SOC 19-3034.00

    School Psychologists

    Diagnose and implement individual or schoolwide interventions or strategies to address educational, behavioral, or developmental issues that adversely impact educational functioning in a school.

    Median pay
    $95,990
    Growth
    +0.8%
    Little or no change
    Openings a year
    3,400
    Typical education
    Master's degree

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

    See the pathway

    Annual pay range

    Lowest 10% earn less than
    $63,070
    Median
    $95,990
    Highest 10% earn more than
    $142,330
    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    63,940 people work in this occupation.

    In short

    School psychologists diagnose and address educational, behavioral, or developmental issues that affect students. This career offers a median annual pay of $95,990, with opportunities to design intervention plans and counsel families within school systems.

    Written with AI from the BLS, O*NET and CareerOneStop data on this page. Every figure is checked against that data before it is published.

    What school psychologists do

    Job Zone 5: Extensive preparation

    Diagnose and implement individual or schoolwide interventions or strategies to address educational, behavioral, or developmental issues that adversely impact educational functioning in a school. May address student learning and behavioral problems and counsel students or families. May design and implement performance plans, and evaluate performance. May consult with other school-based personnel.

    Most need a graduate degree, such as a master's, PhD, MD or JD.

    What the work is like

    School psychologists focus on resolving learning and behavioral challenges that interfere with a student's education. On a daily basis, these professionals gather information, analyze data, and interpret its meaning to make decisions and solve complex problems. They counsel students and families, consult with teachers and school staff, and design performance plans to support student development.

    This role is highly social, requiring strong interpersonal relationships and communication with supervisors, peers, and subordinates. Success in this field relies on skills like active listening, social perceptiveness, reading comprehension, and critical thinking. School psychologists must draw on deep knowledge of psychology, therapy, counseling, education, and training. They also navigate laws, government regulations, and sociological factors. To handle the daily demands of the job, practitioners need specific work styles, including empathy, cooperation, dependability, self-control, and high stress tolerance. They must also show sincerity, integrity, and a strong attention to detail when documenting student progress.

    How to get there

    Entering this career typically requires extensive preparation. Most professionals in this field need a graduate degree, and a master's degree is the typical minimum level of education required to enter the occupation. Some individuals choose to pursue higher credentials, such as a PhD. Relevant college majors that lead to this profession include clinical, counseling, and applied psychology.

    In addition to academic degrees, some states list a license for school psychology work. Professionals can also pursue voluntary credentials to demonstrate their expertise, such as the Certification in Cognitive Therapy offered by the Academy of Cognitive Therapy.

    Pay and outlook explained

    In 2025, the median annual pay for school psychologists was $95,990. Earnings vary based on experience and location, with the lowest 10% earning less than $63,070 and the highest 10% earning more than $142,330.

    There are 63,940 people employed in this field. Between 2025 and 2035, employment is projected to grow by 0.8%, which represents little or no change. Despite this flat growth, about 3,400 job openings are projected to become available each year.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R)
    0 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    67 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    39 / 100
    Social (S) · strongest
    96 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    30 / 100
    Conventional (C)
    50 / 100
    How strongly each interest area describes the work, from O*NET (scores rescaled to 0–100). The interest code lists the strongest areas in order.

    Interest code SIC. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others
    91
    Making Decisions and Solving Problems
    91
    Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
    90
    Getting Information
    89
    Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    86
    Analyzing Data or Information
    85
    Documenting/Recording Information
    85
    Providing Consultation and Advice to Others
    83
    Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
    82
    Working with Computers
    82
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Reading Comprehension
    • Speaking
    • Active Listening
    • Social Perceptiveness
    • Critical Thinking
    • Writing
    • Complex Problem Solving
    • Judgment and Decision Making
    • Monitoring
    • Active Learning

    Knowledge

    • Psychology
    • Therapy and Counseling
    • Education and Training
    • English Language
    • Customer and Personal Service
    • Law and Government
    • Sociology and Anthropology
    • Administrative
    • Mathematics
    • Computers and Electronics

    Abilities

    • Oral Comprehension
    • Oral Expression
    • Written Expression
    • Written Comprehension
    • Deductive Reasoning
    • Inductive Reasoning
    • Problem Sensitivity
    • Speech Clarity
    • Speech Recognition
    • Near Vision

