How Much Do Therapists Make?

Having a clear understanding of earnings potential is important, especially if you are researching career paths or considering changing jobs. If you're one of those people, and you're curious what kind of salary therapists make, you've come to the right place.

Using data from Lightcast,™ the Best Adult Colleges and Careers Guide has compiled rich information about salary for therapists and related jobs, including details about average compensation, salary trends and job growth. We've also gathered advertised salaries from actual job postings to provide insight into what employers of therapists are offering as compensation.

Keep reading to learn more about how much therapists can expect to make in the United States.

At a Glance: Salary & Jobs for Therapists

According to data from 2023, there were about 191,646 positions for therapists in the United States. In terms of salary, the national median salary for therapists was reported to be $62,941. Additionally, when examining job demand, employers across the country posted 106,518 job postings related to positions for therapists.

How Much Money Do Therapists Make?

Median salary is just one data point. To build a better understanding of how much money therapists and related positions can expect to make in the United States, it can be helpful to look at the full range of compensation for those jobs.

Let's look more deeply at data that was reported to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for detail into the lowest and highest salary earnings for therapists.

Annual Salary for Therapists

According to the BLS, the lowest earners for therapists and related professions earned about $41,850 per year in 2023. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, the highest earners made about $97,781 annually.

As mentioned previously, the median salary for therapists in the United States in 2023 was $62,941.

Hourly Salary for Therapists

The BLS also breaks down compensation for therapists by hourly salary, and the median average hourly pay for therapists in 2023 was $30. Lowest hourly earners took home $20 while the highest reported hourly salaries for therapists was $47.

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Degree Options for Therapists

Advertised Compensation for Therapists

Data from the BLS is one way to dig into compensation for therapists, but another way to build a more real-time understanding of salary is to look at actual job postings and see what compensation organizations are currently providing to fill open positions for therapists.

Keep in mind that salary data is not included in every job posting, so the information compiled here is reflective of the data available through Lightcast.™

Annual Salary from Job Postings for Therapists

During a review of 39,600 job postings related to therapists, advertised salary was included in 18,098 of them, which was 46%. Based on those postings, the median advertised salary for therapists was $88,448 per year.

Hourly Salary from Job Postings for Therapists

A similar analysis of job postings provides insight into advertised hourly salary for therapists. Based on 17% of postings with advertised compensation, the median hourly salary for open positions for therapists in the United States is about $43.

Salary Trend for Therapists

If you're thinking about pursuing a career in the field, you may want to understand how compensation has changed over time for therapists. The chart below provides a snapshot of advertised salaries over the past three years.

Based on compensation data that was included in job postings for therapists dating back to September 2020, advertised salaries for therapists have increased 16%.

What's the Job Growth for Therapists?

Another data point that someone thinking about a career path should consider is whether or not jobs are expected to see growth in the future. The chart below looks at projected employment for therapists over the next 10 years.

According to the data obtained through Lightcast,™ there were 191,268 jobs for therapists in the United States in 2023. By 2033, it is expected that about 27,315 jobs will be added. That's a 14.3% increase over the next 10-year period.

Additional Links

Ready to dig deeper into career information about therapists? Visit our other pages focused on salary and education for therapists.

What do therapists do?
Therapists: How do you become one?

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The Best Adult Colleges and Careers Guide has compiled data for dozens of in-demand jobs. Explore our full catalog of occupation data by visiting the link below.

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