School psychology is a discipline that focuses on working with parents, educators, and students to provide a safe and healthy learning environment that addresses the needs of children in school. A school psychologist does this by working to help these children with their emotional, behavioral, social and academic problems. They focus on child development evaluation, as well as intervention and prevention services for the management of behavioral problems. You can find them in most schools, but they also practice in universities, health clinics, as well as community and juvenile treatment centers. With such specialization, how much is the school psychologist salary?
Contents
- 1 Average School Psychologist Salary
- 2 Industries with the Highest School Psychologist Wages
- 3 Best Paying States for School Psychologists
- 4 Worst Paying States for School Psycholgists
- 5 Top Metropolitan Cities for School Psychologists
- 6 Top Non-Metropolitan Areas for School Psychologists
- 7 Highest School Psychologist Employment Level by States
- 8 Job Outlook
- 9 School Psychologist Job Description
- 10 How to Become a School Psychologist
Average School Psychologist Salary
The average annual salary of school psychologists is $73k. By percentile, the salaries vary from $39k in the lower percentile to $112k in the upper percentile.
| Percentile | 10% | 25% | 50% | 75% | 90% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly Wage | $18.75 | $24.38 | $32.60 | $42.64 | $54.04 |
| Weekly Wage | $750 | $975 | $1,304 | $1,706 | $2,162 |
| Monthly Salary | $3,250 | $4,225 | $5,650 | $7,392 | $9,367 |
| Annual Salary | $39,000 | $50,700 | $67,800 | $88,700 | $112,400 |
Industries with the Highest School Psychologist Wages
Being directly employed by private corporations and state owned hospitals were the best bet in terms of earning a strong school psychologist salary.
| Rank | Industries | Hourly Wage | Weekly Wage | Monthly Salary | Annual Salary | Employment Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Management of Companies and Enterprises | $71.73 | $2,869 | $12,433 | $149,200 | 600 |
| 2 | Specialty hospitals, State government owned | $48.27 | $1,931 | $8,367 | $100,400 | 100 |
| 3 | Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists | $48.22 | $1,929 | $8,358 | $100,300 | 600 |
| 4 | Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences | $47.60 | $1,904 | $8,250 | $99,000 | 200 |
| 5 | Scientific Research and Development Services | $44.23 | $1,769 | $7,667 | $92,000 | 400 |
| 6 | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | $42.07 | $1,683 | $7,292 | $87,500 | 500 |
| 7 | Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities | $41.54 | $1,662 | $7,200 | $86,400 | 200 |
| 8 | Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals (including private, state, and local government hospitals) | $41.39 | $1,656 | $7,175 | $86,100 | 700 |
| 9 | Offices of All Other Health Practitioners | $41.11 | $1,644 | $7,125 | $85,500 | 200 |
| 10 | General Medical and Surgical Hospitals, Local government owned | $40.24 | $1,610 | $6,975 | $83,700 | 1,000 |
Best Paying States for School Psychologists
All top ten states had an average salary over $80k. The best of the best was Hawaii, which was the only state to earn over six figures at $103k. For the list of all states, go to school psychologist salary by state.
| Rank | Salaries by States | Hourly Wage | Weekly Wage | Monthly Salary | Annual Salary | Employment Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii | $49.52 | $1,981 | $8,583 | $103,000 | 500 |
| 2 | Rhode Island | $45.05 | $1,802 | $7,808 | $93,700 | 600 |
| 3 | Alabama | $41.25 | $1,650 | $7,150 | $85,800 | 800 |
| 4 | Connecticut | $40.48 | $1,619 | $7,017 | $84,200 | 2,000 |
| 5 | New York | $40.05 | $1,602 | $6,942 | $83,300 | 11,000 |
| 6 | New Jersey | $39.81 | $1,592 | $6,900 | $82,800 | 3,000 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | $39.81 | $1,592 | $6,900 | $82,800 | 4,000 |
| 8 | District of Columbia | $39.71 | $1,588 | $6,883 | $82,600 | 400 |
| 9 | California | $38.70 | $1,548 | $6,708 | $80,500 | 18,000 |
| 10 | Maine | $38.56 | $1,542 | $6,683 | $80,200 | 300 |
Worst Paying States for School Psycholgists
With such wide ranging salaries by percentile, it’s no surprise that the same holds true at the state level. The lowest paying states for school psychologists were West Virginia, Oklahoma, and South Carolina which all had annual salaries of $50k-$52k.
