Massage Therapist Salary

Get paid to relax: massage therapist salaries

One of the distinct advantages of becoming a massage therapist is the variety of employment opportunities. Massage therapists can work as in-house employees at a spa, resort or medical office, open their own businesses, work as on-call consultants providing massage therapy in clients' homes. Massage therapists can even seek positions at exotic destinations abroad.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not break down massage therapist earnings salary data by whether they are employed full-time or run their own small businesses. However, the mean annual salary for massage therapists nationwide as of May 2010 was $39,770. These five states had the highest concentration of massage therapists:

1. Hawaii
2. Nevada
3. Oregon
4. Vermont
5. Washington

The top-paying states, as of May 2010, for massage therapists were Alaska, Delaware, Washington, Vermont and New York. In a 2008 report, the BLS projected a 19 percent growth in the field between 2008 and 2018. In 2018, the BLS projects that there will be 145,600 massage therapists in the United States, up from 122,400 in 2008.

Salary.com finds the current median salary for massage therapists to be slightly higher at $43,066. The site also does not provide specific massage therapist salary data for those who are self-employed versus those who work in-house, full-time.

As a general rule, however, self-employed professionals have flexible schedules, but no benefits, and they have to build their own clientele, which can be time-consuming. Those massage therapists who work in-house at medical offices, resorts or spas generally qualify for benefits and competitive salaries, if they work full-time. According to the BLS, many massage therapists only work part-time, perhaps to accommodate family needs and schedules.