AMTA Industry Fact sheet data from 2015:
In 2015, the average annual income for a massage therapist (including tips) was estimated to be $24,519.
ABMP statistics:
What do massage therapists earn?1
- Independent practitioners (average): $25,365
- Independent practitioners (median): $22,000
- Employees (average): $19,605
- Employees (median): $15,750
- Average gross income during first year of practice: $8,864
The median annual wage for massage therapists was $38,040 in May 2015. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $18,860, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $74,860.
Most massage therapists earn a combination of wages and tips.
About half of massage therapists worked part time in 2014. Because therapists work by appointment in most cases, their schedules and the number of hours worked each week vary considerably. In addition to devoting hours giving massages, therapists may spend time recording clients’ notes, marketing, booking clients, washing linens, and conducting other general business tasks.