| Rank | Salaries by States | Hourly Wage | Weekly Wage | Monthly Salary | Annual Salary | Employment Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Virginia | $24.42 | $977 | $4,233 | $50,800 | 600 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | $24.57 | $983 | $4,258 | $51,100 | 1,000 |
| 3 | South Carolina | $25.10 | $1,004 | $4,350 | $52,200 | 1,000 |
| 4 | Mississippi | $25.58 | $1,023 | $4,433 | $53,200 | 500 |
| 5 | Kentucky | $26.68 | $1,067 | $4,625 | $55,500 | 1,000 |
| 6 | Kansas | $26.92 | $1,077 | $4,667 | $56,000 | 1,000 |
| 7 | Arizona | $27.93 | $1,117 | $4,842 | $58,100 | 2,000 |
| 8 | Vermont | $28.17 | $1,127 | $4,883 | $58,600 | 400 |
| 9 | North Dakota | $29.76 | $1,190 | $5,158 | $61,900 | 200 |
| 10 | Texas | $29.90 | $1,196 | $5,183 | $62,200 | 6,000 |
Top Metropolitan Cities for School Psychologists
By far, the top paying major city to work as a school psychologist is Nassau and Suffolk in New York at a salary of $96k a year. Close behind were the Bay area cities of Northern California with an annual salary of $91k.
| Rank | Metropolitan Cities | Hourly Wage | Weekly Wage | Monthly Salary | Annual Salary | Employment Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nassau-Suffolk, NY | $46.20 | $1,848 | $8,008 | $96,100 | 1,000 |
| 2 | San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA | $43.75 | $1,750 | $7,583 | $91,000 | 1,000 |
| 3 | Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury, MA-NH | $43.03 | $1,721 | $7,458 | $89,500 | 90 |
| 4 | Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA | $41.63 | $1,665 | $7,217 | $86,600 | 2,000 |
| 5 | New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ | $41.49 | $1,660 | $7,192 | $86,300 | 6,000 |
| 6 | Newark-Union, NJ-PA | $40.43 | $1,617 | $7,008 | $84,100 | 800 |
| 7 | Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA | $40.34 | $1,613 | $6,992 | $83,900 | 1,000 |
| 8 | Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI | $40.10 | $1,604 | $6,950 | $83,400 | 500 |
| 9 | Peabody, MA | $39.95 | $1,598 | $6,925 | $83,100 | 200 |
| 10 | Camden, NJ | $38.99 | $1,560 | $6,758 | $81,100 | 500 |
Top Non-Metropolitan Areas for School Psychologists
The top paying suburban area was Southwest Maine at $97k, which compares to the $96k in Nassau and Suffolk. Second in ranking is the North Coast Region of California at $89k.
| Rank | Non-Metropolitan Areas | Hourly Wage | Weekly Wage | Monthly Salary | Annual Salary | Employment Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southwest Maine | $46.73 | $1,869 | $8,100 | $97,200 | 100 |
| 2 | North Coast Region of California | $42.69 | $1,708 | $7,400 | $88,800 | 100 |
| 3 | Northeast Iowa | $42.55 | $1,702 | $7,375 | $88,500 | 50 |
| 4 | Northwest Massachusetts | $40.24 | $1,610 | $6,975 | $83,700 | 40 |
| 5 | Far Western Pennsylvania | $39.86 | $1,594 | $6,908 | $82,900 | 200 |
| 6 | Western Colorado | $39.33 | $1,573 | $6,817 | $81,800 | 50 |
| 7 | Southwestern Wyoming | $38.32 | $1,533 | $6,642 | $79,700 | 50 |
| 8 | Mother Lode Region of California | $37.93 | $1,517 | $6,575 | $78,900 | 90 |
| 9 | North Central Massachusetts | $37.79 | $1,512 | $6,550 | $78,600 | 30 |
| 10 | East Georgia | $36.78 | $1,471 | $6,375 | $76,500 | N/A |
Highest School Psychologist Employment Level by States
There were two states that employed a large chunk of school psychologists: California and New York. They combined for a total of 29k employees. While Pennsylvania had some of the highest average salaries, they were third for most employed school psychologists.
