Massage Therapists: Survey Insights from the State of the Profession Guide

Here’s a snapshot from our 2024 State of the Therapies Guide: Insights from the Rehabilitation Professionals. 

Massage therapists use their skills to help their clients recover from injury, deal with stress, and improve athletic performance. They can work in hospitals, medical spas, chiropractic or physical therapy offices, with sports teams, or as independent workers. They must have excellent communication skills in order to give their clients a safe and comfortable experience.  

Download the 2024 State of the Rehabilitation Therapies Guide

Demographics 

The LMTs included in our survey come from a variety of backgrounds, ethnicities, ages, education, specialties, and years of experience.   

Survey respondents were licensed massage therapists, meaning they had to complete some kind of education, training, and examination. In most states, massage therapists are required to complete a specific number of training hours and earn a license to practice. With the exception of Wyoming, Minnesota, California, Kansas, and Vermont, practicing as a massage therapist without a license is a crime.  

48% of respondents were women. Only 10% said they were men, although 37% preferred not to disclose their gender. Slightly more men seem to have responded than the national average, where 76.4% of all massage therapists are women, and 23.6% are men. 

Respondents varied in age, 14.7% are 35-44 years old, 24.4% are 45-54 years old, 11.4% (20) are 55-64 years old, and 7.4% are 65-74 years old.  

Most therapists who responded to the survey are White/Caucasian (44.3%), followed by Hispanic (40.3%). Of the remaining, 5.1% were Black or African American and the last 2.8 were other ethnicities.  

Employment profile 

The field of massage therapy is expected to grow by 18% between 2023 and 2033, making it one of the fastest-growing fields in the United States. This amounts to about 22,000 job openings per year over the next decade. Massage therapy is quickly gaining popularity among patients suffering from chronic pain conditions. It is often used in conjunction with other therapies.  

Most licensed massage therapists in our survey expressed satisfaction with their current role and employer. The newest massage therapists, those with between 1 and 9 years of experience, were the least satisfied with both their jobs and employers. Of this group, 46% were either somewhat satisfied or extremely satisfied with their current role, and 55% were extremely satisfied with their employer. Only 14% of survey respondents would not recommend that new graduates join the profession.  

These relatively high satisfaction rates are likely related to such a high percentage (77.9%), reporting feeling valued in their workplace. In addition to feeling valued, most massage therapists report that their workplace is adequately staffed.   

While most massage therapists reported feeling satisfied with their role and employer, 20% reported feeling less satisfied with their profession on the day of the survey than they had felt when they first started their career.  

Burnout and career concerns among massage therapists 

Despite high rates of reported job satisfaction, 49% of surveyed massage therapists still reported experiencing burnout. Burnout among massage therapists in our survey seemed unrelated to working hours, with similar feelings of burnout reported among part-time, full-time, and overtime therapists.  

For massage therapists with less than 10 years of experience, 73% reported experiencing burnout. Employees in schools, home health, and in-patient facilities reported the highest rates of burnout. Those working in outpatient and private practice reported the lowest rates of burnout. 

Massage therapists who reported concerns stated that companies often take advantage of new graduates, offering them low pay and overwhelming them with full schedules. As massage therapists gain more experience and build up a clientele, they have more power to choose their schedule and require higher pay rates.  

Another concern among massage therapists was a lack of respect for the profession. Our survey respondents stated that they experienced problems with clients “being mistaken for sex workers” and “creepers thinking we are for sale.”  

One massage therapist offered a solution for the lack of professional respect, stating that there was “a need for greater nationwide minimum training requirements, which may help to increase the professional standards and overall regard for the profession.”   

Salary guide 

According to the BLS, the average salary for a full-time massage therapist in the United States is $55,310 per year, which is just below the national average salary in the United States. The highest-paying states for massage therapists are Vermont, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and New Hampshire. 

About half of the licensed massage therapists across all experience levels stated that they were either extremely satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their salary. Salary satisfaction was lowest among those with 10-19 years of experience, with 43% reporting feeling either somewhat dissatisfied or extremely dissatisfied with their pay.  

The majority of massage therapists report no salary increases in the 12 months before responding to the survey. 78% of respondents with 10-19 years of experience had not received a salary increase within a year of the survey. This may be related to employers expecting therapists to be tipped more generously as their skills improve and they build a more loyal clientele.