Therapist salary in California: what each kind of therapist earns.
There is no single therapist wage. Here is the BLS median for each kind of therapist in California, how many people do the work there, and how it compares with the national figure.
$45,970 – $166,450
Range of medians across the 13 therapist occupations BLS publishes for California. No BLS figure combines them.
BLS publishes no single “therapist” wage for California. Across the 13 therapist occupations with a published May 2025 median in California, median annual pay ran from $45,970 (massage therapists) to $166,450 (radiation therapists). “Substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors”, the largest of them in California (75,610 employed), earned a median of $59,250, compared with $59,350 nationally.
Therapists in California at a glance
“Substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors” are the largest therapist occupation with a published median in California, with 75,610 employed and a median annual wage of $59,250 in May 2025 (BLS).
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Among the therapist occupations with a published median in California, radiation therapists had the highest: $166,450 (May 2025, BLS).
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
11 of the 13 therapist occupations with a published median in California were paid above their own national median in May 2025 (BLS).
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
What each kind of therapist earns in California
Data One row per BLS occupation with a published state median, sorted by median annual pay. Hourly pay is shown only where BLS publishes it.
| Occupation (BLS title) | Median annual pay, California | Median hourly | Employed in California | National median | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radiation Therapists | $166,450 | $80.02 | 1,720 | $105,310 | +58% vs national |
| Occupational Therapists | $124,510 | $59.86 | 13,810 | $100,330 | +24% vs national |
| Physical Therapists | $124,190 | $59.71 | 26,580 | $102,760 | +21% vs national |
| Speech-Language Pathologists | $118,970 | $57.20 | 16,930 | $97,870 | +22% vs national |
| Clinical and Counseling Psychologists | $116,000 | $55.77 | 12,840 | $100,580 | +15% vs national |
| Respiratory Therapists | $104,820 | $50.40 | 18,650 | $82,280 | +27% vs national |
| Recreational Therapists | $98,170 | $47.20 | 1,920 | $61,960 | +58% vs national |
| Therapists, All Other | $81,760 | $39.31 | 840 | $77,930 | +5% vs national |
| Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers | $79,000 | $37.98 | 19,860 | $60,280 | +31% vs national |
| Marriage and Family Therapists | $67,300 | $32.35 | 34,970 | $66,940 | +1% vs national |
| Exercise Physiologists | $62,440 | $30.02 | 640 | $59,460 | +5% vs national |
| Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors | $59,250 | $28.48 | 75,610 | $59,350 | same as national |
| Massage Therapists | $45,970 | $22.10 | 14,600 | $58,450 | -21% vs national |
How this page is built
Pay and employment are BLS OEWS state estimates for California, May 2025, for each BLS detailed occupation on the national Therapists page. BLS publishes no therapist-wide state figure; nothing on this page is averaged or combined by TryHired. “Difference” compares each occupation's state median with its own national median. Top-coded medians (BLS “#”) are shown as “$239,200 a year or more”, never as a number.
- Pay at a specific employer, hospital system, union contract or school district.
- Pay in a specific city: metro figures differ from the state median.
- Licensing rules in California.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).