Washington School Counselor

Written by Dr. Lauren Davis, Ed.D., Last Updated: March 24, 2026

Washington school counselors work across every grade level, supporting students academically, socially, and emotionally. The state employs about 5,910 school counselors, and demand is projected to grow faster than the national average.

• Become a Washington School Counselor
• Washington School Counselor Certification

What School Counselors Do in Washington

Washington’s school counseling programs are built around three domains: academic development, career planning, and social-emotional support. That framework aligns with the ASCA National Model through OSPI’s Comprehensive School Counseling Program frameworks. In practice, it means counselors are doing different things depending on the school level, and often doing several things at once.

At the elementary level, a counselor might spend Monday morning co-teaching a lesson on conflict resolution in a third-grade classroom, then shift to a check-in with a student whose parent just lost a job. At the high school level, the same position looks different. Senior college application season, dual credit advising, 504 plan coordination, and crisis response can all land in the same week.

RCW 28A.320.280 recognizes distinct roles for counselors, psychologists, and social workers within student support services. Counselors focus primarily on prevention and guidance, helping students navigate the academic and personal challenges that could derail their progress, while psychologists handle formal assessments and social workers manage family and community resource connections. In schools where all three roles are present, the work is collaborative. In schools where it’s just a counselor, the scope gets wider.

OSPI’s school counseling framework emphasizes both direct services (individual counseling, group sessions, classroom instruction) and indirect services (consultation with teachers and parents, referrals to outside providers, coordination with community agencies). Washington counselors are typically expected to track and align their work with program goals and outcomes.

Job Outlook in Washington

Washington projects about 710 annual job openings for school counselors through 2032, driven by both new positions and turnover in existing roles. That represents approximately 17% growth over the projection period, compared to national growth of about 8% over the same period (BLS). Washington is expanding the field at roughly twice the national pace.

The state currently employs about 5,910 school counselors. The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro accounts for the largest share of employment (roughly 3,050 positions), but counselors work in every corner of the state, from Spokane to Yakima to rural eastern Washington districts that often struggle to fill open positions.

Washington has made consistent investments in reducing student-to-counselor ratios, which is one of the drivers behind the strong job growth projections. Counselors entering the field now are doing so at a time when the profession has more institutional support than it did a decade ago.

The median salary is $83,930 per year (BLS, May 2024), well above the national median of $65,140. See the full salary breakdown below.

School Counselor Salary in Washington

Washington school counselors earn significantly more than the national median. The statewide median is $83,930 per year (BLS, May 2024), compared to $65,140 nationally, a difference of more than $18,000. Salaries vary across the state. Smaller metros like Yakima and Kennewick-Richland show higher medians than Seattle in this dataset, which can reflect local district pay scales, collective bargaining agreements, or differences in how the BLS samples those areas. The table below shows the full regional picture.

Dr. Lauren Davis, Ed.D.

Dr. Lauren Davis is the editor in chief of School-Counselor.org with over 15 years of experience in K-12 school counseling. She holds an Ed.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision and is a National Certified Counselor (NCC). Her work focuses on helping prospective school counselors navigate degree programs, state licensing requirements, and the realities of the profession.

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