Explore national salary, projected growth, education requirements, and career opportunities across the United States.
A concise view of this occupation’s national scale, compensation, and projected demand.
National median annual wage for this occupation.
Estimated jobs currently supported nationwide.
Projected employment change through 2034.
Estimated openings created each year.
The typical education, prior experience, and on-the-job training associated with entry into this career.
Master's degree
None
Internship/residency
These are the highest-rated capabilities associated with success in this occupation. Scores are derived from occupational skill analysis and are measured on a 100-point scale.
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Explore the states and metropolitan areas offering the strongest combination of salary, employment, demand, and long-term opportunity.
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Understand the salary, outlook, education, and geographic opportunities shaping this career.
Marriage and family therapists support individuals, couples, and families using a blend of interpersonal, communication, and analytical skills. This occupation employs about 78,000 people nationwide, with a national median annual salary of $63,780. The field is projected to grow by 12.6%, with around 8,000 openings each year, indicating consistent hiring needs across the country. Typical roles in this career call for strong speaking and listening abilities, problem solving and decision making, and emotional adaptability when working with diverse clients and situations. Writing and reading, critical and analytical thinking, and creativity and innovation also play an important part in the work. For people interested in mental health–related paths, similar alternatives include clinical and counseling psychologists, various counselor roles, other psychologist careers, healthcare social workers, and educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors. Overall, marriage and family therapy offers a structured professional path with defined education expectations and measurable national demand.
Marriage and family therapists earn a national median annual salary of $63,780, with notable variation by location. Among the top states, Virginia shows a higher median salary of $79,900, while California, Massachusetts, New York, and Colorado range from $60,700 to $67,370. At the metro level, earnings can be substantially higher. The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area reports a median salary of $95,460, and the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro is close behind at $95,110. The New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro also offers a median of $91,130. Other strong metros, such as Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA and Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, provide median salaries of $71,110 and $69,830, respectively. These figures suggest that therapists who are geographically flexible, particularly toward certain metros or higher-paying states, may access stronger earning potential over time.
Marriage and family therapists have a national employment base of about 78,000 positions and are projected to see 12.6% employment growth. This projected growth, paired with approximately 8,000 annual openings, points to ongoing opportunities for both new entrants and experienced professionals seeking job transitions within the field. The combination of growth and recurring openings may reflect both new positions and the need to replace workers who retire or move into other occupations. In the top states and metro areas highlighted, the projected growth rate is also listed as 12.6%, indicating consistency with the national growth figure in those locations. For individuals planning a long-term career, this alignment between current employment size, projected expansion, and a steady number of openings each year supports the idea that marriage and family therapy can offer a relatively stable path for those who complete the necessary education and build the core skills used in this work.
Location makes a meaningful difference for marriage and family therapists, both in job concentration and pay. Among states, California stands out with 34,970 employed therapists and a median salary of $67,300, paired with an opportunity score of 67.38. Virginia offers the highest listed state median salary at $79,900 and an opportunity score of 54.96, with 930 employed. Massachusetts, New York, and Colorado have smaller employment counts, ranging from 600 to 900, but still show opportunity scores between 56.97 and 65.87. At the metro level, opportunities can be particularly strong. The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA and New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metros both have opportunity scores above 77, with median salaries above $91,000. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV also combines high pay and a solid opportunity score. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA has the largest listed metro employment at 13,200 and a median salary of $71,110. These differences give job seekers options to balance salary, job numbers, and opportunity scores when choosing where to work.
Marriage and family therapists typically need a master’s degree, which shapes this career as a graduate-level path. This advanced education supports the development of key skills that are especially important in the role. Interpersonal skills, speaking and listening, and customer service are central to working directly with clients in a therapeutic setting. Problem solving and decision making, along with critical and analytical thinking, help therapists evaluate situations and consider possible approaches. Adaptability is valuable as client needs and circumstances change over time. Writing and reading support accurate documentation and understanding of relevant materials, while creativity and innovation can assist in developing tailored strategies and approaches. Competence with computers and information technology, as well as a grounding in science, rounds out the skill profile. Students considering this career can use these skill areas to gauge their fit and to focus their development during a master’s program and early work experiences.
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