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Massage Therapists pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and Fairbanks-College, AK
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Massage Therapists is $61,200 per year in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN. It is $130,590 per year in Fairbanks-College, AK. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is 53.1% below Fairbanks-College, AK on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 31-9011 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 3,890 wage and salary jobs in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and 50 in Fairbanks-College, AK. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings