Vermont School Counselor
School counselors in Vermont earn a median salary of approximately $60,920 per year and serve students from pre-K through 12th grade. The state projects approximately 70 job openings annually through 2032. You’ll need a master’s degree in school counseling, supervised fieldwork, and Vermont licensure to practice.
Vermont Links
Vermont’s public school system runs small by national standards — about 90,000 K–12 students across a largely rural state. That scale shapes the job. School counselors here often carry broad caseloads, work closely with teachers and administrators in tight-knit communities, and navigate the mental health and college-readiness challenges that come with limited local resources. It’s demanding work, and it matters.
What School Counselors Do in Vermont
Vermont counselors work under the three-domain framework of the ASCA National Model — academic development, career development, and social/emotional development. In practice, that means different things at different levels.
At the elementary level, a counselor might run small-group sessions for students dealing with anxiety or family instability, then spend the afternoon meeting with a teacher about a student showing early signs of learning difficulties. At the middle school level, the work shifts toward study skills, peer relationships, and the first real conversations about future goals. At the high school level, the focus moves to course planning, college applications, and career exploration — while still responding to mental health needs that have often gone unaddressed for years.
Vermont’s counselors also work within the state’s commitment to multi-tiered support systems. The Vermont Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) network gives counselors a structure for addressing behavioral and social/emotional challenges across a whole school, rather than working with individual students in isolation. That kind of systemic approach is central to how comprehensive school counseling programs are designed to function.
Vermont is a small state, but the needs aren’t small. Rural communities often face higher rates of economic hardship and substance use, and school counselors are frequently the most accessible mental health resource a student has. That reality defines the job as much as any framework does. A master’s degree in school counseling prepares counselors to navigate all of it — the frameworks, the caseloads, and the day-to-day complexity of real schools.
Job Outlook in Vermont
Vermont projects approximately 70 annual job openings for school counselors through 2032 — a modest number that reflects the state’s size, but steady. Employment is expected to grow approximately 8.9 percent over the 2022–2032 projection window, from roughly 900 positions to a projected 980. That’s a healthy growth rate for a small state.
The median salary for Vermont school counselors is approximately $60,920 per year — somewhat below the recent national median of approximately $65,140. Pay varies by region and district, with the Burlington area offering the highest wages in the state. For full details on Vermont school counselor certification requirements, see the certification page.
School Counselor Salary in Vermont
Vermont school counselors earn a median salary of approximately $60,920 per year. That falls somewhat below the recent national median of approximately $65,140, though Vermont’s smaller district budgets and rural employment base tend to pull the statewide figure down. The Burlington metro area tracks higher. Data reflects May 2024 BLS figures — conditions may vary by district and year.
| Percentile | Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| 10th | $49,480 |
| 25th | $53,330 |
| Median (50th) | $60,920 |
| 75th | $75,830 |
| 90th | $87,620 |
| Area | Median Salary |
|---|---|
| Burlington-South Burlington, VT | $63,370 |
| Northern Vermont (nonmetro) | $60,240 |
| Southern Vermont (nonmetro) | $59,450 |
- Steady demand — Vermont projects approximately 70 school counselor job openings per year through 2032, with roughly 8.9% employment growth expected.
- Rural reach — Much of Vermont’s counseling work happens in small, tight-knit communities where counselors often serve as the primary mental health resource for students.
- Best pay in Burlington — The Burlington-South Burlington metro area pays a median of approximately $63,370, above the statewide figure.
- Broad role — Vermont counselors work across academic, career, and social/emotional domains, often serving students at multiple grade levels.
Ready to explore your path to becoming a Vermont school counselor?
