These Are The 10 Best Cities For Massage Therapists

.street-view{width:100%;height:300px;pointer-events:none;}

Whether you’re just starting out your career, or looking to make a move, it can be important to know what part of the country offers the best chance for your long term career prospects. And for a very common profession like Massage Therapists, the regional differences can have a big impact on your salary and career options.

To help you make the best decision possible, we at Zippia wanted to look at the cities that offer massage therapists the most for their career. These are the cities across the US where massage therapists get paid well, relative to the cost of living, and jobs are plentiful.

So we did what we do best and dove into the numbers from the BLS to figure out which cities have the best opportunities for massage therapists.The result is this list of the best cities massage therapists:

So there you have it — Anchorage is the best city when it comes to being a massage therapist.

And where should you consider avoiding if you’re a massage therapist? That would be Memphis.

Read on to see how we completed our research on the best cities for massage therapists and for more on the top ten cities.

How we determined the best cities to be a massage therapists?

Here at Zippia, we talk to a lot of people of all different backgrounds looking for jobs. Our research has concluded that there are two common things people want in a job:

Availability of jobs
Pay

So in order to find out the best cities for massage therapists in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well massage therapists get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2015:

Location quotient. A measure of how common a job is a given city.
Average annual salary.
Average annual salary for entry level work.

To make all the salary numbers more apples to apples across cities, we compared the salary data relative to the state’s cost of living.

This left us with enough data for 194 metro areas across the country. We then took the primary area of the metro and labeled that the ‘city’ for this analysis. So, for example, “Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA NECTA Division” became simply Boston.

In order to develop an overall ranking, we ranked each city for each criteria from 1 to 194 where 1 was the best.

We then averaged all the rankings for a city into a Job Score with the city having the lowest overall Job Score earning the distinction of being the best city for massage therapists in America.

So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each city so great for massage therapists.

1. Anchorage, AK

Total Jobs: 570
Average Annual Salary: $84,870
Average Entry Level Salary: $50,580
Location Quotient: 4.83

2. Pittsfield, MA

Total Jobs: 70
Average Annual Salary: $79,470
Average Entry Level Salary: $47,800
Location Quotient: 2.71

3. Olympia, WA

Total Jobs: 220
Average Annual Salary: $60,530
Average Entry Level Salary: $34,330
Location Quotient: 3.22

4. Bend, OR

Total Jobs: 110
Average Annual Salary: $56,470
Average Entry Level Salary: $39,820
Location Quotient: 2.42

5. Kennewick, WA

Total Jobs: 130
Average Annual Salary: $55,800
Average Entry Level Salary: $44,050
Location Quotient: 1.84

6. Fairbanks, AK

Total Jobs: 40
Average Annual Salary: $88,640
Average Entry Level Salary: $45,430
Location Quotient: 1.65

7. Eugene, OR

Total Jobs: 240
Average Annual Salary: $56,280
Average Entry Level Salary: $26,280
Location Quotient: 2.49

8. Seattle, WA

Total Jobs: 2,450
Average Annual Salary: $53,830
Average Entry Level Salary: $28,640
Location Quotient: 2.39

9. Medford, OR

Total Jobs: 80
Average Annual Salary: $62,210
Average Entry Level Salary: $45,630
Location Quotient: 1.49

10. Bellingham, WA

Total Jobs: 120
Average Annual Salary: $53,070
Average Entry Level Salary: $28,880
Location Quotient: 2.23

And that’s our list of the best cities for massage therapists

If you’re looking to start out your career as a massage therapist these are the cities that should be at the top of your list. You’ll find high pay, available jobs, and chances for career advancement.

If you’re curious, here are the worst cities to be a massage therapist in America:

