The American Massage Therapy Association is the largest non-profit, professional association for massage therapists, massage students and massage schools. The association is directed by volunteer leadership and fosters ongoing, direct member-involvement through its 51 chapters. AMTA works to advance the profession through ethics and standards, the promotion of fair and consistent licensing of massage therapists in all states, and public education on the benefits of massage.

Demographic Study of AMTA Members

Gender

AMTA’s membership is predominantly female — 85% are female and 15% are male.

Age

50 percent of AMTA members are between the ages of 35 and 54 with the median age of 49.

1 percent are age 18-24

13 percent are age 25-35

21 percent are age 35-44

29 percent are age 45-54

36 percent are age 55+

Education

38 percent of AMTA members have received at least a bachelor’s degree and 50% have attended some college.

Practice Area Population

30 percent of AMTA members practive in the South

26 percent practice in the Midwest

25 percent practice in the West

19 percent practice in the Northeast

Practice Time

Massage therapists provide massage therapy close to 20 hours per week, but are only paid for about 16 hours of this time.

Practice Type

74 percent - Sole practitioner with own business

22percent - Self-employed contractor

25 percent - Employee

Practice Settings

Massage therapists practice in a variety of settings and locations, and in a variety of contractual arrangements. A therapist may practice at several different sites and/or settings in a single day. On average, a massage therapist will work in 1.2 different work settings. Settings that appear to be ‘second jobs’ are in the massage therapist’s home, healthcare, and client’s home or business.

38 percent - Travel to Client Locations

38 percent - Practice in own home

36 percent - Private Practice Solo Office

25 percent - In a healthcare facility

23 percent - In a spa or salon

9 percent - In a health club

4 percent - Massage therapy-only franchise or chain

Health Referrals and Insurance Reimbursement

76 percent of massage therapists receive referrals from healthcare providers. On average, a massage therapist can expect to receive one to two healthcare referrals per month. 19 percent accept insurance reimbursement.

How Many Work Full-Time and/or Part-Time?

A full-time practice for massage therapy is about 27 hours per week of actual massage.

7 percent work 1-17 hours per week

71percent work 17-30 hours per week

21 percent work 31-40 hours per week

1 percent work 40+ hours per week

How Many Years In the Profession?

Massage therapists have been working in the business for an average of 12 years. However, for most massage therapists, massage therapy was not their first career — 83 percent of massage therapists had other jobs before practicing massage therapy. Business, healthcare, and education related jobs are the most common careers therapists had before entering the massage industry.

38 percent worked in business prior to massage therapy

21 percent worked in healthcare

11 percent worked in education

6 percent worked in labor/trades

6 percent worked in art/design

6 percent worked in hospitality

5 percent worked in public service/government

3 percent worked in retail

3 percent worked in fitness

Source: AMTA Newsroom

NOTE: The information in this comparison has been gathered from the web sites of each organization and other third party sources. No guarantee or assurance is made by MMIP as to the accuracy or completeness of this information.