How much does a chiropractor make?
A chiropractor makes $79,200 at the national median, and the middle half earn $60,070 to $105,050.[onet_chiro] The mean, $90,520, is $11,320 above the median: a smaller group of high earners pulls the average up, the reverse of the pattern for most physician specialties.[oews_api]
| Pay level | Annual | Hourly | Take-home* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (average) | $90,520 | $43.52 | $72,511 |
| 10th | $43,460 | $20.89 | $37,100 |
| 25th | $60,070 | $28.88 | $50,446 |
| Median (50th) | $79,200 | $38.08 | $64,547 |
| 75th | $105,050 | $50.50 | $82,733 |
| 90th | $146,080 | $70.23 | $111,112 |
*Single filer, 2026 federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare (with the 0.9% surtax over $200,000); before state tax.
One caveat matters more for chiropractors than for almost any other career on this site. The BLS wage survey does not include the self-employed, so chiropractors who own their practice are not in these numbers.[oews_tec] The figures describe employed chiropractors, such as associates in group practices and chiropractors on staff at clinics, and BLS counted 39,630 of those jobs.[oews_api]
Chiropractor salary per hour
Chiropractor pay works out to $38.08 an hour at the median, $20.89 at the 10th percentile and $70.23 at the 90th.[oews_faq] These are annual salaries divided by 2,080 hours, not measured per-visit or per-adjustment rates.
Chiropractor salary by state
New Jersey has the highest average chiropractor pay at $126,020, ahead of New York ($124,630) and Alaska ($120,280). The lowest published mean is Utah's $62,900.[oews_api] No May 2025 figure for Delaware, District of Columbia, Vermont.
| State | Mean | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. New Jersey | $126,020 | $134,990 | $78,690 | $154,160 | 1,370 |
| 2. New York | $124,630 | $120,950 | $63,240 | $215,640 | 1,360 |
| 3. Alaska | $120,280 | $103,500 | $88,010 | $161,080 | 90 |
| 4. Oklahoma | $115,550 | $85,580 | $44,990 | $262,620 | 500 |
| 5. Maine | $108,320 | $107,300 | $51,740 | $168,200 | 250 |
| 6. North Carolina | $106,140 | $91,540 | $47,020 | $161,720 | 1,020 |
| 7. Washington | $102,930 | $104,070 | $62,630 | $137,480 | 1,130 |
| 8. Wisconsin | $101,880 | $83,020 | $57,740 | $166,520 | 1,210 |
| 9. Rhode Island | $101,430 | $81,840 | $65,400 | $199,990 | 170 |
| 10. California | $101,190 | $75,470 | $51,990 | $179,230 | 2,760 |
| 11. Oregon | $98,660 | $81,540 | $58,250 | $130,910 | 610 |
| 12. West Virginia | $98,370 | $83,160 | $52,350 | $157,050 | 60 |
| 13. Louisiana | $97,160 | $80,280 | $46,190 | $169,720 | 370 |
| 14. Minnesota | $96,610 | $79,510 | $46,250 | $172,610 | 1,160 |
| 15. Texas | $96,420 | $87,520 | $51,850 | $146,080 | 2,840 |
| 16. Mississippi | $94,280 | $78,450 | $47,510 | $198,260 | 130 |
| 17. Massachusetts | $93,800 | $75,940 | $53,520 | $155,580 | 780 |
| 18. New Hampshire | $92,250 | $69,990 | $26,240 | $218,990 | 130 |
| 19. Arizona | $92,100 | $100,260 | $58,470 | $120,130 | 1,050 |
| 20. Florida | $91,920 | $84,280 | $51,990 | $130,410 | 3,220 |
| 21. Alabama | $91,340 | $80,990 | $51,850 | $155,260 | 430 |
| 22. Virginia | $89,310 | $88,030 | $37,330 | $151,790 | 900 |
