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Salary · Art Therapist · United States

Art Therapist salary: $77,930 median for the BLS occupation “Therapists, All Other”.

The full pay range by percentile, every state, the top-paying metro areas and similar roles, from the latest BLS survey. Place your own offer on the range.

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.

Updated Nov 2, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025
Annual wage range · U.S. · BLS May 2025
$77,930median ($37.47/hr)

Hourly pay, BLS May 2025: 10th percentile $22.37 · 25th $28.29 · median $37.47 · 75th $50.85 · 90th $73.33.

Quick answer

The median annual wage for therapists, all other in the United States was $77,930 in May 2025 (BLS). The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $46,540 and the top 10% earned more than $152,530. That median is 1.5 times the $50,980 median for all occupations. The highest-paying state was District of Columbia ($127,010).

10th percentile
$46,540
lowest-paid 10% earn less
25th percentile
$58,850
a quarter earn less
75th percentile
$105,760
a quarter earn more
90th percentile
$152,530
top 10% earn more
Key facts

More on art therapist pay

  • The median hourly wage for the BLS occupation “Therapists, All Other” (which includes art therapists) in the United States was $37.47 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • The middle half of workers in the BLS occupation “Therapists, All Other” in the United States earned between $58,850 and $105,760 a year in May 2025 (25th to 75th percentile, BLS).

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • The lowest-paid 10% of workers in the BLS occupation “Therapists, All Other” in the United States earned less than $46,540 a year in May 2025, and the top 10% more than $152,530 (BLS).

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • The mean annual wage for the BLS occupation “Therapists, All Other” in the United States was $90,420 in May 2025, according to BLS; the mean is a different measure from the median.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • 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

Pay by state

Art Therapist salary in every state

Data BLS state estimates, May 2025. 41 states and DC published a median for this occupation. Sort by pay or by number employed.

Highest median pay
  1. District of Columbia$127,010
  2. Illinois$116,200
  3. New Jersey$100,250
  4. Hawaii$99,560
  5. Washington$98,550
Most people employed
  1. New Jersey7,090
  2. Texas1,320
  3. Maryland1,310
  4. New York1,110
  5. Illinois1,060
Median annual wage by state
State10th–90th percentile
District of Columbia$127,010$78,410–$130,00080
Illinois$116,200$57,240–$193,7601,060
New Jersey$100,250$64,750–$172,2307,090
Hawaii$99,560$63,230–$102,64040
Washington$98,550$50,750–$129,330n/a
South Carolina$90,980$52,900–$186,58070
Delaware$90,120$57,140–$104,28030
Nebraska$86,900$49,190–$134,80040
Rhode Island$86,400$70,690–$122,24090
Oregon$81,860$63,350–$118,340170
California$81,760$59,880–$166,300840
New York$77,980$54,250–$115,9901,110
Kansas$76,740$49,980–$169,740170
Minnesota$75,360$61,270–$100,960500
Kentucky$75,060$38,750–$136,540190
Texas$74,750$33,710–$129,4201,320
Virginia$70,890$49,050–$245,320420
Ohio$70,700$49,660–$161,890540
Massachusetts$69,050$55,000–$97,890170
New Hampshire$69,040$39,260–$97,780100
Alabama$68,270$42,970–$147,95030
West Virginia$67,580$43,060–$129,180n/a
Colorado$65,080$52,210–$108,120160
Florida$64,600$47,360–$110,080440
Louisiana$64,530$47,800–$170,720690
Arizona$63,750$44,250–$127,650360
Pennsylvania$62,310$41,250–$98,780710
Arkansas$61,920$43,870–$127,800460
Utah$61,770$47,750–$129,20070
Indiana$61,720$37,300–$101,790350
Missouri$60,990$45,230–$89,070340
North Carolina$60,400$49,600–$87,120530
Oklahoma$60,090$35,550–$103,710n/a
Wisconsin$59,420$47,270–$161,470280
Georgia$59,380$37,250–$105,670970
Michigan$57,970$37,760–$99,200320
Tennessee$56,690$39,320–$85,680210
Maryland$49,400$36,340–$147,3001,310
Connecticut$47,300$37,970–$131,570510
Mississippi$44,280$40,320–$65,170140
Nevada$38,260$35,260–$43,410n/a
Top-paying metro areas

Where the median is highest

Data Metropolitan areas with at least 100 people employed in the occupation, BLS May 2025.

  1. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$122,120
  2. Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ$108,650
  3. Baton Rouge, LA$100,390
  4. Columbus, OH$90,720
  5. Providence-Warwick, RI-MA$86,400
  6. Trenton-Princeton, NJ$83,200
  7. Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX$81,340
  8. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD$81,170
  9. San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX$80,410
  10. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA$77,610
Similar roles

How the pay compares

Data National medians for related occupations (O*NET related roles, BLS pay).

  1. Clinical Psychologist$100,580
  2. School Psychologist$95,990
  3. Music Therapist (BLS: Therapists, All Other)$77,930
  4. Art Therapist (BLS: Therapists, All Other)$77,930
  5. Healthcare Social Worker$67,880
  6. Marriage And Family Therapist$66,940
  7. Rehabilitation Counselor$46,850
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Pay by industry

What OEWS reports by employing industry

Data Median and mean annual wage for art therapist jobs in the industries employing the most of them (May 2025). Figures cover the whole occupation (BLS: Therapists, All Other) (SOC 29-1129).

Pay by industry
IndustryJobsMedian annual wageMean annual wage
Offices of Other Health Practitioners8,170$84,630$94,120
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals2,550$79,930$87,870
Outpatient Care Centers2,280$76,760$96,420
Individual and Family Services2,140$71,050$85,910
Elementary and Secondary Schools1,460$61,770$69,070
Home Health Care Services1,090$86,930$122,970
Offices of Physicians1,080$87,110$92,850

Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 national industry-specific estimates (A_MEDIAN and A_MEAN fields), detailed industries with at least 1,000 such jobs. Since May 2025 OEWS publishes specific values for many wages that used to appear only as “$239,200 or more”; values BLS still marks that way are shown that way. Industry estimates differ; they are not a forecast of anyone's pay after a move.

Method

How this page is built

Wages are BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates for May 2025 (national, state and metropolitan area), for the occupation shown. OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay: they include base pay, commissions, production bonuses and tips, and exclude overtime, shift differentials, non-production bonuses and benefits. Percentiles describe all workers in the occupation, not entry or senior levels.

What this page can't tell you
  • Pay at a specific employer, or for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Experience level: percentiles are not seniority bands.
  • Equity, bonuses outside OEWS's definition, and benefits.
Sources
  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
  2. 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.

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

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