Massage Therapists Income
What is the average salary for a massage therapist? How much can a massage therapist make?
I have been doing some research on these questions for my ebook that I am writing called “The truth about becoming a massage therapist” and it has also got me thinking…
ABMP reports the following about salaries for massage therapists:
Average massage-related income for massage therapists in 2005 was $18,950, with a median income of $14,500 (2005 ABMP Member Survey).
First-year practice average income was $9,589, reflecting the challenges of establishing a professional-service practice (2005 ABMP Member Survey).
The median price for a one-hour massage is $60 (ABMP 2005 Member Survey, correlated by the same finding in the Harstad Strategic Research 2007 Consumer Survey
AMTA reports slightly higher numbers based on the Bureau of Labor statistics which ABMP claims are inaccurate.
Either way, massage therapists are not making much and are not anywhere close to a $100,000 a year practice. I picked that number because it is usually not associated with a massage therapist and most would say that it isn’t about the money.
After reading Harv Eker’s book ‘The Secret of the Millionaire Mind‘ where he says:
“Let me put it bluntly: anyone who says money isn’t important doesn’t have any! “
We use the excuse that it isn’t about the money to keep ourselves in the low paying professions.
But why is a $100,000 a year salary or income from business sound so unrealistic? The last time I mentioned the idea of “The Wealthy Massage Therapist” I got a few emails saying that they didn’t want to be wealthy. Wealth seems to bring up many things for people. It really shows you your beliefs about money. What do you think of someone who makes that kind of money? That they must be doing something illegal? That making that kind of money is not respectable? That helping people is more important than making money?
To make $100,000 a year a massage therapist would have to do about 21 massages a week and charge $100 a session and work 49 weeks a year. (that’s roughly). But what massage therapist charges $100 for a one hour massage?
I had this sudden realization that the massage profession itself is creating this problem.
Massage schools only talk of how difficult it is to start and build a practice and often tell students not to quit their day job and plan on taking a few years to build a practice. If our thoughts create our reality - what is this doing to the massage profession????
I know you will want to explain the lower than $100 an hour fees with thing like - it is way above the market rate and there are many who can’t afford it and you just want to help everyone and that includes the people who can’t afford massage. It doesn’t have anything to do with being able to afford massage. It is really more about valuing massage. I have had many less fortunate clients who I do know were struggling- single moms, people who could work as much due to their injuries etc. If people were serious enough about getting a massage - they would find a way to save to get one. Then there are those who have all the money in the world and complain when you raise your rates-they too are just not valuing massage.
If what we have inside of us is reflected in what goes on outside of us - what does this say about how we value our own profession and ourselves?
What exactly is a massage worth? What is it that massage actually does for a person? It is like comparing teachers salaries with that of professional athletes? What we have in this country is an mis-representation of our values. What about comparing massage therapist salaries with professional athletes? What price can you put on something like massage?
What if all massage therapists everywhere in the country charged $100 an hour? How does the idea of getting that much make you feel? What would you do differently in a session if anything? What fears come up for you in asking for what you need?
October 3rd, 2007 at 5:34 am
When I lived in Florida I made 80,000 gross. But rent lights, billing service…
It all ate into that and so I got 55,000. That was billing lot of insurance and putting in hours as massage therapist and hours as the boss. Was it worth it no. Now I’m in another state can’t billing insurance and make about 30,000. I would like to make more but I’m in an area where I could price myself out of the market. I charge 60 an hour for relaxation and 88 for therapuetic. I alos won’t work more hours than I do (20 hours). I’ve been a massage therapist for 20+ years now and when I started we were lucky to ge 20 for an hour.
For the schooling I have and years behind me, it doesn’t matter. What the market will bear is what the market will bear.
I feel we should be recognized for our specialities, as with other professions. That is where we as a profession lag behind. Most specialist charge more for all the education/knowledge we they have. Most massage therapist I know just charge 1 price fits all. we sell our selves short with this.
