Occupation salary profile

Marriage and Family Therapists

SOC 21-1013 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

Diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders, whether cognitive, affective, or behavioral, within the context of marriage and family systems. Apply psychotherapeutic and family systems theories and techniques in the delivery of services to individuals, couples, and families for the purpose of treating such diagnosed nervous and mental disorders. Excludes “Psychologists” (19-3032 through 19-3039) and “Social Workers” (21-1020).

National median · BLS
$66,940
▲ +4.95% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$69,867
▲ +1.77% YoY · 47 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$76,960
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
66,740
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.

Pay range for Marriage and Family Therapists

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 47 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS) H-1B sponsored
10th — entry pay$44,650$42,000
25th$50,070$60,000
Median (50th)$66,940$69,867
75th$93,840$82,046
90th — top pay$123,730$99,200
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $69,867 for Marriage and Family Therapists — 4.4% above the BLS national median of $66,940.

Hourly ⇄ annual pay

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Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Marriage and Family Therapists

BLS projects employment of marriage and family therapists to grow 13.5% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 6,900 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
76,300 → 86,600
+10,300 jobs
Projected change
+13.5%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
6,900
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Master's degree
No related experience required
On-the-job training
Internship/residency
Self-employed
10.9% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 5)
Extensive Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Fastest-growing jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a master's degree →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

H-1B sponsored pay

Pay by H-1B wage level

Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.

H-1B median $69,867
Change vs prior year +1.77%
After inflation (CPI-U) -1.32%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 10 21.3% $41,528 $42,000 $56,488
Level II 14 29.8% $60,600 $64,200 $69,867
Level III 11 23.4% $69,164 $78,208 $85,000
Skills & tools

Skills needed for Marriage and Family Therapists

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Active Listening4.8
  • Social Perceptiveness4.4
  • Speaking4.3
  • Service Orientation4.1
  • Complex Problem Solving4.0
  • Judgment and Decision Making4.0
  • Reading Comprehension4.0
  • Active Learning3.9
  • Critical Thinking3.9
  • Monitoring3.9
Top knowledge areas
  • Therapy and Counseling4.9
  • Psychology4.8
  • Sociology and Anthropology4.1
  • Customer and Personal Service3.9
  • English Language3.9
  • Education and Training3.5
  • Administrative3.1
  • Philosophy and Theology2.9
Software and technology used
ZoomGoogle MeetIntuit QuickBooksMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft TeamsMicrosoft WordAdvantage Software Psych AdvantageAmerican Medical Billing Software PMAAnasazi Software Client Data SystemBeaver Creek Software The THERAPISTBlueberry Harbor Software Clinical Record KeeperCare Paths eRecordCasamba SmartCornucopia Software Practice MAGIC

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What marriage and family therapists do

  • Ask questions that will help clients identify their feelings and behaviors.
  • Encourage individuals and family members to develop and use skills and strategies for confronting their problems in a constructive manner.
  • Develop and implement individualized treatment plans addressing family relationship problems, destructive patterns of behavior, and other personal issues.
  • Maintain case files that include activities, progress notes, evaluations, and recommendations.
  • Counsel clients on concerns, such as unsatisfactory relationships, divorce and separation, child rearing, home management, or financial difficulties.
  • Determine whether clients should be counseled or referred to other specialists in such fields as medicine, psychiatry, or legal aid.
  • Supervise other counselors, social service staff, and assistants.
  • Confer with other counselors, doctors, and professionals to analyze individual cases and to coordinate counseling services.
Also called
Family TherapistLMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist)Marriage and Family CounselorTherapistClinical TherapistCouple and Family TherapistFamily SpecialistLCMFT (Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist)Multisystemic TherapistPlay Therapist
More job titles for this occupation (13)
ABA Behavior Therapist (Applied Behavior Analysis Behavior Therapist)Child and Adolescent TherapistChild and Family CounselorChild and Family TherapistCouples TherapistFamily CounselorFamily Service CounselorFamily Services CounselorLicensed Clinical TherapistLicensed TherapistMarriage CounselorMarriage TherapistMilitary and Family Life Counselor

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.