Basic Salary Information

• Massage therapists in Illinois earned $35,260 as a mean annual salary in 2010, according to the BLS. The national median salary was $34,900. The lowest-paid 10th percentile earned $17,970 or less, while the lowest-paid 25th percentile earned $24,220 or less. The highest-paid 75th percentile earned $51,410 or more, while the highest-paid 90th percentile earned $69,000 or more.
  
  

Hourly Wage

• Some massage therapists are paid by the hour. Massage therapists in Illinois earned a mean hourly wage of $16.95 in 2010, according to the BLS. The national mean hourly wage was $19.12, while the national median hourly wage was $16.78. The lowest-paid 10th percentile earned $8.64 an hour or less, while the lowest-paid 25th percentile earned $11.64 an hour or less. The highest-paid 75th percentile earned $24.72 or more, while the highest-paid 90th percentile earned $33.17 an hour or more.
  
  

Other States

• Illinois is not the highest-paying state for massage therapists. Massage therapists in Alaska earned the highest salaries in 2010, with a mean annual salary of $86,250. Those in Delaware earned a mean annual salary of $57,830, while those in New York earned a mean annual salary of $50,060. Massage therapists in Hawaii earned a mean annual salary of $38,340; those in California earned a mean annual salary of $38,910; while those in Florida earned a mean annual salary of $36,750.
  
  

Metropolitan Area

• Salaries for massage therapists vary by metropolitan area as well. Massage therapists in the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Illinois metropolitan division had the highest employment level by metropolitan area in 2010, with a mean annual salary of $35,510. Comparatively, those in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California metropolitan division earned a mean annual salary of $34,830, while those in the Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada metropolitan area earned a mean annual salary of $26,250.