Ten Massage Therapy Facts You Should Know:

Massage Therapy Career Statistics We know that sometimes, when you are trying to present a clear picture of a career field, statistics are a great help! So, we hope you enjoy these 10 factual tidbits about Massage Therapy.

1. The Center for Health Studies reports that massage therapists, on average, see 14 patients a week as compared to chiropractors and conventional physicians, who see up to 100 patients a week. The Center also states that massage therapists were nearly three times as likely as conventional physicians to establish their own practice.

2. According to the Association of Bodywork and Massage Professionals, full-time massage therapists earned between $40,000 and $60,000 a year. The majority of practioners, however, work substantially less than 40 hours a week and still earn close to $20,000 annually. Hourly rates vary from $25 to $110 for an hour massage depending on region and setting. Typical hourly rates are between $50 and $60.

3. The American Massage Therapy Association claims that consumers interested in alternative healthcare chose massage therapy approximately 80% of the time. In 2000 nearly one in every five Americans received a professional massage roughly spending a combined $5 billion on these visits.

4. There are approximately 300,000 part-time and full-time massage therapists in the U.S.

5. Practioners registered with the American Massage Therapy Association are predominantly female (84%) and more than half (57%) are between the ages of 35 and 54. Nearly half the membership has received a bachelor’s degree.

6. Swedish massage is the most popular form of massage therapy practiced in the U.S. with Deep Tissue a distant second.

7. The majority of massage therapists travel to a client’s location and nearly a third practice out of their own homes. An increasing number of businesses are offering massages on-site for employees. 14% of Fortune 200 companies include massage as part of their employee benefit program.

8. Tuition costs for massage therapy schools vary considerably according to region, whether the school is private or public, and whether the student is full or part time.

9. Most states require massage therapy training programs to provide at least 500 in-class hours of instruction.

10. Some states require massage therapy students to pass the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork.