Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
31-9011 Massage Therapists
Perform therapeutic massages of soft tissues and joints. May assist in the assessment of range of motion and muscle strength, or propose client therapy plans.
National estimates for Massage Therapists
Industry profile for Massage Therapists
Geographic profile for Massage Therapists
National estimates for Massage Therapists:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Massage Therapists:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 81,030 |
2.6 % |
$ 23.68 |
$ 49,260 |
1.2 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Massage Therapists:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 11.75 |
$ 16.72 |
$ 22.55 |
$ 29.09 |
$ 37.31 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 24,450 |
$ 34,770 |
$ 46,910 |
$ 60,510 |
$ 77,600 |
Industry profile for Massage Therapists:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Massage Therapists are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Massage Therapists, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Massage Therapists:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Personal Care Services |
41,970 |
6.45 |
$ 22.20 |
$ 46,180 |
| Offices of Other Health Practitioners |
27,420 |
2.82 |
$ 25.76 |
$ 53,570 |
| Traveler Accommodation |
4,690 |
0.34 |
$ 18.42 |
$ 38,310 |
| Other Amusement and Recreation Industries |
2,370 |
0.21 |
$ 31.92 |
$ 66,390 |
| Offices of Physicians |
1,100 |
0.04 |
$ 28.07 |
$ 58,390 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Massage Therapists:
Top paying industries for Massage Therapists:
Geographic profile for Massage Therapists:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Massage Therapists are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Massage Therapists, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Massage Therapists:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
9,880 |
0.60 |
1.04 |
$ 25.94 |
$ 53,950 |
| Texas |
8,510 |
0.70 |
1.21 |
$ 21.14 |
$ 43,970 |
| Florida |
7,070 |
0.82 |
1.43 |
$ 21.49 |
$ 44,690 |
| Colorado |
4,420 |
1.69 |
2.93 |
$ 23.64 |
$ 49,170 |
| New York |
3,840 |
0.44 |
0.77 |
$ 25.32 |
$ 52,660 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Massage Therapists:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Colorado |
4,420 |
1.69 |
2.93 |
$ 23.64 |
$ 49,170 |
| Hawaii |
810 |
1.47 |
2.56 |
$ 28.32 |
$ 58,910 |
| Nevada |
1,710 |
1.32 |
2.30 |
$ 17.37 |
$ 36,120 |
| Alaska |
370 |
1.26 |
2.19 |
$ 48.11 |
$ 100,080 |
| Arizona |
2,540 |
0.88 |
1.54 |
$ 22.17 |
$ 46,110 |
Top paying states for Massage Therapists:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Alaska |
370 |
1.26 |
2.19 |
$ 48.11 |
$ 100,080 |
| Washington |
2,660 |
0.83 |
1.44 |
$ 31.75 |
$ 66,040 |
| Oregon |
1,410 |
0.77 |
1.34 |
$ 31.53 |
$ 65,580 |
| Connecticut |
950 |
0.60 |
1.05 |
$ 29.90 |
$ 62,200 |
| Maryland |
840 |
0.33 |
0.58 |
$ 29.82 |
$ 62,030 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Massage Therapists:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
5,310 |
0.61 |
1.06 |
$ 24.00 |
$ 49,930 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
3,610 |
0.63 |
1.10 |
$ 25.39 |
$ 52,810 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
2,990 |
0.83 |
1.45 |
$ 21.84 |
$ 45,430 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
2,930 |
0.69 |
1.20 |
$ 27.35 |
$ 56,880 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
2,420 |
1.65 |
2.87 |
$ 23.45 |
$ 48,770 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
2,320 |
0.94 |
1.64 |
$ 21.86 |
$ 45,470 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
2,220 |
0.77 |
1.33 |
$ 20.84 |
$ 43,350 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
2,050 |
0.97 |
1.69 |
$ 22.30 |
$ 46,390 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
1,570 |
0.61 |
1.06 |
$ 29.41 |
$ 61,170 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
1,470 |
0.76 |
1.33 |
$ 32.67 |
$ 67,950 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Massage Therapists:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI |
180 |
2.87 |
4.98 |
$ 32.32 |
$ 67,220 |
| Colorado Springs, CO |
750 |
2.61 |
4.54 |
$ 23.10 |
$ 48,060 |
| Fort Collins, CO |
330 |
2.05 |
3.56 |
$ 24.79 |
$ 51,570 |
| Napa, CA |
130 |
1.86 |
3.23 |
$ 23.64 |
$ 49,170 |
| Anchorage, AK |
270 |
1.67 |
2.91 |
$ 46.28 |
$ 96,260 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
2,420 |
1.65 |
2.87 |
$ 23.45 |
$ 48,770 |
| Bellingham, WA |
130 |
1.58 |
2.74 |
$ 31.12 |
$ 64,730 |
| Prescott, AZ |
100 |
1.54 |
2.68 |
$ 22.90 |
$ 47,630 |
| Boulder, CO |
280 |
1.54 |
2.67 |
$ 25.69 |
$ 53,440 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV |
1,410 |
1.53 |
2.67 |
$ 17.76 |
$ 36,940 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Massage Therapists:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Anchorage, AK |
270 |
1.67 |
2.91 |
$ 46.28 |
$ 96,260 |
| Kalamazoo-Portage, MI |
80 |
0.62 |
1.08 |
$ 36.05 |
$ 74,980 |
| Bremerton-Silverdale, WA |
60 |
0.74 |
1.29 |
$ 35.99 |
$ 74,850 |
| Eugene, OR |
120 |
0.81 |
1.42 |
$ 35.09 |
$ 72,990 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT |
330 |
0.88 |
1.54 |
$ 34.73 |
$ 72,230 |
| Bend-Redmond, OR |
120 |
1.47 |
2.56 |
$ 33.62 |
$ 69,930 |
| Wenatchee, WA |
50 |
1.10 |
1.90 |
$ 33.19 |
$ 69,040 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
1,470 |
0.76 |
1.33 |
$ 32.67 |
$ 67,950 |
| Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI |
180 |
2.87 |
4.98 |
$ 32.32 |
$ 67,220 |
| Salem, OR |
110 |
0.66 |
1.14 |
$ 32.09 |
$ 66,750 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Massage Therapists:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Massage Therapists:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Massage Therapists:
About May 2021 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
