model also connects counselors to families. That means meeting with parents, coordinating with administrators, and sometimes pulling in outside community resources when a student needs more than the school can provide on its own. The caseloads can be demanding, but the range of the work is part of what draws people to it.
Missouri uses a state comprehensive school counseling framework centered on academic, career, and intrapersonal/interpersonal development, delivered through counseling curriculum, individual student planning, and responsive services.
Job Outlook in Missouri
Missouri’s long-term labor projections indicate steady demand for school counselors through 2032, driven by growing recognition of counselors’ role in student mental health and academic outcomes. The state employs about 8,960 school counselors, with the largest concentrations in the Kansas City and St. Louis metro areas. Rural districts are part of the picture too, and some actively recruit to fill open positions.
The median salary is $53,790 per year, about $11,000 below the national median of $65,140. That gap reflects broader regional wage patterns in Missouri rather than anything specific to this profession. If you’re open to where you land geographically, the job market here is reasonably solid. See the full salary breakdown below.
School Counselor Salary in Missouri
Missouri’s statewide median of $53,790 sits below the national figure, but metro areas tell a more detailed story. Kansas City and Joplin both come in above $58,000, and St. Louis is close behind.
| Percentile | Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| 10th | $39,100 |
| 25th | $46,100 |
| Median (50th) | $53,790 |
| 75th | $62,720 |
| 90th | $77,370 |
| Metro Area | Median Salary |
|---|---|
| Kansas City, MO-KS | $60,050 |
| Joplin, MO-KS | $58,430 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | $56,940 |
| Columbia, MO | $52,190 |
| Springfield, MO | $50,020 |
Missouri’s School Counselors Adopting New Learning Standards
Missouri’s State Board of Education approved updated K-12 School Counseling Learning Standards in February 2025, with DESE issuing a public memo on March 13, 2025. The last major revision came decades earlier, and the new standards reflect how significantly the profession has changed.
Today’s school counselors do more than advise students on academics and college applications. They serve as key contacts for students who need mental and behavioral health support, a role that barely existed in the same form a generation ago. The updated standards are designed to reflect those realities and ensure counseling programs across the state are aligned with what students actually need.
The new framework focuses on three developmental content areas:
- Academic: Applying skills needed to attain educational achievement, transition between educational levels, and develop career and academic plans
- Intrapersonal/Interpersonal: Developing a healthy sense of self; building relationships critical for employment and life success; developing social skills to improve relationships with others and the community.
- Career: Applying career planning skills to achieve life and career goals; applying skills for career readiness and success; knowing where to find information about postsecondary education and training
- Steady demand — Missouri’s labor projections show ongoing need for school counselors through 2032, with roughly 8,960 currently employed statewide.
- Wide-ranging work — Counselors support students academically, socially, and emotionally, often across all three in the same day.
- Updated standards — Missouri approved new school counseling learning standards in 2025, refocusing programs on mental health, career readiness, and contemporary student needs.
- Salary varies by metro — The statewide median is $53,790, but counselors in Kansas City and Joplin earn closer to $59,000–$60,000.
Ready to explore your path to becoming a Missouri school counselor?
