Average Salary of LPC vs LCSW in Private Practice

[MJN]

Hey guys,

Does anybody know what the average salaries of LPCs and LCSWs are in private practice? I've been accepted into a few programs that will led to either of these licensures, and I'm wondering whether there is a significant pay difference between them?

I realize location is a huge factor too. I'm not sure where I'd like to live yet, but I'm leaning towards the Bay Area or Denver. Any idea as to what salaries would be like in those cities?

Any feedback would be helpful. Thanks!

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[wesleysmith]

Private practice income will depend entirely on your caseload as you'd be working for reimbursments. Not positive, but fairly certain that the reimbursment rates between an LCSW and an LPC are the same, however, I have heard it is easier for an LCSW to get on insurance panels. Of course, you could also just go for cash only or a blend of the two, your rates would probably depend on the average for the area then. As for salaries in general (outside of PP), search the forums, check the "Similar Threads" below, and take a look at my post at the end (Pg. 2) of the sticky thread "MSW Q&A Forum" on the Mental Health and Social Welfare main page for more info. This topic is pretty common and there is a lot of good stuff already on this forum.

 

[Goobernut]

The www.wageproject.org is a really handy website to use when benchmarking salaries