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    Salary / LPC / LMHC / South Dakota

    LPC / LMHC salary in South Dakota

    What LPC / LMHC roles are advertised at, and the South Dakota factors that change the number.

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    How much does a LPC / LMHC earn in South Dakota?

    Federal wage data for South Dakota puts the median for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors at $53,650 a year, with the middle of the market between $39,210 and $67,010 and about 1,710 people employed in the state (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). Federal figures group substance abuse, behavioral disorder and mental health counselors together. Sioux Falls anchors almost all clinic-based hiring; elsewhere schools and tribal health services are the main employers. Nationally, the LPC / LMHC roles we recruit are advertised at roughly $55k – $85k; the national LPC / LMHC salary guide sets out the entry, mid-career and senior figures behind that.

    LPC / LMHC advertised pay by experience

    Entry
    $55k
    First role after certification
    Mid-career
    $70k
    Two to five years, full caseload
    Senior
    $85k
    Supervisory scope or specialist skill

    Official South Dakota wage data

    Federal wage data for South Dakota puts the median for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors at $53,650 a year, with the middle of the market between $39,210 and $67,010 and about 1,710 people employed in the state (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). Federal figures group substance abuse, behavioral disorder and mental health counselors together.

    Median
    $53,650
    Mean
    $54,760
    10th percentile
    $39,210
    90th percentile
    $67,010

    Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. State wage tables

    What changes a LPC / LMHC offer in South Dakota

    • LPC and the clinical LPC-MH are issued by the counseling board; LCSW is issued by the social work board.
    • Setting: Outpatient clinics, Community mental health, Substance use treatment price differently for the same credential.
    • Caseload cap and billable or productivity target, which decide whether a bonus is real.
    • Metro cost of living within the state; a city premium is not the same as a better offer.
    • Scarcity: High volume nationally, with the tightest markets wherever associate-level clinicians cannot find paid supervision.

    How to read the SD figures

    The federal estimates above are the official South Dakota picture for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors, published annually and lagging the market by about a year. What we publish alongside them is what we actually see advertised on roles we recruit today. Use the federal median as a floor for negotiation and the advertised range as the live signal.

    Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data

    Last reviewed August 2026.

    Live LPC / LMHC roles in South Dakota

    No live LPC / LMHC roles in South Dakota right now. Tell us your license status and target setting and we will contact you when the next South Dakota search opens.

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    Open LPC / LMHC roles elsewhere in the US

    How to work as a LPC / LMHC in South Dakota

    1. 1

      Confirm the credential

      State licensure (LPC, LMHC, LPCC, LCPC depending on state). This is the baseline every South Dakota employer screens on before anything else.

    2. 2

      Check the SD requirement

      LPC and the clinical LPC-MH are issued by the counseling board; LCSW is issued by the social work board.

    3. 3

      Check the multi-state routes

      PSYPACT: enacted; Counseling Compact: enacted (privileges not yet live) Compact participation changes, so confirm the current position with the South Dakota board rather than a secondary source.

    4. 4

      Build board processing into your start date

      Processing time, not eligibility, is the usual cause of a delayed start. Agree a start date with the licensing timeline already in it.

    5. 5

      Match the credential to open work

      Compare the advertised range for LPC / LMHC roles, roughly $55k – $85k, against the live South Dakota vacancies on this page, or join the talent network to be contacted when the next South Dakota search opens.

    Continue with LPC / LMHC in South Dakota

    LPC / LMHC pay and licensure in South Dakota: common questions

    Do you need a license to work as a LPC / LMHC in South Dakota?
    LPC and the clinical LPC-MH are issued by the counseling board; LCSW is issued by the social work board. Confirm the current position with the South Dakota board before you accept a start date, as processing time is the usual cause of a delayed start.
    What is the average LPC / LMHC salary in South Dakota?
    Federal wage data for South Dakota puts the median for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors at $53,650 a year, with the middle of the market between $39,210 and $67,010 and about 1,710 people employed in the state (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). Federal figures group substance abuse, behavioral disorder and mental health counselors together. Advertised pay on the LPC / LMHC roles we recruit nationally sits at roughly $55k – $85k, and offers land inside that band according to setting, caseload and metro cost of living.
    Does LPC / LMHC pay in South Dakota differ from the rest of the US?
    We publish advertised pay on the roles we recruit, not a South Dakota average. Across the US those LPC / LMHC roles are advertised at roughly $55k – $85k, and where a South Dakota offer lands inside that band is driven by setting, caseload and metro cost of living. For an official comparison, South Dakota median pay for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors is $53,650; treat that as a negotiating floor.
    Where are the LPC / LMHC jobs in South Dakota?
    Sioux Falls anchors almost all clinic-based hiring; elsewhere schools and tribal health services are the main employers. The live LPC / LMHC vacancies we hold in South Dakota are listed on this page; when nothing is open there today, the national LPC / LMHC board carries every role we currently hold.
    Who employs LPC / LMHCs in South Dakota?
    The employers hiring this credential are outpatient clinics, community mental health, substance use treatment, schools and colleges, telehealth. Which of those dominates in South Dakota follows the local funding and provider mix rather than any national pattern, and it is the single biggest driver of what an offer looks like: the same LPC / LMHC is priced differently by a center-based provider, a school district and a hospital system.
    What do employers look for when hiring a LPC / LMHC in South Dakota?
    First, the credential and the right to practise: state licensure (lpc, lmhc, lpcc, lcpc depending on state). LPC and the clinical LPC-MH are issued by the counseling board; LCSW is issued by the social work board. After that, hiring managers screen on the specifics of the work — caseload size you have carried, the settings you have worked in, supervision responsibility, and documentation or payer experience. Availability matters too: a realistic start date that accounts for board processing usually beats a stronger resume that cannot start.
    What does the salary range on this page actually mean?
    Two different things, kept separate on purpose. $55k – $85k is what LPC / LMHC roles we recruit are advertised at across the US — a live market signal, not a survey. The federal figures are official South Dakota estimates for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors: $53,650 median, with $39,210 at the 10th percentile and $67,010 at the 90th. They cover the whole occupation in the state, are published annually and lag the market by roughly a year, so read the median as a negotiating floor rather than a target. Neither number is an offer; where you land inside a range is set by setting, caseload and metro cost of living.

    LPC / LMHC pay in other states

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    Hiring LPC / LMHCs in South Dakota

    Pay is the last thing that fixes a stalled search

    Title portability is the trap. Moving state usually means a new application, sometimes new coursework. We map it before a candidate commits.

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    • Behavioral health only
    • Recruiting across all 50 states
    • Pay published on every role
    • Recruitment partnerships, not job spam