In a recent 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 2021 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:

20 Best Metro Markets for Massage Therapist Pay

	Metropolitan Area		# Employed	Annual Mean Wages
1	Alaska non-metro		70	$114,120
2	Anchorage, AK		270	$96,260
3	Kalamazoo-Portage, MI		80	$74,980
4	Bremerton-Silverdale, WA		60	$74,850
5	Southeast-Central Idaho non-metro		50	$73,050
6	Eugene, OR		120	$72,990
7	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT		330	$72,230
8	Bend-Redmond, OR		120	$69,930
9	Wenatchee, WA		50	$69,040
10	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue (#)		1,470	$67,950
11	Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI		180	$67,220
12	Salem, OR		110	$66,750
13	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA		1,010	$66,030
14	Ann Arbor, MI		80	$65,840
15	Eastern Washington non-metro		40	$64,890
16	Bellingham, WA		130	$64,730
17	San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward (#)		1,380	$64,030
18	Niles-Benton Harbor, MI		30	$63,870
19	Upper Peninsula Michigan non-metro		40	$63,610
20	Flint, MI		80	$63,590
	National		$81,030	$49,260

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

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on December 5, 2022