Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of massage therapist salary by state for the United States:
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Alaska has the highest massage therapist salary of $69,287
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Florida has the lowest massage therapist salary of $46,229
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The national average salary for massage therapists is $53,935
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The national hourly pay for massage therapists is $25.93
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do massage therapists get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for massage therapist by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for massage therapists after this adjustment? That would be Alaska.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for massage therapist salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Massage Therapists By State
| Rank | State | Average Massage Therapist Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | $69,287 | $40,000 | $118,000 |
| 2 | Massachusetts | $62,420 | $36,000 | $107,000 |
| 3 | Rhode Island | $62,394 | $36,000 | $107,000 |
| 4 | New Hampshire | $62,363 | $36,000 | $107,000 |
| 5 | Vermont | $62,082 | $36,000 | $106,000 |
| 6 | Connecticut | $62,070 | $36,000 | $106,000 |
| 7 | Maine | $61,570 | $35,000 | $106,000 |
| 8 | New York | $61,566 | $35,000 | $105,000 |
| 9 | New Jersey | $61,197 | $35,000 | $104,000 |
| 10 | Pennsylvania | $59,872 | $35,000 | $101,000 |
| 11 | Delaware | $59,215 | $34,000 | $100,000 |
| 12 | Oregon | $58,218 | $33,000 | $100,000 |
| 13 | Maryland | $57,836 | $34,000 | $97,000 |
| 14 | Washington | $57,594 | $33,000 | $99,000 |
| 15 | Michigan | $56,898 | $34,000 | $94,000 |
| 16 | California | $56,085 | $32,000 | $96,000 |
| 17 | Nevada | $55,212 | $32,000 | $94,000 |
| 18 | Virginia | $55,153 | $32,000 | $92,000 |
| 19 | Ohio | $54,970 | $33,000 | $91,000 |
| 20 | Wisconsin | $54,631 | $33,000 | $89,000 |
| 21 | North Dakota | $54,504 | $33,000 | $87,000 |
| 22 | Minnesota | $54,272 | $33,000 | $88,000 |
| 23 | West Virginia | $54,255 | $32,000 | $90,000 |
| 24 | Idaho | $53,327 | $31,000 | $90,000 |
| 25 | Illinois | $53,143 | $32,000 | $87,000 |
| 26 | Arizona | $52,952 | $31,000 | $88,000 |
| 27 | Montana | $52,553 | $31,000 | $87,000 |
| 28 | Indiana | $52,466 | $31,000 | $86,000 |
| 29 | Iowa | $51,665 | $31,000 | $84,000 |
| 30 | South Dakota | $51,545 | $31,000 | $83,000 |
| 31 | New Mexico | $51,281 | $30,000 | $85,000 |
| 32 | Utah | $51,262 | $30,000 | $86,000 |
| 33 | North Carolina | $51,023 | $30,000 | $84,000 |
| 34 | Kentucky | $51,011 | $30,000 | $84,000 |
| 35 | Nebraska | $50,262 | $30,000 | $81,000 |
| 36 | Wyoming | $50,130 | $30,000 | $82,000 |
| 37 | Missouri | $49,957 | $30,000 | $81,000 |
| 38 | Texas | $49,646 | $30,000 | $80,000 |
| 39 | Colorado | $49,484 | $30,000 | $81,000 |
| 40 | Kansas | $49,325 | $30,000 | $80,000 |
| 41 | Tennessee | $49,251 | $29,000 | $80,000 |
| 42 | Hawaii | $48,975 | $35,000 | $68,000 |
| 43 | South Carolina | $48,796 | $29,000 | $80,000 |
| 44 | Oklahoma | $48,725 | $29,000 | $79,000 |
| 45 | Arkansas | $48,613 | $29,000 | $79,000 |
| 46 | Louisiana | $48,497 | $29,000 | $78,000 |
| 47 | Georgia | $48,151 | $29,000 | $78,000 |
| 48 | Mississippi | $48,129 | $29,000 | $78,000 |
| 49 | Alabama | $47,991 | $29,000 | $78,000 |
| 50 | Florida | $46,229 | $28,000 | $74,000 |
Methodology: Massage Therapist Salary By State
To better understand massage therapist pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for massage therapists by state.
We took the average annual salary data for massage therapists from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for massage therapists.
Massage Therapist Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for massage therapists?
The highest-paid state for massage therapists is Alaska with an average salary of $69,287 per year.
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What city pays massage therapists the most?
Arlington, MA pays massage therapists the most with an average salary of $62,450 per year.
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What is the worst state for massage therapists?
The worst state for massage therapists is Florida with an average salary of $46,229 per year.
Author
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.
