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Role hub · Music Therapists

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

Music Therapists plan, organize, direct, or assess clinical and evidenced-based music therapy interventions to positively influence individuals' physical, psychological, cognitive, or behavioral status. The median pay is $77,930 a year ($37.47 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a bachelor's degree (73% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$77,930
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
22,640
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 4 of 5
considerable preparation
Most common education
Bachelor's Degree
73% of workers
Key facts

Music Therapists at a glance

  • Workers in the BLS occupation “Therapists, All Other” (which includes music 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 music therapists in the United States.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

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

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

Explore the role

Every page for Music Therapists

SalaryTherapists, All Other salary

BLS pay data for this occupation, by state and percentile.

Open →How to becomeMusic Therapist how to become

Education, training and the skills to build first.

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The work

What music therapists do day to day

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

  1. Design music therapy experiences, using various musical elements to meet client's goals or objectives.
  2. Sing or play musical instruments, such as keyboard, guitar, or percussion instruments.
  3. Communicate with clients to build rapport, acknowledge their progress, or reflect upon their reactions to musical experiences.
  4. Establish client goals or objectives for music therapy treatment, considering client needs, capabilities, interests, overall therapeutic program, coordination of treatment, or length of treatment.
  5. Document evaluations, treatment plans, case summaries, or progress or other reports related to individual clients or client groups.
  6. Assess client functioning levels, strengths, and areas of need in terms of perceptual, sensory, affective, communicative, musical, physical, cognitive, social, spiritual, or other abilities.
  7. Observe and document client reactions, progress, or other outcomes related to music therapy.
  8. Improvise instrumentally, vocally, or physically to meet client's therapeutic needs.
Where this career works

Industries that employ it

Data Share of all music 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 ListeningcoreService OrientationcoreReading ComprehensionSpeakingCritical ThinkingJudgment and Decision MakingLearning StrategiesMonitoring

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

Tools and technology

Software music therapists use

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

  • Avid Technology Pro ToolsMusic or sound editing software
  • Electronic health record EHR softwareMedical software
  • Musical instrument digital interface MIDI softwareMusic or sound editing software
  • Virtual instrument softwareMusic or sound editing software
  • Microsoft Office softwareOffice suite softwareHot technology
  • Email softwareElectronic mail software
  • Web browser softwareInternet browser software

Also called: Board Certified Music Therapist (MT-BC), LCAT (Licensed Creative Arts Therapist), Neurologic Music Therapist, Public School System Music Therapist, 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.