According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), as of May 2019 there were about 107,000 massage therapists employed in the United States. Massage therapists are employed in a variety of settings, including spas, franchised clinics, physicians’ offices, hotels, and fitness centers. Most massage therapy jobs require a postsecondary education and certain technical skills, but the massage therapist wage scale is considerably lower than it is for workers in most occupations. According to BLS estimates, as of May 2019 the national mean wage for massage therapists was $47,180 per year, about 10% less than the $53,490 annual mean wage for workers in all occupations. The pay scale for the profession varies widely, with practitioners in some regions earning double what their peers make elsewhere. This variation in pay is readily seen in May 2019 data from the BLS, which reveals the following about massage therapist pay in the top 20 metropolitan markets in the United States:
| Metropolitan Area | # Employed | Annual Mean Wages | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York-Newark-Jersey City | 7,440 | $53,270 | ||
| 2 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim | 6,320 | $42,890 | ||
| 3 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | 3,890 | $49,040 | ||
| 4 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | 2,470 | $50,490 | ||
| 5 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land | 1,580 | $37,940 | ||
| 6 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | 2,200 | $44,890 | ||
| 7 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach | 2,570 | $46,420 | ||
| 8 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington | 2,320 | $47,450 | ||
| 9 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta | 2,060 | $32,610 | ||
| 10 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler | 1,910 | $45,230 | ||
| 11 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton | 1,880 | $61,180 | ||
| 12 | San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley | 2,200 | $50,560 | ||
| 13 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | 1,460 | $41,610 | ||
| 14 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn | 980 | $47,690 | ||
| 15 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue | 3,360 | $67,180 | ||
| 16 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington | 1,740 | $51,420 | ||
| 17 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | 1,910 | $42,050 | ||
| 18 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | 1,080 | $44,610 | ||
| 19 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood | 3,490 | $44,860 | ||
| 20 | St. Louis | 980 | $38,820 | ||
| National | 107,240 | $47,180 | |||
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on January 6, 2021