Detailed List Of The Best Cities For Massage Therapists

Rank	State	Average Salary	Entry Level Salary	# Of People
1	Anchorage, AK	$84,870	$50,580	570
2	Pittsfield, MA	$79,470	$47,800	70
3	Olympia, WA	$60,530	$34,330	220
4	Bend, OR	$56,470	$39,820	110
5	Kennewick, WA	$55,800	$44,050	130
6	Fairbanks, AK	$88,640	$45,430	40
7	Eugene, OR	$56,280	$26,280	240
8	Seattle, WA	$53,830	$28,640	2,450
9	Medford, OR	$62,210	$45,630	80
10	Bellingham, WA	$53,070	$28,880	120
11	Asheville, NC	$51,900	$28,580	220
12	Burlington, VT	$58,950	$34,670	110
13	Wenatchee, WA	$51,420	$33,450	50
14	Spokane, WA	$52,150	$33,930	250
15	Tucson, AZ	$50,630	$25,380	520
16	Santa Rosa, CA	$57,990	$24,390	460
17	Santa Cruz, CA	$59,740	$33,050	90
18	Bremerton, WA	$48,200	$22,910	150
19	Tacoma, WA	$51,430	$33,100	290
20	Port St. Lucie, FL	$58,660	$21,820	160
21	Gainesville, FL	$54,510	$24,420	140
22	Oakland, CA	$58,090	$40,150	830
23	Portland, OR	$50,970	$22,150	1,430
24	Ocean City, NJ	$45,550	$29,980	70
25	Naples, FL	$54,280	$21,960	150
26	Trenton, NJ	$49,030	$24,530	390
27	Nassau County, NY	$60,900	$24,820	1,440
28	Idaho Falls, ID	$37,680	$32,000	60
29	Bowling Green, KY	$42,080	$26,660	50
30	Lansing, MI	$50,890	$21,370	180
31	Minneapolis, MN	$45,500	$24,430	2,080
32	Winston, NC	$50,790	$32,850	140
33	Redding, CA	$54,390	$38,930	40
34	Jacksonville, FL	$45,870	$26,410	590
35	Fort Lauderdale, FL	$44,300	$26,610	760
36	North Port, FL	$43,980	$21,080	370
37	Peabody, MA	$45,630	$29,320	120
38	Austin, TX	$44,610	$19,420	980
39	St. George, UT	$42,970	$18,820	60
40	Fargo, ND	$46,390	$22,740	80
41	Lexington, KY	$38,290	$18,700	220
42	Warren, MI	$46,930	$24,310	670
43	Fayetteville, AR	$45,830	$32,760	90
44	New York, NY	$60,990	$26,880	3,540
45	Phoenix, AZ	$46,570	$18,430	3,150
46	Brunswick, GA	$40,610	$19,360	40
47	Yakima, WA	$54,950	$32,300	30
48	Ogden, UT	$34,590	$23,510	330
49	Raleigh, NC	$42,140	$18,000	870
50	West Palm Beach, FL	$38,830	$21,100	1,060
51	Kahului, HI	$63,910	$18,000	180
52	Youngstown, OH	$48,360	$31,550	50
53	Pensacola, FL	$44,460	$27,810	90
54	Wilmington, DE	$57,090	$30,460	100
55	Scranton, PA	$43,100	$33,470	120
56	Napa, CA	$51,970	$19,330	430
57	Fort Collins, CO	$51,340	$19,530	150
58	Denver, CO	$43,010	$19,270	3,300
59	Lancaster, PA	$40,750	$21,470	170
60	Flagstaff, AZ	$48,250	$17,770	70
61	Grand Rapids, MI	$50,210	$18,900	310
62	Syracuse, NY	$62,580	$30,860	80
63	Kalamazoo, MI	$46,920	$20,500	70
64	Boulder, CO	$48,670	$18,000	350
65	Columbia, SC	$36,630	$20,370	260
66	Ann Arbor, MI	$43,110	$19,460	140
67	Morgantown, WV	$39,830	$19,690	30
68	Spartanburg, SC	$40,340	$31,790	50
69	Niles, MI	$47,180	$18,180	40
70	Provo, UT	$40,220	$20,920	110
71	Evansville, IN	$42,250	$31,030	40
72	Louisville/Jefferson County, KY	$41,010	$22,000	170
73	Newark, NJ	$44,500	$20,700	1,230
74	Camden, NJ	$38,850	$28,360	400
75	Salinas, CA	$46,450	$20,260	190
76	Rochester, MN	$43,240	$27,900	50
77	Milwaukee, WI	$37,520	$24,890	540
78	Nashville, TN	$36,490	$19,040	600
79	Omaha, NE	$33,580	$23,530	350
80	Knoxville, TN	$37,040	$26,990	160
81	Charlotte, NC	$38,370	$19,290	920
82	Tampa, FL	$42,000	$19,080	1,120
83	Prescott, AZ	$38,670	$18,480	70
84	Hartford, CT	$47,270	$22,690	430
85	Santa Maria, CA	$43,850	$20,030	300
86	South Bend, IN	$36,070	$21,580	60
87	Elgin, IL	$38,260	$21,620	190
88	Cincinnati, OH	$38,930	$18,130	510
89	Boston, MA	$50,480	$27,450	590
90	St. Cloud, MN	$37,320	$31,720	50
91	Abilene, TX	$40,870	$18,280	30
92	Portland, ME	$36,550	$20,590	160
93	Utica, NY	$42,580	$25,520	70
94	Orlando, FL	$42,010	$17,990	1,150
95	San Jose, CA	$49,230	$23,140	440
96	Rochester, NY	$53,980	$25,200	100
97	Columbus, OH	$33,280	$19,000	630
98	Des Moines, IA	$35,940	$18,860	240
99	San Francisco, CA	$39,240	$20,490	1,260
100	Baltimore, MD	$51,160	$18,940	1,100

Never miss an opportunity that’s right for you.

Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

Create Resume