| Rank | States | Hourly Wage | Weekly Wage | Monthly Salary | Annual Salary | Employment Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $38.70 | $1,548 | $6,708 | $80,500 | 18,000 |
| 2 | New York | $40.05 | $1,602 | $6,942 | $83,300 | 11,000 |
| 3 | Pennsylvania | $35.43 | $1,417 | $6,142 | $73,700 | 6,000 |
| 4 | Texas | $29.90 | $1,196 | $5,183 | $62,200 | 6,000 |
| 5 | Illinois | $31.15 | $1,246 | $5,400 | $64,800 | 5,000 |
| 6 | Massachusetts | $39.81 | $1,592 | $6,900 | $82,800 | 4,000 |
| 7 | Georgia | $31.25 | $1,250 | $5,417 | $65,000 | 3,000 |
| 8 | North Carolina | $30.63 | $1,225 | $5,308 | $63,700 | 3,000 |
| 9 | New Jersey | $39.81 | $1,592 | $6,900 | $82,800 | 3,000 |
| 10 | Florida | $33.17 | $1,327 | $5,750 | $69,000 | 3,000 |
Job Outlook
There are currently nearly 150,000 school psychologists in the United States. This is expected grow to over 160,000 by 2012, which equates to a 11% growth. This is aligned with the expected growth of all jobs and slightly below that of other psychologists.
| Employment Projections Data School Psychologist, 2012-2022 | |
|---|---|
| Employment, 2012 | 145,100 |
| Projected Employment, 2022 | 161,500 |
| Employment Difference: | 16,400 |
| Clinical, counseling, and school psychologists | 11% |
| Industrial-organizational psychologists | 53% |
| Psychologists | 12% |
| Psychologists, all other | 11% |
| Total, all occupations | 11% |
Source: Bureau of Labor and Statistics
School Psychologist Job Description
School Psychologists work with children to ensure that they have the necessary emotional support to succeed academically by motivating them to learn and excel at school. They achieve this by working on multiple levels, the first being with the students themselves.
School Psychologists provide counseling and mentoring to students who exhibit problems with the aim of building confidence, better social and anger management skills, and more optimism and self determination.
They also work with the students’ families to help them build a more supportive home environment for the student, and with teachers to design better academic programs to address study and behavioral problems thereby allowing more positive learning in class.
Finally, School Psychologists work with school administrators to analyze policies and the school environment to build better school-wide programs that will increase safety, reduce violence or bullying, and build leadership and a better more positive education climate. The ability to juggle these demanding tasks requires a lot of schooling and is reason for the school psychologist salary levels.
How to Become a School Psychologist
To become a School Psychologist, you need to obtain at least a Masters degree in School Psychology from a National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) certified institution that covers psychology and sociology, as well as child development and education.
In addition, NASP recommends that you take an Educational Specialist Degree (Ed.S) which provides more focused training and coursework needed for entry into school psychology programs. The extensive training and coursework that is required explains why the salary of a school psychologist is often quite lucrative.
If you wish to practice independently and not be part of any educational authority, then you will need to purse a Doctoral degree which requires another five to seven years to complete combined with a 1500-hour internship and submission of a doctoral thesis.
To practice you need to be licensed by the state that you will work in and the requirements generally vary from state to state. Therefore while not needed, it is generally recommended to pursue an additional national level certification provided by the NASP. This includes completing an NASP specialist training program, and requires a one year internship in an academic environment which includes 1200 hours of practice supervised with an experienced school psychologist, with half of those hours in a school setting.
Finally, you will need to pass the National School Psychology examination to obtain the certification which is valid for ten years, after which you will need to retake the test to maintain your certification. It is recommended that you join NASP or the American Psychological Association (APA) to ensure that you continue to build your professional knowledge.
The demands of this profession are why the school psychologist salary is quite fair. People who are interested can make good money and also help improve the lives of students who may need their help.