How much money do psychologists make in the United States of America?

The profession of the psychologist has been increasingly valued and better paid, thanks to the fact that governments have begun to raise awareness and give greater importance to mental health. However, in many countries the situation is not very favorable for our employment and many young people consider migrating.

Some consider going to other European or Latin American countries, due to cultural and geographical proximity, but many consider going to North America. But, How much money do psychologists make in the United States of America? This is the question that we are going to solve next, providing data extracted from the very same US census.

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How much do psychologists earn in the USA?

In recent years, society and governments have become more aware of the importance of mental health, valuing more and more the figure of the psychologist and understanding that it is a very useful and necessary profession for all kinds of scopes.

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Clinical psychologists, educational psychologists, organizational psychologists, neuropsychologists, and many other branches of behavioral science are becoming increasingly important. in a myriad of fields.

But, unfortunately, this does not mean that there is a significant percentage of psychologists who have just finished their studies who are faced with a job outlook that is not very good for them. favorable, in which either they are not hired because they do not yet have the necessary experience or they are given work, but with very little pay and not in what they wanted work. Faced with a situation like this, it is inevitable to consider the possibility of going abroad to try your luck.

Apart from Europe and Latin America, one of the places where many Spaniards and Ibero-Americans consider traveling to see if they can get a job is the United States. With its good things and its bad things, the stars and stripes nation seems to be one of the best paid places for psychologists, although it can also be said that it is a country in which the salaries of university students are higher and, also, the standard of living is more expensive. Be that as it may, it seems that the work of psychologists is well rewarded there.

What does it mean to be a psychologist in the United States of America?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) a psychologist in the United States Unidos is a professional who must be sufficiently trained and licensed to perform the following Actions:

Carry out scientific research and studies on human behavior and cognitive, brain and emotional functions.
Investigate and differentiate individual and collective behavior patterns.
Identify and diagnose psychological, emotional and behavioral problems.
Interview and observe individuals analyzing their behavioral traits.
Test theories and patterns to explain and predict behaviors, emotions, and attitudes.
Guide patients on treatments for their disorders.
Prepare reports on their findings and participate in outreach activities.
Supervise other professionals in areas of study of human behavior.

Also, according to the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP), in the country there are more than 15 recognized specialties in the field of psychology. Among the most demanded we have:

Clinical psychology
Psychology of organizations
psychological counselor
Psychology of cognitive development
Forensic psychology
neuropsychology
school counseling psychologist
rehabilitation psychology
sports psychologists

As in any other country, in the United States An arduous academic training is required to practice psychology, requesting a bachelor's degree in psychology, specialization and postgraduate studies. Most states require a license to practice psychology. In some fields, such as a clinical psychologist, a doctorate in psychology, an internship one to two years of supervised professional experience, in addition to passing the professional practice exam in psychology.

How much do they earn exactly? The remuneration of the psychologist in the US

On average, psychologists in the United States earn about $39.51 per hour and about $82,180 per year, although this can vary based on many variables. The salary will depend, among other things, on the field of psychology to which the professional is dedicated, the type of service, the treatments, the institution in which he works, the degree of prestige of the professional himself and, even, in which state of the 48 that make up the country work.

1. According to years of experience

Psychologists who have just finished their studies and are entering the world of work have an income of $50,000 per year. Those who already have between 1 and 4 years of experience have higher salaries, earning $60,000 annually, and those who have been working between 5 and 9 years earn $70,000.

Those with between 10 and 19 years of experience receive annual earnings of $88,000. Finally, those with 20 years of experience in the profession of psychologist have average earnings of $92,000 per year.

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2. According to specialization

According to the data obtained by BLS, the annual salary for clinical and school psychologists was $89,290 as of May 2020 with a median hourly rate of $42.93. Psychologists in the 10th percentile (the bottom 10%) had hourly earnings of $22.31 and annual earnings of $46,410, while those in the 90th percentile earned hourly earnings of $66.61 and $138,550 annual.

In the case of industrial psychologists, they earned an average of $54.18 per hour and $112,690 annually. Those in the 10th percentile made $27.61 per hour and $57,440 per year, while those in the 90th percentile made $92.69 per hour and $192,800 per year.

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3. According to regions

The United States is a very large country and this means that there is a great difference in terms of opportunities depending on the state we end up in. According to the BLS itself, the states with the highest employment rates among clinical and school psychologists are California, New York, Texas, Illinois and Florida, while for industrial and organizational psychologists the places with the highest employment are California, Virginia, Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

However, if we focus on remuneration and taking data from the BLS collected in May 2020 (last update), the places to work in the field of clinical and school psychology where these professions are better paid are:

California ($55.69 per hour; $115,830 per year)
Hawaii ($53.26 per hour; $110,780 per year)
Louisiana ($52.49 per hour; $109,180 per year)
Oregon ($51.92 per hour; $108,000 per year)
District of Columbia ($51.41 per hour; $106,920 per year)

The five states where the profession of organizational psychologist is best paid are:

California ($57.26 per hour; $119,100 per year)
New Jersey ($51.24 per hour; $106,570 per year)
Ohio ($47.49 per hour; $98,770 per year)
Pennsylvania ($45.68 per hour; $95,000 per year)
Texas ($31.17 per hour; $64,820 per year)

Spinning finer and going through metropolitan areas, we have the places where clinical and educational psychologists charge the most (session and annual respectively):

Santa Rosa, California: $66.61, $138,550
Jefferson City, Missouri: $64.25, $133,640
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California: $60.10, $125,020
San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif.: $58.41, $121,490
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California: $58.09, $120,830
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Oregon-Washington: $58.01, $120,660
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, California: $57.38, $119,350
Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, Hawaii: $56.75, $118,050
Modesto, California: $56.71, $117,960
Napa, Calif.: $56.66, $117,860

Regarding the scope of organizations, the BLS only indicates the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metropolitan area, which includes the states of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia as well as Washington D.C. In this media area, the organization psychologist charges $83.06 per session and $172,770 per year.

According to workplace

Finally, among the variables that influence how much a psychologist earns in the United States, we have the place work, whether it is related to clinical psychology, educational psychology, organizations or any other branch. Next we present the list according to the type of center and how much is earned per hour and per year in the US.:

Individual and family services: $40.39, $84,000
Medical centers: $47.88, $99,590
Outpatient health services: $52.45, $109,100
Elementary and secondary schools: $38.93, $80,960
Detox and psychiatric clinics: $43.33 $90,130
Educational support services: $38.70, $80,500
Childcare services: $50.80, $105,670
Scientific research and development services: $72.55, $150,910
Universities and professional schools: $50.22, $104,470
Management, scientific and technical consulting: $47.52, $98,840
Government institutions, excluding schools and hospitals: $41.57, $86,460

Salaries in perspective

Salaries in the United States for psychology professionals are high when compared to those in other countries, such as Spain, Mexico, and Canada, but It can be said that everything continues to depend on both the experience factor and the specialization, the region in which you live and the demand that there is for psychologists. If we go south of the US border, the salaries in Mexico are about 1,677,000 Mexican pesos ($84,000), and if we travel north, in Canada, the salary goes from $64,500 to $160,000 per year.

In the United States, as we have already commented, the experience factor influences a lot, with the salary of recently graduated psychologists being around $50,000, but it is still higher if we compare it with the case of Spain where if you are lucky you can earn between €18,000 and €47,800 per year ($21,500-$57,000) depending a lot on experience and training.

Bibliographic references:

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Psychologists, at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/psychologists.htm (visited April 15, 2021).