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Role hub · Art Therapists

Art Therapist: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

BLS does not publish pay for art therapists separately. Every pay figure on this page is for the BLS occupation “Therapists, All Other” (SOC 29-1129), which includes art therapists and other jobs; it is not a figure for art therapists alone.

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Updated Nov 2, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of workers in the BLS occupation “Therapists, All Other” earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$77,930
Hourly
$37.47
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Art Therapists plan or conduct art therapy sessions or programs to improve clients' physical, cognitive, or emotional well-being. The median pay is $77,930 a year ($37.47 an hour) (BLS, May 2025).

Median pay
$77,930
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
22,640
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 5 of 5
extensive preparation
Key facts

Art Therapists at a glance

  • Workers in the BLS occupation “Therapists, All Other” (which includes art therapists) in the United States earned a median annual wage of $77,930 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for art therapists in the United States.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS estimated that 22,640 people were employed as art therapists in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

Explore the role

Every page for Art Therapists

SalaryArt Therapist salary

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The work

What art therapists do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Conduct art therapy sessions, providing guided self-expression experiences to help clients recover from, or cope with, cognitive, emotional, or physical impairments.
  2. Talk with clients during art or other therapy sessions to build rapport, acknowledge their progress, or reflect upon their reactions to the artistic process.
  3. Write treatment plans, case summaries, or progress or other reports related to individual clients or client groups.
  4. Assess client needs or disorders, using drawing, painting, sculpting, or other artistic processes.
  5. Design art therapy sessions or programs to meet client's goals or objectives.
  6. Observe and document client reactions, progress, or other outcomes related to art therapy.
  7. Develop individualized treatment plans that incorporate studio art therapy, counseling, or psychotherapy techniques.
  8. Establish goals or objectives for art therapy sessions in consultation with clients or site administrators.
Where this career works

Industries that employ it

Data Share of all art therapist jobs in each industry, 2025 (BLS Employment Matrix). Figures cover all therapists, all other (SOC 29-1129), the broader occupation.

  1. Ambulatory healthcare services22.6% of all jobs in this occupation · +19.1% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $96,900
  2. Hospitals; state, local, and private6.3% of all jobs in this occupation · +4.7% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $82,690
  3. Social assistance4.2% of all jobs in this occupation · +14.4% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $84,240
  4. Educational services; state, local, and private3.6% of all jobs in this occupation · +1.1% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $78,110
  5. Nursing and residential care facilities1.6% of all jobs in this occupation · +4.1% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $72,080
  6. Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals1.2% of all jobs in this occupation · +2.8% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $86,980

Sources: BLS 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (share of the occupation's jobs, projected change) and BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates (mean wage). Different industry estimates are not a pay forecast for any person.

Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

Social PerceptivenesscoreActive ListeningcoreSpeakingcoreMonitoringService OrientationJudgment and Decision MakingCritical ThinkingReading ComprehensionWriting

Knowledge areas: Therapy and Counseling, Psychology, Fine Arts, Sociology and Anthropology, Customer and Personal Service, English Language.

Tools and technology

Software art therapists use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Adobe After EffectsVideo creation and editing softwareHot technology
  • Adobe Creative Cloud softwareGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
  • Adobe IllustratorGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
  • Adobe InDesignDesktop publishing softwareHot technology
  • Adobe PhotoshopGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
  • IBM SPSS StatisticsAnalytical or scientific softwareHot technology
  • Trimble SketchUp ProComputer aided design CAD softwareHot technology
  • Autodesk MayaGraphics or photo imaging software
  • Adobe AcrobatDocument management softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft ExcelSpreadsheet softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft Office softwareOffice suite softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft OutlookElectronic mail softwareHot technology

Also called: Activity Therapy Specialist, Art Psychotherapist, ATR (Registered Art Therapist), ATR-BC (Board Certified Art Therapist), Clinical Art Therapist, Creative Arts Therapist.

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).

How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.