Residential Advisors Salary and Pay
How much do Residential Advisors make?
Residential Advisors pay a median of $39,180 a year in the BLS May 2024 survey, with a mean of $41,590 across 82,810 counted jobs. Half of all workers in the occupation earn between $33,890 and $47,590.
Residential Advisors salary data without the self-reported noise: BLS surveyed the employers, and this page prints the ladder, the states, and the metros exactly as the survey published them.
Updated November 5, 2026
Salary converter for this occupation
Gross pay only, before taxes and benefits. The picker starts at this occupation's median ($39,180); the custom box accepts any annual figure, which is how you price an offer letter against the ladder below.
The national wage ladder (BLS OEWS, May 2024)
| Pay level | Annual wage | Hourly wage |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $28,490 | $13.70 |
| 25th percentile | $33,890 | $16.29 |
| Median (50th) | $39,180 | $18.84 |
| 75th percentile | $47,590 | $22.88 |
| 90th percentile | $58,350 | $28.05 |
Percentiles answer the question a single average cannot: where would a given Residential Advisors offer sit among all 82,810 workers doing this job? The survey top-codes at $239,200+ and withholds unreliable cells, shown as n/p in the table.
Employment and concentration
The occupation employed 82,810 people in May 2024, 0.05% of every job BLS counted. California is the largest employer at 7,400 jobs, and the leading three states between them hold 21.1% of the workforce. Concentration peaks in South Dakota, whose location quotient of 7.37 says this work is 7.37 times as dense there as it is nationwide.
Pay inside the occupation is wide: $29,860 separates the ends of its ladder. The 90th percentile ($58,350) is 2.0 times the 10th percentile ($28,490), a gap of $29,860 a year. The mean of $41,590 sitting above the median of $39,180 tells you the top end pulls the average up: most workers cluster below the mean, and the high tail is thin.
Pay by state
Oregon posts the highest median annual wage in the state table at $47,620, and California the largest headcount. The full table, sorted by employment:
| State | Employment | Jobs per 1,000 | Location quotient | Mean annual | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 7,400 | 0.4 | 0.76 | $51,450 | $46,850 |
| Pennsylvania | 5,150 | 0.9 | 1.59 | $40,020 | $38,220 |
| New York | 4,930 | 0.5 | 0.96 | $45,890 | $44,420 |
| Massachusetts | 4,520 | 1.2 | 2.31 | $49,130 | $47,120 |
| Minnesota | 3,580 | 1.2 | 2.28 | $47,350 | $46,800 |
| Tennessee | 3,220 | 1.0 | 1.83 | $33,390 | $32,090 |
| Ohio | 3,170 | 0.6 | 1.07 | $37,720 | $36,270 |
| Texas | 3,120 | 0.2 | 0.42 | $37,790 | $37,180 |
| North Carolina | 2,850 | 0.6 | 1.09 | $37,690 | $36,590 |
| Georgia | 2,720 | 0.6 | 1.04 | $37,530 | $35,450 |
| Illinois | 2,710 | 0.4 | 0.83 | $41,770 | $39,730 |
| Maryland | 2,650 | 1.0 | 1.80 | $42,670 | $38,240 |
| Virginia | 2,300 | 0.6 | 1.05 | $45,640 | $41,360 |
| Florida | 2,220 | 0.2 | 0.42 | $40,650 | $37,660 |
| Alabama | 2,050 | 1.0 | 1.82 | $28,470 | $27,750 |
| Kentucky | 1,870 | 0.9 | 1.74 | $29,320 | $28,800 |
| New Jersey | 1,870 | 0.4 | 0.82 | $45,140 | $40,320 |
| South Dakota | 1,790 | 4.0 | 7.37 | $36,400 | $36,780 |
| Washington | 1,690 | 0.5 | 0.89 | $48,560 | $47,110 |
| Arizona | 1,580 | 0.5 | 0.92 | $39,630 | $36,180 |
| Connecticut | 1,560 | 0.9 | 1.72 | $45,450 | $44,660 |
| Michigan | 1,530 | 0.3 | 0.65 | $40,700 | $38,150 |
| Indiana | 1,420 | 0.4 | 0.83 | $40,050 | $38,240 |
| West Virginia | 1,220 | 1.7 | 3.25 | $30,910 | $29,400 |
| South Carolina | 1,150 | 0.5 | 0.94 | $39,390 | $37,930 |
| Utah | 1,110 | 0.7 | 1.21 | $41,630 | $39,520 |
| Missouri | 1,010 | 0.3 | 0.65 | $38,660 | $36,180 |
| Oklahoma | 930 | 0.5 | 1.02 | $33,470 | $32,720 |
| District of Columbia | 900 | 1.3 | 2.37 | $44,600 | $38,160 |
| Wisconsin | 900 | 0.3 | 0.57 | $37,950 | $37,880 |
| Colorado | 890 | 0.3 | 0.57 | $42,200 | $39,780 |
| Arkansas | 860 | 0.7 | 1.24 | $38,340 | $38,340 |
| Hawaii | 770 | 1.2 | 2.32 | $36,230 | $33,440 |
| Oregon | 730 | 0.4 | 0.69 | $48,230 | $47,620 |
| New Mexico | 710 | 0.8 | 1.54 | $36,920 | $35,710 |
| Rhode Island | 600 | 1.2 | 2.28 | $43,770 | $43,420 |
| Mississippi | 550 | 0.5 | 0.88 | $33,490 | $29,660 |
| Maine | 530 | 0.8 | 1.56 | $44,860 | $43,050 |
| Iowa | 490 | 0.3 | 0.59 | $39,030 | $37,260 |
| Kansas | 480 | 0.3 | 0.63 | $38,460 | $37,320 |
| Idaho | 450 | 0.5 | 0.99 | $34,390 | $35,430 |
| North Dakota | 380 | 0.9 | 1.66 | $46,750 | $47,520 |
| Alaska | 330 | 1.0 | 1.91 | $43,660 | $45,730 |
| Delaware | 310 | 0.6 | 1.21 | $37,510 | $34,390 |
| New Hampshire | 280 | 0.4 | 0.76 | $42,440 | $40,590 |
| Nevada | 270 | 0.2 | 0.33 | $43,540 | $40,410 |
| Wyoming | 270 | 1.0 | 1.79 | $34,690 | $33,630 |
| Montana | 250 | 0.5 | 0.91 | $45,010 | $43,870 |
| Louisiana | 240 | 0.1 | 0.23 | $44,630 | $30,850 |
| Nebraska | 160 | 0.2 | 0.30 | $40,650 | $41,440 |
| Vermont | 120 | 0.4 | 0.76 | $38,970 | $38,530 |
The occupation in context
