Licensed Clinical Social Workers vs Crisis Counselors
Median pay is about $1k higher for Licensed Clinical Social Workers. Pay for Crisis Counselors is not a BLS figure for that job alone; the table marks it. The usual entry education is master's plus license for Licensed Clinical Social Workers and bachelor's plus cert for Crisis Counselors.
marks the higher pay or growth. Education, difficulty and the AI rows depend on what you want, so they are not marked.
| Measure | Licensed Clinical Social Workers | Crisis Counselors |
|---|---|---|
| Pay | ||
| Median pay | $60,280 | $59,350 BLS, related |
| Entry pay 25th percentile | $47,070 | $47,100 BLS, related |
| Experienced pay 75th percentile | $79,730 | $76,530 BLS, related |
| Outlook, 2025 to 2035 | ||
| Projected growth | +10% Growing fast | +18% Growing fast BLS, related |
| Openings a year | 12,500 | 50,500 BLS, related |
| Getting in | ||
| Typical education | Master's plus license | Bachelor's plus cert |
| Difficulty modeled | 3.6 / 5 | 2.8 / 5 |
| AI | ||
| Displacement risk modeled | Moderate | High |
| AI exposure modeled, percentile | 61st pct | 96th pct |
Where the skills differ
Only Licensed Clinical Social Workers
- Monitoring
Only Crisis Counselors
- Active Learning
Both lean on active listening, speaking, reading comprehension, critical thinking, writing.
More comparisons
Compare Licensed Clinical Social Workers with
Compare Crisis Counselors with
Pay and outlook: BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035), except the figures marked in the table. Skills: O*NET 30.3. Difficulty, displacement risk and AI exposure are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.