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How much do counselling professionals earn in Sweden?

Counselling professionals. 11,000 people employed in Sweden.

41,400SEK

per month is the median salary for counselling professionals in Sweden in 2025. That is 8% higher than the median across all jobs in the country, 38,300 SEK.

+3.5% since 2024

≈ €3,650 / $4,250 at September 2026 exchange rates, before tax.

That is roughly 32,740 SEK after tax in an average municipality, without the church fee.

≈ 239 SEK an hour · 496,800 SEK a year

The hourly figure is the monthly salary divided by 173.3 hours (40 hours a week × 52 weeks / 12 months); the yearly figure is twelve times the monthly salary.

The mean monthly salary for counselling professionals in Sweden is 41,500 SEK (2025). The median salary is 41,400 SEK. The lowest-paid 10% earn under 36,900 SEK and the highest-paid 10% over 46,500 SEK.

Figures are gross monthly salary before tax, converted to full time. Income tax in Sweden is roughly 30–34% for most earners, plus a national surtax on income above about 51,000 SEK a month.

Average pay
41,500 SEK
Mean gross monthly salary
Lowest 10%
36,900 SEK
Earn less than this
Highest 10%
46,500 SEK
Earn more than this
People employed
11,000
In this job in Sweden

The pay range

How monthly salaries are distributed among counselling professionals in Sweden. The same scale is used in the tables further down.

36,900 SEKLowest 10%41,400 SEKMedian46,500 SEKHighest 10%
Light band: the middle 80 per cent. Dark band: the middle half, earning 39,000–44,000 SEK. The red line is the median salary across all jobs in Sweden.

Counselling professionals starting salary

Statistics Sweden publishes no starting-salary figures. The closest proxies are what the youngest people in the job earn and where the lower end of the pay distribution sits.

The youngest in the job, aged 25–34, earn 38,600 SEK a month on average — roughly 30,800 SEK after tax in an average municipality.

Starting-salary proxies, before and after tax
Before tax After tax
Average, aged 25–34 38,600 SEK 30,754 SEK
Lowest 10% earn less than 36,900 SEK 29,472 SEK
Lowest 25% earn less than 39,000 SEK 31,056 SEK

These are proxies, not starting salaries. An age band holds both people who have just started and people ten years into the job, and the lowest paid are not always newcomers. The collective-agreement minimum and an individual offer can sit above or below.

Counselling professionals pay in the private and public sector

What counselling professionals earn depends a great deal on who the employer is.

Monthly salary by sector and gender
Sector Average pay Median pay Men Women
All sectors 41,500 SEK 41,400 SEK 41,000 SEK 41,400 SEK
Private sector 42,200 SEK 41,700 SEK 40,000 SEK 41,700 SEK
Public sector 41,400 SEK 41,300 SEK 41,100 SEK 41,300 SEK
Central government 43,000 SEK 42,900 SEK 42,900 SEK 42,900 SEK
Municipalities 41,800 SEK 41,800 SEK 41,700 SEK 41,800 SEK
Regions (health care) 40,800 SEK 40,800 SEK 40,400 SEK 40,800 SEK

Counselling professionals salary after tax in Sweden

What counselling professionals actually take home depends on which municipality they live in. The table shows what 41,400 SEK a month comes to after tax in a few of them.

That is roughly 32,740 SEK after tax in an average municipality, without the church fee.

41,400 SEK a month after tax, by municipality
Municipality Municipal and regional tax After tax
Average municipality 32.38% 32,740 SEK
Stockholm 30.55% 33,313 SEK
Göteborg 32.60% 32,682 SEK
Malmö 32.42% 32,729 SEK
Österåker (lowest tax) 28.93% 33,653 SEK
Dorotea (highest tax) 35.65% 31,874 SEK
  • The youngest in the job, aged 25–34 years, earn 38,600 SEK before tax — roughly 30,754 SEK after.
  • The best paid 10% earn more than 46,500 SEK, which is roughly 36,174 SEK after tax.

Calculate the salary after tax for counselling professionals

The figures assume an average municipality, no church fee and an age under 66. The calculator takes your own municipality into account.

And if the job goes? Work out unemployment benefit for counselling professionals

Pay for men and women

Median salary for men and women
Gender 37,500 47,500 Median pay Number
Men 41,000 SEK 1,500
Women 41,400 SEK 9,500

Women's average salary is 100% of men's average salary in this job.

Statistics Sweden calculates the ratio on average monthly salary, while the table above shows median salaries, so the two do not line up exactly. The figure is also unadjusted: it does not account for differences in age, sector or position.

Counselling professionals salary by age

Pay for counselling professionals normally rises with years in the job.

