US College Programs

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

  • 5 programs report first-year pay
  • 5 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 Virginia massage therapy certificate program pays its graduates $19,899 in their first year, $677 less than the national median. ECPI University reports the highest first-year pay ($27,930), and Columbia College (Virginia) the lowest median debt ($4,665).

Median first-year pay$19,899National $20,576
Median pay after 5 years$26,383National $25,081
Median federal debt$7,389National $8,567
Debt-to-earnings28%National 41%

All 5 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.

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

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

  1. ECPI University$27,930
  2. Northern Virginia School of Therapeutic Massage$27,082
  3. Cayce/Reilly School of Massage$19,899
  4. Columbia College (Virginia)$17,237
  5. Centura College-Chesapeake$14,301

Lowest median debt

  1. Columbia College (Virginia)$4,665
  2. Northern Virginia School of Therapeutic Massage$6,333
  3. Cayce/Reilly School of Massage$7,389
  4. ECPI University$7,916
  5. Centura College-Chesapeake$8,021

Lowest debt for the pay

  1. Northern Virginia School of Therapeutic Massage23%
  2. Columbia College (Virginia)27%
  3. ECPI University28%
  4. Cayce/Reilly School of Massage37%
  5. Centura College-Chesapeake56%

"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 Virginia

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

Massage Therapists

$62,220

Median pay in Virginia. 2,730 people work in this job in Virginia. 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%: $38,070Top 10%: $119,570

Common questions

ECPI University in Virginia Beach reports the highest median first-year pay, $27,930. Its median federal debt is $7,916.

Related pages

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 Virginia 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

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