Best states for a speech therapist

Q: What is the best state for speech therapists?

The best state to be a speech therapist is Missouri based on speech therapist salaries and job opportunities.

Q: What is the highest paying state for speech therapists?

The highest paying state for speech therapists is South Dakota based on Zippia’s salary database.

Q: What is the worst state for speech therapists?

The worst state for speech therapists is Arizona, due to a combination of low salaries and few job opportunities.

Quoted expert

Dr. Eva Moya Ph.D.

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Job opportunities vary from state to state, and healthcare practitioner and technical careers are no different. Because we know how difficult it can be to know which states are the best when it comes to speech therapist jobs, we decided to crunch some numbers to bring you the best states for speech therapists.We wanted to look at the best states for speech therapists -- where there are plenty of speech therapist jobs to go around and speech therapists get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.

To that end, we dove into our dataset of job and salary numbers to figure out which states have the best opportunities for speech therapists. Missouri is the best state for speech therapists, where the median salary is $80,407.We found that the South is best for speech therapists, and the Northeast is the worst. Richmond, CA is the best city in the country for speech therapist jobs, where as Missouri is the best state in the country.

10 best states for speech therapists in 2026

1. Missouri
Total speech therapist jobs: 1,102
Average annual salary: $80,407
Lowest 10 percent earn: $61,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $104,000
Location Quotient:
1.22
Speech therapist jobs in Missouri
2. Washington
Total speech therapist jobs: 1,341
Average annual salary: $82,333
Lowest 10 percent earn: $61,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $109,000
Location Quotient:
1.19
Speech therapist jobs in Washington
3. Virginia
Total speech therapist jobs: 1,573
Average annual salary: $84,096
Lowest 10 percent earn: $64,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $109,000
Location Quotient:
1.08
Speech therapist jobs in Virginia
4. California
Total speech therapist jobs: 5,194
Average annual salary: $88,063
Lowest 10 percent earn: $65,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $117,000
Location Quotient:
1.15
Speech therapist jobs in California
5. Vermont
Total speech therapist jobs: 158
Average annual salary: $77,327
Lowest 10 percent earn: $55,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $107,000
Location Quotient:
1.33
Speech therapist jobs in Vermont
6. New Jersey
Total speech therapist jobs: 1,283
Average annual salary: $83,437
Lowest 10 percent earn: $63,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $110,000
Location Quotient:
1.05
Speech therapist jobs in New Jersey
7. Nevada
Total speech therapist jobs: 301
Average annual salary: $81,753
Lowest 10 percent earn: $61,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $109,000
Location Quotient:
0.93
Speech therapist jobs in Nevada
8. Delaware
Total speech therapist jobs: 233
Average annual salary: $75,973
Lowest 10 percent earn: $57,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $99,000
Location Quotient:
1.2
Speech therapist jobs in Delaware
9. Massachusetts
Total speech therapist jobs: 774
Average annual salary: $82,701
Lowest 10 percent earn: $61,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $111,000
Location Quotient:
0.55
Speech therapist jobs in Massachusetts
10. Pennsylvania
Total speech therapist jobs: 1,757
Average annual salary: $74,759
Lowest 10 percent earn: $56,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $98,000
Location Quotient:
0.98
Speech therapist jobs in Pennsylvania

Speech therapist jobsNear Columbus, OH

How Zippia determines the best states to be a speech therapist

You can read about how the best state rankings are calculated here.