    Work styles

    • Empathy
    • Cooperation
    • Dependability
    • Attention to Detail
    • Sincerity
    • Integrity
    • Social Orientation
    • Self-Control
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Intellectual Curiosity

    Also called

    Area School Psychologist · Autism Consultant · Bilingual School Psychologist · Certified School Psychologist · Challenging Behavior Consultant · Child Psychologist · Child Psychometrist · Contract School Psychologist · Counseling Psychologist · Early Intervention School Psychologist

    Career pathway

    From your interests to school psychologists

    Interests that fit the work, the career, majors that lead there and colleges whose graduates in those majors earn the most. Hover or focus a step to follow one path.

    1. Interests

    2. This career

      • School Psychologists$95,990 median pay

    3. Majors

    4. Colleges

    College Scorecard program outcomes

    Colleges with strong outcomes

    Programs that lead to this career, ranked by what their graduates earn four years after finishing. Earnings are for graduates who received federal aid.

    1. 1
      Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott

      Prescott, AZ · Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $48,898
      4 yrs after
      $82,023
      Median debt
      $24,529
    2. 2
      Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach

      Daytona Beach, FL · Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $48,898
      4 yrs after
      $82,023
      Median debt
      $24,529
    3. 3Boston College logo
      Boston College

      Chestnut Hill, MA · Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $53,507
      4 yrs after
      $76,328
      Median debt
      $19,000
    4. 4CUNY Bernard M Baruch College logo
      CUNY Bernard M Baruch College

      New York, NY · Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $49,776
      4 yrs after
      $73,007
      Median debt
      Not reported
    5. 5Pace University logo
      Pace University

      New York, NY · Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $44,580
      4 yrs after
      $67,811
      Median debt
      $23,500
    6. 6Western Michigan University logo
      Western Michigan University

      Kalamazoo, MI · Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $34,146
      4 yrs after
      $64,679
      Median debt
      $19,857
    7. 7Emmanuel College-Massachusetts logo
      Emmanuel College-Massachusetts

      Boston, MA · Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $42,908
      4 yrs after
      $62,013
      Median debt
      $27,000
    8. 8Indiana Wesleyan University-National & Global logo
      Indiana Wesleyan University-National & Global

      Marion, IN · Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $47,373
      4 yrs after
      $60,898
      Median debt
      $30,455

    Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data, 2025. Programs with few graduates are not listed.

    NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk

    Majors that lead here

    Related programs by four-digit CIP code. They are common routes in, not the only ones.

    CareerOneStop

    Certifications, licenses and pay by state

    What school psychologists may need beyond a degree, where a license is required, and what the work pays in each state.

    Certifications

    Core certifications employers recognise for this work.

    Search all certifications on CareerOneStop

    Training

    Programs of study that prepare people for this work.

    • Educational Psychology
    • School Psychology

    Find training near you on CareerOneStop

    Licenses by state

    50 states list a license for this work. Open your state for the license and the agency that issues it.

    Check license requirements on CareerOneStop

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 6, 2026.

    Your plan

    Build my pathway plan

    Courses, majors, colleges, scholarships and a timeline for this career, built from your profile.

    Related careers

    Careers with similar work, interests or skills.

    All careers

    Questions about school psychologists

    Written with AI from the BLS, O*NET and CareerOneStop data on this page. Every figure is checked against that data before it is published.

    What are some alternative job titles for school psychologists?

    People in this field are sometimes called bilingual school psychologists, autism consultants, challenging behavior consultants, child psychometrists, or early intervention school psychologists.

    What are the main areas of knowledge needed for this job?

    Practitioners must be knowledgeable in psychology, therapy and counseling, education, and the English language. They also use knowledge of sociology, anthropology, law, government, and basic mathematics.

    What other careers are similar to school psychology?

    Related careers include clinical and counseling psychologists, marriage and family therapists, special education teachers, and child, family, and school social workers.

    Sources and attribution

    Every figure on this page comes from these public datasets. Missing values are shown as not reported, never estimated.

    O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 6, 2026.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.