What are the compensation and salary trends in the chiropractic industry? Find out what chiropractors make across the U.S., according to recent surveys.
Whether you’re a recent chiropractic graduate just launching your career, or a seasoned chiropractor focused on an expanding practice, it’s an important question: “What kind of salaries are my peers making?”
There are no simple answers, because there are so many ranges and exceptions. It depends on where you live and work, of course, along with your experience and focus of practice. But we still have some answers. Based on a few different resources, here is a snapshot of chiropractic salaries in the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
For our first dive into finding out what chiropractors are making these days, we went straight to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and its Occupational Employment & Wages, May 2017. Estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. They do not, however, include self-employed workers.
According to the latest BLS statistics, the Mean average wage for a chiropractor is $83,350, and the Median wage is $68,640. The lowest 10th percentile of chiropractors earn $34,550, while DCs in the 75th percentile earn $98,040, with the top 90th percentile earning $144,730.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation and their annual mean wages include:
- Offices of other health practitioners: $82,450
- Offices of physicians: $100,570
- General medical and surgical hospitals: $68,250
- Employment services: $81,860
- Outpatient care centers: $75,300
Top paying states for chiropractors and annual mean wages:
- Rhode Island: $147,900
- Tennessee: $122,620
- Connecticut: $113,130
- Alaska: $106,600
- Colorado: $99,350
To see more statistics, like the top paying metropolitan areas for chiropractors, visit the BLS website.
Payscale
According to Payscale, chiropractors earn an average salary of $60,594 per year. Skills that are associated with high pay for this job are Nutrition Support, Patient Education, and Nutrition. This information is generated from user data on May 13, 2018, with 1,679 reporting chiropractic salaries ranging from $37,285 – $121,271 with additional benefits, to $36,210 – $117,745 without benefits.
The Median salary was $59,898, and the average self-employed chiropractor made $98,624 per year. Chiropractors with 0-5 years of experience were making an average total compensation of $59,000, and those with 20+ years under their belts were making an average total compensation of $80,000.
Chiropractic Economics
In Chiropractic Economics’ 20th Annual Salary & Expense Survey, which is a result of more than 500 responses, there was an increase in the average salary of DCs across all practice types. It also showed that DCs are changing the traditional models of practice to bring in more patients, thereby increasing their total compensation and salary. Of particular note, higher compensation and salaries are increasingly realized in practices that are diversified, and add specialists and other extras for patients.
Survey respondents were doctors between 25 – 75 years old, with years of experience ranging from less than a year to over 30 years. The average respondent was:
- Male (only 20 percent of respondents were female)
- 48 years old
- A solo practitioner (59 percent)
- Licensed in one state
- Owns one clinic
- Prefers to practice in the suburbs (51 percent)
- Employs four individuals in the clinic (two of whom work full time)
- Sees 131 patients each week
- Has a patient-visit average (PVA) of 30
- Attracts seven new patients each week,
- Sees patients about 35 hours a week
- Has average billings of $608,564 and collections of $436,705 for a reimbursement rate of 73 percent
- Sells products to patients for 8 percent of gross revenues
- Pays their CAs $30,400 and themself $101,734
- Enjoys average total compensation of $136,971
Finally, this typical respondent spends roughly $24,000 on office leases or mortgages, $15,400 on advertising, and $2,915 on malpractice insurance.
A Final Thought
ACOM Health’s expertise is in helping practices change and adapt in order to bring in more patients and make more money. That’s because when chiropractors partner with us, our software and billing services improve the billing process, increase accounts receivables, and free up valuable time, allowing doctors and office managers to focus on what matters: their patients.
If you’d like to find out more about the benefits of partnering with ACOM Health, call us at 866-286-5315. We’d love to help.