Mental Health Counseling Schools Near Baltimore, MD (2026)

Baltimore, Maryland has 21 accredited schools offering mental health counseling programs, with tuition ranging from $4,322 to $67,710 per year for indexed programs. Baltimore has a population of about 577,193. Median household income is $59,623 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 35.4% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metro area, the top-earning mental health counseling-related role is Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker at a median $70,360 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).


Closest Mental Health Counseling Schools to Baltimore

The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer mental health counseling programs near Baltimore, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Baltimore city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.

How We Rank Schools

Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:

  • Graduation rate 30%
  • Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
  • Average net price (lower is better) 20%
  • Retention rate 15%
  • Fully online availability 10%

Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Baltimore. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

Ranked by BOC Score โ€” U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.

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#1

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD 1.4 miles from Baltimore
  • 4 year
  • Campus + Online
88.8 BOC Score
Graduation rate 94%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $87,555
Avg net price $18,809/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 98%
  • Programs offered: 53

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Maryland schools on the Maryland mental health counseling page.


Mental Health Counseling Wages Near Baltimore

Baltimore is part of the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metro area (BLS area code 12580). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Maryland statewide.

OccupationMedian WageSourceCOL-Adjusted (US=100)
Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselor$57,750Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD$55,263
Marriage and Family Therapist$68,700Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD$65,742
Clinical and Counseling PsychologistN/AMD statewide
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker$70,360Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD$67,330

Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.


Baltimore at a Glance

MetricValueSource
Population577,193Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income$59,623Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+35.4%Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)104.5 (above U.S. average)BEA RPP 2024

Other Baltimore-Area Cities With Mental Health Counseling Programs


Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited mental health counseling schools are near Baltimore, MD?

Our directory has 21 accredited schools offering mental health counseling programs near Baltimore. The closest is Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD (1.7 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Divine Mercy University (49.5 miles). 9 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

What are the highest-paying mental health counseling roles near Baltimore?

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying mental health counseling-related roles near Baltimore are: Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker ($70,360), Marriage and Family Therapist ($68,700), Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselor ($57,750). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Maryland statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in Laurel instead of Baltimore?

Laurel, MD is 19.7 miles from Baltimore and has its own set of local mental health counseling programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.

Is Baltimore an affordable place to study mental health counseling?

Baltimore’s median household income of $59,623 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Baltimore while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Maryland public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.

How do I verify a program is accredited?

Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.


Learn More About Mental Health Counseling Programs

Other Programs Available in Baltimore

Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Baltimore:

Data verified: August 11, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024โ€“2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.