Residential Mental Health and Substance Abuse Facilities — Average Employee Salary
The average employee in the residential mental health and substance abuse facilities industry earns $49,640 per year ($23.87/hour), according to Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW data.
What Do Residential Mental Health and Substance Abuse Facilities Workers Earn?
At $49,640/year (equivalent to $23.87/hour for a full-time worker), residential mental health and substance abuse facilities wages are below the national average of ~$65,000.
Lower wages in this industry are common in service-oriented or retail-adjacent sectors where entry barriers are lower. This can be an advantage for business owners managing payroll costs, but may contribute to higher turnover.
The typical residential mental health and substance abuse facilities business employs 25 people. These are larger operations where staffing represents a major cost center and management complexity.
Wages as a Percentage of Revenue
For the average residential mental health and substance abuse facilities business generating $3.9M/year with 25 employees at $49,640 each, total payroll represents roughly 31.4% of revenue. Labor is a significant cost but leaves room for other expenses and profit.
What This Means for Business Owners
If you're starting or running a residential mental health and substance abuse facilitiesbusiness, here's what the wage data means for your bottom line:
- Per-employee cost: Budget approximately $64,532/year per employee (salary + ~30% for benefits, taxes, and insurance).
- Typical team size: 25 employees = ~$1,241,000/year in base payroll.
- Hourly equivalent: $23.87/hour base — factor this into pricing and project estimates.
- Revenue needed: With average revenue of $3.9M/business, you need strong utilization rates to maintain healthy margins after payroll.
See how these wages compare to total revenue and profit margins.
View full Residential Mental Health and Substance Abuse Facilities revenue benchmarks →Frequently Asked Questions
- How much do residential mental health and substance abuse facilities employees make?
- The average residential mental health and substance abuse facilities employee earns $49,640 per year, which is equivalent to $23.87/hour for a full-time worker (2,080 hours/year). This is below the national average of approximately $65,000.
- How many people work in the residential mental health and substance abuse facilities industry?
- The residential mental health and substance abuse facilities industry employs 249,057 workers across 9,803 establishments in the United States. The average business in this industry has approximately 25 employees.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW 2023).