Monthly salary by age
Age 37,500 47,500 Average pay Men Women Number
25–34 years 38,600 SEK 39,100 SEK 38,600 SEK 2,000
35–44 years 40,900 SEK 40,600 SEK 40,900 SEK 3,200
45–54 years 42,400 SEK 42,300 SEK 42,400 SEK 3,000
55–64 years 43,400 SEK 43,700 SEK 43,400 SEK 2,400

Pay by level of education

Monthly salary by level of education
Level of education 37,500 47,500 Average pay Men Women Number
Post-secondary education, less than 3 years (ISCED97 4+5B) 41,000 SEK – 41,000 SEK 470
Post-secondary education 3 years or more (ISCED97 5A) 41,500 SEK 41,500 SEK 41,500 SEK 10,300

Counselling professionals salary by region

Statistics Sweden reports pay by job at the level of national areas (NUTS 2), not by county.

Monthly salary by region
Region 37,500 47,500 Average pay Men Women Number
Stockholm 43,400 SEK 43,200 SEK 43,400 SEK 2,100
East-Central Sweden 40,600 SEK 40,200 SEK 40,600 SEK 2,100
Småland and islands 40,700 SEK 40,700 SEK 40,700 SEK 1,000
South Sweden 41,700 SEK 40,900 SEK 41,800 SEK 1,600
West Sweden 42,100 SEK 42,200 SEK 42,100 SEK 2,100
North-Central Sweden 40,300 SEK 40,800 SEK 40,200 SEK 950
Central Norrland 40,000 SEK – 40,100 SEK 480
Upper Norrland 40,200 SEK – 40,200 SEK 590

Counselling professionals pay growth 2014–2025

Median salary per year. Years with no reported median are skipped. The dashed line marks the break between the older and the newer series at Statistics Sweden; comparisons across it should be made with care.

From 30,600 SEK in 2014 to 41,400 SEK in 2025, +35% in total. Nominal figures, not adjusted for inflation. The lighter part of the line, the years before 2023, comes from an older set of statistics at Statistics Sweden and is not fully comparable with the later years.

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Swedish job titles in this occupation

Statistics Sweden files the following Swedish job titles under SSYK 2662, “kuratorer”. These are the titles you will actually meet in Swedish job ads.

  • Chefskurator
  • Fältkurator
  • Kurator
  • Omsorgskurator
  • Primärvårdskurator
  • Samtalsterapeut
  • Sjukhuskurator
  • Skolkurator
  • Socialkurator
  • Socialpedagog, kurator

Frequently asked questions

How much do counselling professionals earn in 2026?

The latest figures are Statistics Sweden's salary structure statistics for 2025, published on 16 June 2026. The median salary was then 41,400 SEK a month before tax, against 40,000 SEK the year before (2024) — +3.5%. Figures for 2026 are normally published in June 2027; until then the 2025 figures are the latest there are, and we do not project our own.

What is the median salary for counselling professionals in Sweden?

The median salary for counselling professionals in Sweden is 41,400 SEK per month before tax (2025). That means half earn less and half earn more. The median across all jobs in Sweden is 38,300 SEK, so counselling professionals sit 8% higher than the typical job.

How much do counselling professionals earn after tax?

The median salary for counselling professionals is 41,400 SEK a month before tax. In an average Swedish municipality, without the church fee and for someone under 66, that works out at roughly 32,700 SEK after tax. The exact figure depends on which municipality you live in — our salary-after-tax calculator works it out.

What is the difference between average and median pay for counselling professionals?

The average (41,500 SEK) is the mean of every salary and is pulled upwards by the highest earners. The median (41,400 SEK) is the salary in the middle of the scale and usually gives a better picture of what counselling professionals typically earn.

What is the starting salary for counselling professionals in Sweden?

Statistics Sweden does not publish starting salaries as such. The closest figure is the youngest people in the job: counselling professionals aged 25–34 years earn 38,600 SEK per month on average. The lowest-paid 10% in the job earn less than 36,900 SEK. More in the section “Counselling professionals starting salary” above.

How high can the salary go for counselling professionals?

The highest-paid 10% in the job earn more than 46,500 SEK per month. Pay is shaped by sector, experience, level of education and where in the country you work.

Is there a gender pay gap among counselling professionals in Sweden?

Women's average salary is 100% of men's in this job. The median salary is 41,000 SEK for men and 41,400 SEK for women. The figure is not adjusted for differences in age, sector or working hours.

Where in Sweden do counselling professionals earn the most?

Pay is highest in Stockholm, where counselling professionals earn 43,400 SEK per month on average.

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