Therapist Salary in Michigan: Counselors, MFTs and Social Workers
BLS publishes no wage figure for therapists as such — it publishes three occupations, and in Michigan they finish in the exact reverse of the national order.
Counselors, a combined occupation that also counts substance abuse counselors, had a median of $61,690, 4% above their national median.
Marriage and family therapists had a median of $52,270, 22% below theirs, and mental health and substance abuse social workers $60,830, 1% above.
Nationally the family therapist median is the highest of the three; in Michigan it is the lowest.
Counselors (combined) · SOC 21-1018
$61,690/yr
+4% vs. national $59,350
$29.66/hr median
Marriage & family therapists · SOC 21-1013
$52,270/yr
−22% vs. national $66,940
$25.13/hr median
MH & substance abuse social workers · SOC 21-1023
$60,830/yr
+1% vs. national $60,280
$29.25/hr median
Why three figures, not one
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state and national estimates — Michigan, SOCs 21-1018, 21-1013, 21-1023.
Retrieved 2026-09-24 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
Michigan vs. the national figures, occupation by occupation
Each occupation is compared with its own national median from the same May 2025 release (national pages for counselors, marriage and family therapists, and social workers), and the national therapist salary page explains why the figures are never blended.
Ranks count only the jurisdictions (states plus DC) where BLS publishes that occupation’s figure.
Differences are whole percentages of the national figure, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
By estimated employment, Michigan ranks 15th of 50 for counselors (combined), 16th of 40 for marriage and family therapists, 7th of 50 for mental health and substance abuse social workers.
Three medians, national order reversed
No single Michigan median describes therapists, because BLS publishes three occupations and Michigan's order is the exact reverse of the national one.
The counselor median of $61,690 is 4% above the national $59,350 and the social worker median of $60,830 is 1% above the national $60,280, while the family therapist median of $52,270 is 22% below the national $66,940.
The two Michigan leaders sit $860 apart at the median.
Nationally the family therapist median leads counselors by $7,590; in Michigan it trails counselors by $9,420, 18% on the family therapist figure.
The counselor median ranks 18th of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median for its occupation, the social worker median ranks 20th of 51, and the family therapist median ranks 37th of the 45 jurisdictions that publish one for that occupation.
Counselors: ahead of national in the middle, not at the edges
The Michigan counselor premium runs through the middle of the distribution.
The median of $61,690 is 4% above the national median of $59,350, and the hourly median of $29.66 is likewise 4% above the national $28.53.
The 25th percentile of $47,990 is 2% above the national figure and the 75th percentile of $77,650 is 1% above.
At the edges Michigan slips behind: the 10th percentile of $38,490 is 1% below the national figure, and the 90th percentile of $94,400 is 3% below the national $97,590.
The middle half of Michigan counselor pay spans $29,660, almost exactly the national band of $29,430, while the 10th-to-90th span of $55,910 is narrower than the national $58,650.
BLS estimates 10,100 counselors employed in Michigan, ranking 15th of the 50 jurisdictions that publish an employment estimate for the occupation.
This is a combined occupation, so the figures describe every kind of counselor it pools, not one licence.
What this figure covers: A COMBINED occupation: BLS publishes no wage series for licensed mental health counselors (LPC, LMHC, LPCC, LCPC) alone, so this figure pools them with substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors.
Nobody can tell from this release which way the blend pulls the figure.
Family therapists: below national at every point, farthest at the ceiling
Michigan marriage and family therapists sit below the national distribution at every published point, and the shortfall widens steadily toward the ceiling.
The 10th percentile of $39,110 is 12% below the national $44,650, the 25th percentile of $40,750 is 19% below, the median of $52,270 is 22% below, the 75th percentile of $64,710 is 31% below the national $93,840, and the 90th percentile of $78,740 is 36% below the national $123,730.
The state ceiling is so compressed that it sits below the national 75th percentile for the occupation.
The middle half of the Michigan distribution spans $23,960 against a national band of $43,770, and the 10th-to-90th span is $39,630 against $79,080, almost exactly half.
The hourly median is $25.13 against $32.18 nationally.
BLS estimates 590 family therapists employed in Michigan, ranking 16th of the 40 jurisdictions that publish an employment estimate for this occupation.
OEWS does not say why the row sits so far below national, and this page does not guess.
What this figure covers: An occupation of its own for marriage and family therapists — the only one of the three that is not a blend or a split.
Social workers: above national at the floor, below at the ceiling
Mental health and substance abuse social workers are the Michigan row whose gap to national moves farthest between floor and ceiling in percentage terms.
It starts above: the 10th percentile of $42,150 is 6% above the national $39,740 and the 25th percentile of $50,140 is 7% above.
The median of $60,830 is 1% above the national $60,280, effectively level.
Above the middle the position flips: the 75th percentile of $74,350 is 7% below the national $79,730, and the 90th percentile of $82,750 is 21% below the national $104,170.
