20 Best Metro Markets for Massage Therapist Pay

In a January commentary we took a look at Massage Therapist Pay in the Top 20 Metropolitan Markets.  As is the case with many health professions, the major metropolitan areas in the U.S. are the biggest employment centers for massage therapists.  That said, it is in smaller metro markets, not the large ones, where massage therapists frequently discover better paying employment. This is readily seen in May 2019 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which show us that only two of the 20 largest metro areas in the nation were among the 20 best metro markets for massage therapist pay:

	Metropolitan Area		# Employed	Annual Mean Wages
1	Anchorage, AK		420	$76,930
2	Yakima, WA		80	$72,870
3	College Station-Bryan, TX		N/A	$70,090
4	Kennewick-Richland, WA		130	$68,580
5	Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI		240	$68,490
6	Wenatchee, WA		60	$67,740
7	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue (#)		3,360	$67,180
8	Eugene, OR		170	$66,430
9	Bremerton-Silverdale, WA		90	$65,400
10	Greeley, CO		N/A	$64,410
11	Longview, WA		50	$63,610
12	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA		1,830	$63,160
13	Danbury, CT		30	$62,950
14	Bellingham, WA		160	$62,870
15	Medford, OR		90	$61,250
16	Boston-Cambridge-Nashua (#)		1,880	$61,180
17	Salem, OR		120	$61,170
18	Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, PA		150	$59,950
19	Winston-Salem, NC		N/A	$59,790
20	Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL		210	$59,200
	National		107,240	$47,180

(#) a top 20 U.S metro population area

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on January 6, 2021