Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2016
29-9092 Genetic Counselors
Assess individual or family risk for a variety of inherited conditions, such as genetic disorders and birth defects. Provide information to other healthcare providers or to individuals and families concerned with the risk of inherited conditions. Advise individuals and families to support informed decisionmaking and coping methods for those at risk. May help conduct research related to genetic conditions or genetic counseling.
National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation
National estimates for this occupation: Top
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:
Mean hourly
Mean annual
Wage RSE (3)
2,720 8.7 % $36.04 $74,960 1.9 %
Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:
(Median)
Hourly Wage $21.90 $28.77 $35.64 $43.56 $50.37
Annual Wage (2) $45,540 $59,850 $74,120 $90,600 $104,770
Industry profile for this occupation: Top
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:
Percent of industry employment
Hourly mean wage
Annual mean wage (2)
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 900 0.02 $35.84 $74,540
Offices of Physicians 600 0.02 $35.87 $74,610
Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories 550 0.21 $37.99 $79,030
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 250 0.01 $31.99 $66,530
Outpatient Care Centers 140 0.02 $40.73 $84,720
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals 80 0.03 $36.64 $76,210
Top paying industries for this occupation:
Management of Companies and Enterprises 40 (7) $37.26 $77,500
Geographic profile for this occupation: Top
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in this occupation:
Employment per thousand jobs
Location quotient (9)
California 660 0.04 2.13 $37.87 $78,760
New York 200 0.02 1.14 $35.89 $74,660
Massachusetts 190 0.05 2.76 $36.05 $74,990
Ohio 100 0.02 1.00 $32.26 $67,110
Florida 100 0.01 0.63 $34.99 $72,770
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:
Utah 50 0.03 1.79 $33.75 $70,210
South Carolina 50 0.03 1.30 $42.28 $87,950
Minnesota 80 0.03 1.43 $36.63 $76,190
Top paying States for this occupation:
Maryland (8) (8) (8) $43.54 $90,560
Nevada (8) (8) (8) $43.41 $90,300
New Jersey 50 0.01 0.66 $40.71 $84,680
Washington 50 0.02 0.88 $38.37 $79,800
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 300 0.07 3.67 $33.60 $69,880
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA NECTA Division 150 0.08 4.38 $35.56 $73,960
New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 150 0.02 1.18 $39.10 $81,330
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 70 0.03 1.43 $28.64 $59,570
Oakland-Hayward-Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Division 60 0.06 3.08 $41.34 $85,980
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 60 0.02 1.29 $37.59 $78,200
Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division 50 0.01 0.76 $35.55 $73,950
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN 50 0.05 2.51 $32.92 $68,480
Salt Lake City, UT 40 0.07 3.38 $33.68 $70,050
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division 40 0.03 1.37 $38.30 $79,670
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 40 0.14 7.29 $30.96 $64,390
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 30 0.03 1.58 $48.16 $100,160
Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD (8) (8) (8) $45.19 $94,000
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA (8) (8) (8) $40.01 $83,220
San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA Metropolitan Division (8) (8) (8) $39.18 $81,500
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 40 0.01 0.68 $37.48 $77,950
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 30 0.02 1.11 $36.92 $76,800
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate--50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.