Ranked against all 826 published occupations, Residential Advisors stands number 299 by employment and number 715 by median pay. Inside its own major group, Personal Care and Service Occupations, the group median wage is $37,320 across 32 detailed occupations, so this occupation pays 5% more than its group median, and it supplies 2.6% of the group's 3,159,920 jobs. In 20 of the 51 states with a published median, the state median beats the national median of $39,180, which is the single best quick test of whether this occupation's pay is set nationally or locally: a high count means local markets regularly outbid the national figure.
Metropolitan areas: where the jobs and the pay sit
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ is the largest metro employer with 3,900 jobs, 4.7% of the national total. Two rankings follow across the 275 metros BLS publishes for this occupation: where the jobs are, then where the money is, with the pay ranking restricted to metros employing at least 500 people in this occupation to keep small samples out of the lead.
Largest metro employers
| Metropolitan area | Employment | Mean annual | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 3,900 | $47,530 | $44,540 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 2,780 | $51,260 | $45,710 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 2,770 | $46,080 | $41,360 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 2,520 | $49,670 | $47,340 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 2,020 | $48,470 | $48,010 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 1,910 | $41,190 | $38,340 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 1,740 | $42,030 | $39,730 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 1,270 | $43,010 | $38,290 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 1,180 | $40,070 | $37,330 |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | 1,140 | $46,870 | $44,430 |
Highest-paying metros (500+ jobs)
| Metropolitan area | Employment | Mean annual | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 1,110 | $56,590 | $55,120 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 830 | $53,030 | $52,330 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 2,780 | $51,260 | $45,710 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 680 | $50,760 | $47,570 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 2,520 | $49,670 | $47,340 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 2,020 | $48,470 | $48,010 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 3,900 | $47,530 | $44,540 |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | 1,140 | $46,870 | $44,430 |
| Worcester, MA | 800 | $46,580 | $45,000 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 2,770 | $46,080 | $41,360 |
At the other end, Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN posts the lowest mean pay among metros with at least 500 jobs, $28,910 a year, against $56,590 in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. The lowest-paying large metro and the highest are both real markets for this occupation; the difference between them is the geography premium, or penalty, in cash terms.
What the median pay looks like as a budget
Budget arithmetic on the median: $3,265 a month before tax, $1,507 biweekly, $753 weekly. Moving from the 25th percentile ($33,890) to the 75th ($47,590) is worth $13,700 a year, which is the realistic size of the experience and specialization premium inside this occupation. To turn any of these gross figures into spendable money, run them through the paycheck calculator; to weigh an offer against your current role, use the salary calculator; to test a raise against prices, the raise vs inflation calculator.
To place a real offer: a salary of $43,098 would sit between the median ($39,180) and the 75th percentile ($47,590), inside the top half but outside the top quarter of this occupation's ladder. An offer at the 25th percentile, $33,890, is $5,290 under the median, the typical size of the discount attached to entry-level or low-cost-market postings in this field.
Related occupations in Personal Care and Service Occupations
Pay for the neighboring roles in the same BLS major group: Gambling Service Workers, All Other, Shampooers, Entertainment Attendants and Related Workers, All Other, Gambling and Sports Book Writers and Runners, Costume Attendants, Embalmers. The full directory is on the Careers hub.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average salary for Residential Advisors?
BLS publishes both centers: the mean annual wage is $41,590 and the median is $39,180 (May 2024). The median is usually the better answer to what a typical worker makes, because the mean is pulled by the highest earners.
Where do Residential Advisors earn the most?
At state level, Oregon posts the highest median at $47,620. At metro level, San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA leads the 500-plus-jobs pay table at a $56,590 mean.
How many Residential Advisors jobs are there?
82,810 nationally in May 2024. The biggest metro employer is New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ with 3,900 jobs.
Is $39,180 a good salary for Residential Advisors?
It is the exact middle of the occupation: half of the 82,810 counted workers earn more, half earn less. Against the occupation's own ladder, an offer above $47,590 is a top-quartile offer and one below $33,890 is a bottom-quartile one.