The middle half of the Michigan distribution spans $24,210 against a national band of $32,660, and the 10th-to-90th span is $40,600 against $64,430, so the state's shortfall is concentrated above the middle.
BLS estimates 4,620 social workers employed in Michigan, ranking 7th of the 50 jurisdictions that publish an employment estimate for the occupation.
What this figure covers: Clinical social workers (LCSWs) are counted either here or in SOC 21-1022, healthcare social workers, depending on the setting of the job.
This page shows 21-1023 only, so it does not describe every LCSW.
Reading an offer against these figures
Read an offer against the row for the occupation the job would be counted in, not against a blended figure.
The Michigan hourly medians are $29.66 for counselors, $25.13 for family therapists and $29.25 for mental health and substance abuse social workers; counselors and social workers sit $0.41 apart at the hourly median, while the family therapist hourly median sits $4.53 below the counselor figure.
The row matters in annual terms too: the Michigan counselor median of $61,690 is $2,340 above its national median, while the Michigan family therapist median of $52,270 is $14,670 below its own.
A percentile is a position in the state distribution, not a pay step, so an offer at the 25th percentile says where it sits among Michigan jobs in that occupation, not a judgement about the person hired.
Which Michigan licences these figures do and don't describe
None of the three rows is a licence figure.
The counselor row pools LPCs with substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors, and BLS publishes no LPC-only median for Michigan.
The family therapist row is the closest to a single licence — Michigan licenses marriage and family therapists as the LMFT — but OEWS does not split it by licence stage, so it cannot say what an individual LMFT earns.
On the social work row, Michigan issues no LCSW: clinical practice here is a designation on the LMSW, and social workers holding it are counted in this row or in healthcare social work depending on the setting, so the $60,830 median does not describe every clinically designated social worker in the state.
What each licence requires in Michigan is summarized in counselor licensure in Michigan, social work licensure in Michigan, and MFT licensure in Michigan.
Before you weigh an offer, check which licence the posting asks for — browse therapist jobs in Michigan.
What Therapist Job Listings in Michigan Show Right Now
From the 56 active therapist listings on BehavioralHires as of October 29, 2026.
Employers with the most openings
Benefits and work arrangement
- 11% remote or telehealth and 20% hybrid; the rest are on-site
- 401k Matchnamed in 80%
- PTO / Paid Time Offnamed in 63%
- Health Insurancenamed in 61%
- Dental & Visionnamed in 61%
- Flexible Schedulenamed in 55%
Source: active therapist listings on BehavioralHires, updated daily. Pay figures use only listings that state pay (midpoint of each posted range). Benefits count listings that name the benefit; a listing that doesn’t mention one may still offer it.
Browse 56 jobs →Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median therapist salary in Michigan?
There is no single figure, because BLS publishes no occupation called therapist.
For May 2025 it publishes three Michigan medians: $61,690 for counselors (a combined occupation that also counts substance abuse counselors), $52,270 for marriage and family therapists and $60,830 for mental health and substance abuse social workers.
The counselor median is 4% above its national median, the social worker median 1% above, and the family therapist median 22% below.
Use the row for the occupation the job would be counted in.
Do counselors or marriage and family therapists earn more in Michigan?
At the median, counselors: $61,690 against $52,270 for marriage and family therapists, a gap of $9,420.
That reverses the national picture, where the family therapist median of $66,940 exceeds the counselor median of $59,350 by $7,590.
The gap is not uniform across the distribution: at the 10th percentile family therapists are $620 ahead, while counselors lead by $7,240 at the 25th, $12,940 at the 75th and $15,660 at the 90th — the widest dollar gap sits at the 90th percentile.
What do the top 10% earn in each of the three occupations in Michigan?
The Michigan 90th percentile is $94,400 for counselors, $78,740 for marriage and family therapists and $82,750 for mental health and substance abuse social workers — 3%, 36% and 21% below their national 90th percentiles of $97,590, $123,730 and $104,170.
One in ten workers in each occupation earned more than those figures.
Even the counselor row, whose median is above national, sits below its national 90th percentile.
How many counselors, family therapists and social workers work in Michigan?
BLS estimates 10,100 counselors in the combined occupation, 590 marriage and family therapists and 4,620 mental health and substance abuse social workers employed in Michigan.
Those are headcounts of people in jobs during the survey period, not open positions.
By employment, Michigan ranks 15th of 50 jurisdictions for counselors, 16th of 40 for family therapists and 7th of 50 for social workers, counting only those where BLS publishes an employment estimate.
More Michigan Therapist Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Michigan, SOCs 21-1018, 21-1013 and 21-1023 (BLS Public Data API) (retrieved 2026-09-24)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 national estimates — SOCs 21-1018, 21-1013 and 21-1023 (BLS Public Data API) (retrieved 2026-09-24)
Wage figures: BLS OEWS May 2025 state and national estimates, SOCs 21-1018, 21-1013, 21-1023, retrieved 2026-09-24.
Page last updated 2026-09-25.