| 23. Maryland | $88,690 | $85,330 | $47,940 | $123,000 | 390 |
| 24. Tennessee | $87,960 | $83,990 | $60,560 | $117,950 | 500 |
| 25. South Carolina | $87,310 | $79,310 | $44,930 | $126,460 | 680 |
| 26. Missouri | $86,830 | $65,090 | $48,140 | $156,000 | 660 |
| 27. Ohio | $86,340 | $77,710 | $43,460 | $160,670 | 1,380 |
| 28. Connecticut | $85,900 | $79,560 | $36,800 | $134,840 | 240 |
| 29. Kentucky | $85,450 | $81,740 | $36,510 | $118,620 | 470 |
| 30. Nebraska | $85,010 | $66,050 | $44,700 | $121,960 | 500 |
| 31. South Dakota | $84,230 | $76,210 | $58,770 | $113,180 | 260 |
| 32. Indiana | $83,540 | $77,790 | $43,850 | $119,990 | 780 |
| 33. Hawaii | $83,320 | $72,800 | $59,800 | $109,060 | 220 |
| 34. North Dakota | $81,020 | $77,990 | $35,490 | $136,340 | 360 |
| 35. New Mexico | $80,610 | $75,040 | $30,980 | $127,460 | 140 |
| 36. Idaho | $79,850 | $80,770 | $58,730 | $91,640 | 220 |
| 37. Wyoming | $79,840 | $62,640 | $49,330 | $129,460 | 110 |
| 38. Michigan | $78,200 | $71,220 | $42,400 | $126,500 | 1,270 |
| 39. Illinois | $77,220 | $66,650 | $37,630 | $136,330 | 2,190 |
| 40. Arkansas | $76,900 | $76,290 | $27,040 | $112,910 | 320 |
| 41. Montana | $76,560 | $76,120 | $35,610 | $129,440 | 240 |
| 42. Nevada | $75,370 | $74,190 | $51,690 | $96,920 | 240 |
| 43. Pennsylvania | $73,180 | $67,230 | $34,770 | $113,640 | 1,770 |
| 44. Iowa | $72,750 | $75,050 | $35,990 | $122,740 | 970 |
| 45. Colorado | $69,390 | $74,040 | $32,990 | $101,650 | 1,340 |
| 46. Kansas | $66,520 | $57,600 | $37,250 | $122,120 | 570 |
| 47. Georgia | $64,700 | $61,660 | $21,530 | $123,100 | 1,500 |
| 48. Utah | $62,900 | $53,900 | $29,990 | $103,500 | 490 |
Jobs: BLS OEWS employment estimate, May 2025. “—”: not released. No May 2025 wage estimate for Delaware, District of Columbia, Vermont.
Download all chiropractor wages as CSV (nation, 51 states and every published metro area: mean, 10th–90th percentiles, jobs)
| Area | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $130,870 | $79,100 | $215,640 |
| 2. Sheboygan, WI | $120,440 | $62,970 | $158,880 |
| 3. Anchorage, AK | $118,080 | $74,680 | $193,860 |
| 4. Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area | $116,420 | $50,970 | $139,940 |
| 5. Green Bay, WI | $115,380 | $55,710 | $159,080 |
| 6. Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | $113,560 | $39,990 | $134,840 |
| 7. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $105,290 | $79,100 | $122,730 |
| 8. Raleigh-Cary, NC | $104,330 | $47,380 | $308,850 |
| 9. Oklahoma City, OK | $103,490 | $63,800 | $344,740 |
| 10. Western North Carolina nonmetropolitan area | $103,270 | $46,740 | $136,900 |
O*NET OnLine republication of BLS May 2025 metro estimates. Small areas rest on few employers.
Chiropractor vs podiatrist, optometrist and PA pay
Chiropractors earn less than the other doctoral-level clinicians outside medicine: podiatrists have a median of $160,300, optometrists $136,570 and physician assistants $135,880.[oews_api] Podiatrists also complete a 3-year residency after the DPM degree, which chiropractors do not.[ooh_pod]
Compare chiropractor pay
BLS May 2025Mean, every published percentile, take-home and job count side by side, nationally or in one state.
