School Psychologists
SOC 19-3034 · 2024-2034
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.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $131,357per year
- Projected openings
- 4,920
- Projected change
- +2.4%
- Usually needs
- Master's degree
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Writing
- Social Perceptiveness
- Monitoring
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| El Centro MSA (Imperial County) | $144,164 | 40 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $136,415 | 380 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $131,417 | 200 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara MSA (Santa Barbara County) | $130,482 | 60 |
| Salinas MSA (Monterey County) | $130,174 | 80 |
| Visalia MSA (Tulare County) | $129,096 | 90 |
| Merced MSA (Merced County) | $129,075 | 50 |
| Modesto MSA (Stanislaus County) | $129,075 | 60 |
| Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties) | $128,859 | 250 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $127,575 | 480 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $127,329 | 390 |
| Bakersfield-Delano MSA (Kern County) | $126,764 | 130 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $126,312 | 130 |
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) | $126,284 | 200 |
| North Coast Region (Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, and Mendocino Counties) | $125,593 | 30 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $125,405 | 460 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville MSA (Santa Cruz County) | $124,843 | 30 |
| Yuba City MSA (Sutter and Yuba Counties) | $123,354 | 30 |
| Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County) | $113,770 | 150 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles MSA (San Luis Obispo County) | $113,328 | 30 |
| Vallejo MSA (Solano County) | $112,404 | 50 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $110,945 | 600 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma MSA (Sonoma County) | $108,932 | 50 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $106,971 | 1,600 |
| Hanford-Corcoran MSA (Kings County) | $105,810 | 30 |
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region (Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties) | $105,501 | 30 |
| Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region (Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Inyo, Mariposa, Mono, and Tuolumne Counties) | $104,772 | 10 |
| Chico MSA (Butte County) | $103,550 | 10 |
| San Rafael MD (Marin County) | Not reported | 30 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $99,921
- A quarter earn under
- $113,018
- Half earn under
- $131,357
- Three quarters earn under
- $144,926
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $164,654
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors | $88,921 | 40,270 | +5.5% |
| Clinical and Counseling Psychologists | $119,247 | 9,800 | +24% |
| Psychologists, All Other | $161,950 | 4,090 | +14.3% |
| Marriage and Family Therapists | $69,184 | 46,570 | +30.7% |
| Special Education Teachers, Secondary School | $103,889 | 7,850 | -1.7% |
| Child, Family, and School Social Workers | $67,025 | 60,640 | +14.1% |
Programs that train for this job — 1
Cert. of Accomplishment Health & Human Services: Dual Diagnosis Screening
Contra Costa College · San Pablo · $1,146