As a profession, we requires more CEU’s than most medical professions and the CEU’s cost more then most medical professions. That doesn’t seem right. The cost to go to a seminar is not just the seminar as we all know. Its the time away from your practice, the cost of a hotel, the food and travel. So a $500.00 seminar in the end costs over $1500.00 and we need to do two of these to renew. I feel this has been overlooked and noone seems to think about it as part of what takes away from our bottom line.
In all as a profession we need to be open to change and willing to step forward for ourselves. The overwork for little pay is not what we should be known for.
October 3rd, 2007 at 6:31 am
Julie,
I have been giving a lot of thought to this topic and though I agree with much of what you say, there are some points that I feel differently about. An unfortunate aspect of our society is that we are only as healthy as we can afford, which is a sad state of affairs in such a wealthy nation, but that is the way it is for now.
You say that what we charge says what our value is, however isn’t value subjective? For instance say a person needs to get a flu shot, the person having real good insurance or the means to afford the best can go to a doctor and get a flu shot. Another person may need to go to a clinic to receive his/her shot. Is the value of the flu shot different? No. In fact some very experienced physicians (lawyers, psychologists etc.) offer their services at clinics. Does their value diminish due to what they charge? Not to say that some services are not as valuable but that is where “buyer beware” needs to come into play.
Having the ability to choose simply allows people to choose based on what they can afford. People that have high incomes sometimes choose to receive their massage from a therapist that provides services in a luxurious spa environment, and some visit therapists based on their reputation, and there are some that look for the cheapest. People with less income still visit luxury spas (I know because I work at one) but they do so less frequent, so they are less apt to ever know the benefits that regular massage offers. So now is the value of the $100. 00 massage worth more? To many the value is in the benefit and the maximum benefits are best when massage can be received through regular sessions. So now the best value lies in finding the most affordable service in order to receive more often. This does not deduct from the service I provide as I provide the same massage in the luxurious spa where the client is charged $115.00 per 50 minutes as I do in my private practice where I charge much less. If some place more value on the ambiance of their surrounding, that is their perception of value. Like I said, value is subjective. People seeking massage do so for a variety of reasons and they choose their therapist for a variety of reasons and how they perceive their value is also part of their choice.
As a therapist, I know what my value is, and it does not need to be defined by the fee I charge. If some place the value of the service they receive by the fee charged, they have every right to knock themselves out by paying more if they have the ability. I value choice.
Roxanne
October 3rd, 2007 at 9:48 am
It looks like a lot of us are thinking about money right now. I know I just did the “number crunching” on my business just last week. How many sessions at what price do I need to do to make the money I deserve? My average price received for massage is a little over $80.00 per massage. That is insurance and cash and packages. I charge $85.00 for treatment work and $75.00 for wellness massages, but I only get $59.00 for Blue Cross work.
So I need to keep my number of massage sessions at 20 per week and I have $80,000 a year.
I share office space with 4 other therapists so our overhead is lower than if I rented space alone. We share duties and expenses and we all benefit.
I would suggest that more therapists share space and efforts. Not only does it keep the overhead down, but you have other therapists to talk with so you don’t talk to your patients too much, and you don’t get as lonley. You also have other people around for late appointments and feel safer. And in our practice, we help schedule appointments for each other.
If we work together and charge what we are worh, I believe we can all make a good living doing what we love.
Blessings
Laura
October 19th, 2007 at 6:42 pm
Is it time to start thinking about adding streams of income?
$100K a year is a figure I established as a goal for MT’s when I started Massage Marketing Rebellion Yahoo Group. While some think of that figure as untouchable, in the SF Bay Area it’s a basic neccesity. The cost of living is rising daily!
A variety of challenges have forced MT’s to rethink some sacred cows of massage and realistically adding income streams is a logical business route out of financial stress.
What will you do to keep your financial foothold?
The answer to the question is: “To follow the market and fill the need.”
Best of success to you,
~ B ~
rebelmassage@yahoo.com
http://www.massagemsoi.com