United States · BLS May 2025
Podiatrists average $84,960 more a year (93.9%).
| Pay | Chiropractor | Podiatrist | A − B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | $90,520 | $175,480 | −$84,960 |
| 10th | $43,460 | $66,010 | −$22,550 |
| 25th | $60,070 | $103,730 | −$43,660 |
| Median | $79,200 | $160,300 | −$81,100 |
| 75th | $105,050 | $225,910 | −$120,860 |
| 90th | $146,080 | $309,670 | −$163,590 |
| Take-home at mean† | $72,511 | $131,207 | −$58,696 |
| Jobs (BLS) | 39,630 | 9,680 |
†Single filer, 2026 federal tax and FICA, no state tax.
Estimate, not a job offer. BLS survey estimates for employees in May 2025. Practice owners, partnership distributions and locum tenens pay are not included.
For those careers in detail see optometrist salary and physician assistant salary.
Chiropractic school: length and loans
Chiropractors earn a Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) degree, a program of about four years that follows at least three years of undergraduate study, and must pass state licensing; BLS projects employment to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035.[ooh_chiro] Chiropractic is on the federal list of professional degrees, so from July 1, 2026 new students can borrow up to $50,000 a year and $200,000 in total in Direct Unsubsidized loans at 8.07% for 2026–27.[fr_rule][fsa_limits][fsa] Against a $79,200 median salary, a large balance takes a big share of pay: run your own numbers in the school cost and loan calculator (set the category to professional), and see where physicians land on doctor salary.
Why chiropractor salary figures range so widely
Salary figures for chiropractors differ between websites mainly because they use different years, different averages and different groups of workers. Check these six things before comparing any number with the BLS figures on this page.[oews_tec][oews_faq]
| Check | This page (BLS) | Why other figures differ |
|---|---|---|
| Which year? | BLS May 2025 estimates, released May 2026 | Older pages quote May 2023 or May 2024 data, or a survey year they do not name. |
| Median or mean? | Median $79,200, mean $90,520 ($11,320 apart) | A page that says “average” may mean either; for chiropractors the two differ by 14.3%. |
| Who is counted? | 39,630 wage-and-salary chiropractors | BLS leaves out self-employed owners paid from practice profits; owner surveys and job-ad sites count different people. |
| Top of the range | 90th percentile $146,080 | All four figures are below the old $239,200 top-code, so older BLS pages are comparable apart from the year. |
| Hourly figures | $38.08 at the median | BLS divides annual pay by 2,080 hours; it is not a measured shift or per-visit rate. |
| Range used | $43,460 (10th) to $146,080 (90th) | A single “typical” number hides a spread of this size; compare an offer with the percentiles, not one figure. |
Frequently asked questions
How much does a chiropractor make a year?
$79,200 at the U.S. median and $90,520 on average for employed chiropractors (BLS, May 2025). Practice owners are not in the survey.
How much does a chiropractor make an hour?
$38.08 at the median on a 2,080-hour year.
What state pays chiropractors the most?
New Jersey (mean $126,020), followed by New York and Alaska.
How long is chiropractic school?
The D.C. program takes about four years after at least three years of college, per the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Sources
- Local Wages: 29-1011.00 Chiropractor (national, state and metro percentiles)
- OEWS May 2025 employment, mean and percentile wage series (OEUN/OEUS), Public Data API v2
- Technical Notes for May 2025 OEWS Estimates (scope: wage and salary workers; self-employed excluded)
- OEWS Frequently Asked Questions: changes in wage data processing (specific estimates above the $239,200 boundary from May 2025); 2,080-hour year
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Podiatrists
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Chiropractors
- Federal Student Loan Program Final Regulations: definition of professional student and degree list (FR Doc. 2026-08556)
- Frequently Asked Questions: Loan Limits (Working Families Tax Cuts Act)
- Interest Rates for Federal Direct Loans First Disbursed Between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2027