Which California massage therapy program has the lowest debt?

Milan Institute-Visalia reports the lowest median federal debt, $7,916, with first-year pay of $22,774.

How much do massage therapy graduates earn in California?

The median across 13 California massage therapy certificate programs is $17,997 in the first year after graduating and $20,006 five years after. Massage therapists in California earn a median of $45,970 across all experience levels.

How many massage therapy certificate programs are in California?

13 California programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 9 of them also report federal debt.

Massage Therapy (Certificate) Programs in California, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

13 programs report first-year pay
9 also report federal debt
Certificate in Somatic Bodywork and Related Therapeutic Services

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median California massage therapy certificate program pays its graduates $17,997 in their first year, $2,579 less than the national median. Mayfield College reports the highest first-year pay ($25,111), and Milan Institute-Visalia the lowest median debt ($7,916).

Median first-year pay$17,997National $20,576

Median pay after 5 years$20,006National $25,081

Median federal debt$9,500National $8,567

Debt-to-earnings53%National 41%

All 13 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Mayfield CollegeCathedral City · private for-profit	$25,111	$16,845	$9,025	36%
2	Milan Institute-VisaliaVisalia · private for-profit	$22,774	$28,878	$7,916	35%
3	Pacific College of Health and ScienceSan Diego · private for-profit	$21,955	$26,922	$12,271	56%
4	American Career College-OntarioOntario · private for-profit	$21,533	$23,215	$9,500	44%
5	Downey Adult SchoolDowney · public	$19,464	$18,617	Not reported	Not reported
6	National Holistic InstituteEmeryville · private for-profit	$18,613	$23,871	$9,500	51%
7	Southern California Health InstituteNorth Hollywood · private for-profit	$17,997	$19,016	$9,500	53%
8	North-West College-West CovinaWest Covina · private for-profit	$16,026	Not reported	$9,500	59%
9	Healing Hands School of Holistic HealthEscondido · private for-profit	$15,667	$13,993	$9,476	60%
10	Southern California University of Health SciencesWhittier · private nonprofit	$14,378	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
11	California Healing Arts CollegeCarson · private for-profit	$11,231	Not reported	$9,500	85%
12	Milan Institute-Palm DesertPalm Desert · private for-profit	$11,065	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
13	International School of BeautyPalm Desert · private for-profit	$8,864	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported

Downey Adult School, Southern California University of Health Sciences, Milan Institute-Palm Desert, and International School of Beauty report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay. One more program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every California massage therapy program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the California medians.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 9 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Mayfield College$25,111
Milan Institute-Visalia$22,774
Pacific College of Health and Science$21,955
American Career College-Ontario$21,533
Downey Adult School$19,464

Lowest median debt

Milan Institute-Visalia$7,916
Mayfield College$9,025
Healing Hands School of Holistic Health$9,476
American Career College-Ontario$9,500
National Holistic Institute$9,500

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

What massage therapists earn in California

Pay for massage therapists in California, across all experience levels, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Massage Therapists

$45,970

Median pay in California. 14,600 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 15% from 2025 to 2035, with about 20,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.

Bottom 10%: $34,320Top 10%: $89,880

Common questions

Mayfield College in Cathedral City reports the highest median first-year pay, $25,111. Its median federal debt is $9,025.

Massage Therapy (Certificate) programs in the US, ranked184 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of California rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the massage therapy certificate programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024