The Massage Therapist of the 21st Century
As more consumers seek out massage as a way of maintaining or improving their health, the number of people entering the massage profession also has increased. According to the Industry Fact Sheet:
Eighty-three percent of massage therapists are female; most are in their mid-40s, and have been working in the industry an average of 7.8 years.
Most massage therapists (72 percent) are sole practitioners or partners in their own business.
Not counting time spent on business tasks such as billing, bookkeeping and scheduling appointments, the typical massage therapist works an average of 15 hours per week providing massage, and delivers an average of 38 massages per month.
Massage therapists charge an average of $58 for one hour of massage, and earn an average wage of $39 per hour (including tips) for all massage-related work. Including tips, the average annual salary for a massage therapist who provides 15 hours of massage per week is $29,250 – approximately $1,100 more than a full-time physician officer worker, and over $3,000 a year more than a full-time physical therapist.
Swedish massage appears to be the therapy of choice among providers. Seventy-eight percent of therapists offer Swedish massage, followed by deep tissue massage (70 percent) and trigger point therapy (41 percent).
Employment opportunities for massage therapists are predicted to increase from 21 percent to 35 percent by 2012 – much faster than the growth rates of similar occupations.
Massage Today, 2007
Golden State Massage School
School of Massage Therapy
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