Detailed list of the best states for a speech therapist

Rank	State	Average salary	Lowest 10% earn	Population	Job count
1	Missouri	$80,407	$61,000	6,113,532	1,102
2	Washington	$82,333	$61,000	7,405,743	1,341
3	Virginia	$84,096	$64,000	8,470,020	1,573
4	California	$88,063	$65,000	39,536,653	5,194
5	Vermont	$77,327	$55,000	623,657	158
6	New Jersey	$83,437	$63,000	9,005,644	1,283
7	Nevada	$81,753	$61,000	2,998,039	301
8	Delaware	$75,973	$57,000	961,939	233
9	Massachusetts	$82,701	$61,000	6,859,819	774
10	Pennsylvania	$74,759	$56,000	12,805,537	1,757
11	Connecticut	$82,440	$61,000	3,588,184	259
12	Alaska	$82,008	$69,000	739,795	68
13	New Hampshire	$71,629	$52,000	1,342,795	296
14	North Carolina	$70,754	$54,000	10,273,419	1,580
15	Idaho	$72,472	$54,000	1,716,943	240
16	Oregon	$73,878	$55,000	4,142,776	647
17	Kansas	$66,955	$51,000	2,913,123	630
18	Illinois	$70,893	$54,000	12,802,023	2,148
19	Ohio	$68,728	$52,000	11,658,609	1,598
20	Louisiana	$72,906	$54,000	4,684,333	292
21	Rhode Island	$73,262	$54,000	1,059,639	98
22	Colorado	$71,921	$54,000	5,607,154	970
23	North Dakota	$65,456	$50,000	755,393	219
24	Maine	$68,409	$49,000	1,335,907	221
25	District of Columbia	$82,918	$63,000	693,972	124
26	Wyoming	$69,264	$52,000	579,315	54
27	Iowa	$65,663	$50,000	3,145,711	664
28	South Carolina	$68,408	$52,000	5,024,369	464
29	Montana	$66,923	$50,000	1,050,493	206
30	Kentucky	$66,192	$50,000	4,454,189	596
31	West Virginia	$62,918	$48,000	1,815,857	317
32	New York	$71,761	$54,000	19,849,399	1,976
33	New Mexico	$68,075	$51,000	2,088,070	220
34	Arkansas	$65,810	$50,000	3,004,279	379
35	Maryland	$67,760	$51,000	6,052,177	1,112
36	Texas	$64,916	$48,000	28,304,596	4,011
37	Florida	$69,111	$51,000	20,984,400	1,504
38	Wisconsin	$65,881	$50,000	5,795,483	847
39	Georgia	$65,080	$49,000	10,429,379	1,734
40	Michigan	$64,820	$49,000	9,962,311	1,210
41	Oklahoma	$64,170	$48,000	3,930,864	510
42	Minnesota	$67,009	$51,000	5,576,606	720
43	Nebraska	$61,880	$47,000	1,920,076	447
44	Utah	$66,235	$49,000	3,101,833	299
45	Tennessee	$62,161	$47,000	6,715,984	922
46	Hawaii	$69,624	$59,000	1,427,538	81
47	Indiana	$58,689	$45,000	6,666,818	1,325
48	Mississippi	$62,620	$47,000	2,984,100	126
49	Alabama	$58,671	$44,000	4,874,747	640
50	South Dakota	$57,948	$44,000	869,666	112
51	Arizona	$61,574	$46,000	7,016,270	487

Highest paying states for speech therapists

Rank	State	Avg. Speech Therapist Salary
1	Missouri	$80,407
2	Washington	$82,333
3	Virginia	$84,096
4	California	$88,063
5	Vermont	$77,327
6	New Jersey	$83,437
7	Nevada	$81,753
8	Delaware	$75,973
9	Massachusetts	$82,701
10	Pennsylvania	$74,759
11	Connecticut	$82,440
12	Alaska	$82,008
13	New Hampshire	$71,629
14	North Carolina	$70,754
15	Idaho	$72,472
16	Oregon	$73,878
17	Kansas	$66,955
18	Illinois	$70,893
19	Ohio	$68,728
20	Louisiana	$72,906
21	Rhode Island	$73,262
22	Colorado	$71,921
23	North Dakota	$65,456
24	Maine	$68,409
25	District of Columbia	$82,918
26	Wyoming	$69,264
27	Iowa	$65,663
28	South Carolina	$68,408
29	Montana	$66,923
30	Kentucky	$66,192
31	West Virginia	$62,918
32	New York	$71,761
33	New Mexico	$68,075
34	Arkansas	$65,810
35	Maryland	$67,760
36	Texas	$64,916
37	Florida	$69,111
38	Wisconsin	$65,881
39	Georgia	$65,080
40	Michigan	$64,820
41	Oklahoma	$64,170
42	Minnesota	$67,009
43	Nebraska	$61,880
44	Utah	$66,235
45	Tennessee	$62,161
46	Hawaii	$69,624
47	Indiana	$58,689
48	Mississippi	$62,620
49	Alabama	$58,671
50	South Dakota	$57,948
51	Arizona	$61,574

Expert opinions on the best states for speech therapists

Are there any particularly good places in the United States for speech therapists to find work opportunities?
Dr. Eva Moya Ph.D.
Professor, The University of Texas
Absolutely. Social Workers are well-positioned to work in multiple sectors at the local, state, national, and international levels. From health care, gerontology, safety net, mental health and substance abuse, child and family, education, immigration, and criminal justice sectors.

Employment is usually based on the market, economics, needs, and value of social work. The place does matter.

Social workers are in schools, courts, hospitals, community-based organizations, federally qualified health centers, mental health clinics, shelters, transitional living facilities, detention facilities, academic settings, prisons, industry, political arena, palliative care, hospice, research, international organizations, immigrant and migrant centers, elderly care facilities, protective services, the child welfare system, counseling centers, health and human service organizations, environmental and public health venues.

Speech therapist best states FAQs

What is the best state for speech therapists?

What is the highest paying state for speech therapists?

What is the worst state for speech therapists?

Have more questions? See all answers to common healthcare practitioner and technical questions.

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Speech Therapist
Best states for Speech Therapists

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse healthcare practitioner and technical jobs

Total speech therapist jobs:	1,102
Average annual salary:	$80,407
Lowest 10 percent earn:	$61,000
Highest 10 percent earn:	$104,000
Location Quotient:	1.22

Best states for a speech therapist

10 best states for speech therapists in 2026

1. Missouri

2. Washington

3. Virginia

4. California

5. Vermont

6. New Jersey

7. Nevada

8. Delaware

9. Massachusetts

10. Pennsylvania