Speech Therapist Salary

Speech therapists employed in the United States generally report earning salaries in the range from $41,437 to $101,029 a year including bonuses based on the salary information provided by Payscale.

The basic annual salary for speech therapists is typically in the range from $39,392 to $78,315 and the yearly bonus earnings can amount to up to $1,976 based on Payscale’s salary data.



Professionals with the Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) earn a yearly income in the range from $43,706 to $80,537. Those with the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP) are generally paid an annual wage in the range between $40,254 and $87,700 according to Payscale’s salary data.

Speech therapists who specialize in speech pathology typically earn an annual pay in the range from $43,521 to $88,437.

Average salary

The average salary for speech therapists working in the United States is $63,397 a year according to Payscale, $65,347 according to Jobstat, $69,000 a year according to the data provided by HealthcareSalaryOnline.com, and $83,000 a year according to the data reported by Indeed. Jobstat reports that the median annual wage for speech therapists is $65,347. The highest yearly salary recorded for this profession is $103,043 and the lowest, $41,134 a year.

The average annual pay for bilingual speech therapists is $65,556 based on Jobstat’s salary data. The highest annual wage recorded for this occupation is $111,906 and the lowest, $45,835.

Salary range

Speech therapists’ annual pay can vary depending on a number of other factors, including work experience. Based on Payscale’s salary statistics, speech therapists with 1 to 4 years of experience generally earn an income in the range from $39,615 to $69,667 a year and those with 5 to 9 years of experience usually make between $42,797 and $76,761 annually. Professionals with 10 to 19 years of experience are generally paid between $30,913 and $95,988 a year and those with 20 or more years of work experience under their belt typically report earning a yearly income in the range from $57,573 to $118,359 according to Payscale.


Speech therapists’ salaries can also vary significantly from industry to industry. Professionals working in public K-12 education typically make between $38,978 and $89,396 a year, those employed in the rehabilitation sector are generally paid between $34,521 and $61,825 annually, and speech therapists working in the health care industry earn salaries in the range from $25,760 to $95,988 a year based on Payscale’s salary data.

Speech therapists working at speech language pathologists’ offices are generally paid between $42,500 and $57,391 a year and those working in the education sector typically earn an annual pay in the range from $44,406 to $50,971. Professionals working at nursing homes make between $58,326 and $69,948 a year and those employed at hospitals typically report earning a yearly income in the range from $38,974 to $65,000 according to Payscale.

Academic degree is another factor that can affect a speech therapist’s annual salary. Professionals with a Master of Science (MS) in Speech Pathology earn salaries in the range from $30,639 to $70,813 a year, those with a Master of Arts (MA) in Speech Pathology are generally paid between $39,211 and $117,446 annually, and speech therapists with a bachelor’s degree usually report earning an annual income in the range from $40,000 to $58,462.

Salary by state

Speech therapists’ annual pay depends on geographical location among other factors and can vary considerably from state to state. Therapists working in California typically earn salaries in the range from $40,205 to $117,446 a year, those based in Texas make between $40,268 and $79,463 a year and professionals employed in Pennsylvania are generally paid between $49,495 and $71,000 annually.



Speech therapists working in Florida typically make between $41,116 and $74,680 a year and those based in New York generally earn an income in the range from $38,660 to $63,871 a year.

Professionals employed in New Jersey make between $55,984 and $97,281 annually and those working in Louisiana typically report earning an annual pay in the range from $40,000 to $46,644 based on Payscale’s salary figures.

Salary by city

Speech therapists’ annual salaries also vary from city to city. Professionals based in Los Angeles earn $85,000 a year on average, those employed in Sacramento are paid around $82,000 annually, and speech therapists working in New York and San Francisco earn an average annual wage of $108,000 based on the salary figures reported by Indeed.

Professionals based in San Diego and St. Louis make $80,000 a year on average, those employed in Las Vegas are paid $65,000 a year on average, and speech therapists working in Indianapolis earn a median yearly salary of $68,000.

Speech therapists employed in Washington and Boston earn $99,000 a year on average, those working in Denver and Miami make $76,000 a year on average, and professionals based in Chicago earn an average annual income of $94,000. Therapists working in Detroit and Baltimore earn around $83,000 annually, those employed in Austin and Nashville are paid around $75,000 a year, and professionals based in New Orleans and Memphis make $72,000 a year on average.

Therapists based in Houston earn around $89,000 annually, those working in Dallas are paid around $81,000 a year, and professionals employed in San Antonio earn a median yearly income of $72,000 according to Indeed’s salary data.

Speech therapists employed in Atlanta earn $99,000 a year on average, those working in Seattle are paid $85,000 annually on average, and professionals based in Minneapolis are paid around $70,000 a year. Therapists working in Cleveland make $71,000 a year on average, those based in Pittsburgh are paid $68,000 a year on average, and professionals working in Santa Fe earn an average yearly salary of $86,000.

Starting salary

The average starting salary for speech therapists in their first year of practice is typically in the range from $25,342 to $59,180 a year based on the salary data reported by Payscale.

Hourly rate

The hourly rate for speech therapists varies depending on a wide range of factors, including work experience. Based on Payscale’s data, professionals with 1 to 4 years of experience generally make between $25.26 and $49.66 per hour and those with 5 to 9 years of experience are usually paid between $24.75 and $51.31 per hour. Speech therapists with 10 to 19 years of experience typically earn an hourly wage in the range from $24.96 to $68.12 and those with 20 or more years of experience are generally paid an hourly salary in the range from $35.37 to $55.03.

The hourly pay also varies from state to state. Speech therapists employed in Pennsylvania make between $25.17 and $89.40 per hour, those working in Texas are paid between $32.47 and $55.03 per hour, and professionals based in New York are typically offered an hourly rate in the range from $34.39 to $61.04 according to Payscale.

Speech therapists based in California earn an hourly pay in the range from $34.39 to $42.73 and those employed in Michigan typically make between $30.13 and $43.51 per hour. Professionals working in North Carolina generally earn between $27.50 and $50 per hour and those employed in Washington are paid between $28.83 and $32.43 per hour based on Payscale’s salary statistics.

The hourly salary can also vary depending on professional certification. Speech therapists with the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP) generally make between $25.56 and $51.63 per hour and those with the Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) earn an hourly salary in the range from $27.03 to $53.07 according to Payscale.

In terms of industry, speech therapists working in nursing homes generally earn between $26.66 and $44.25 per hour, those working in the health care industry are paid between $27.68 and $51.96 per hour, and professionals working in the rehabilitation sector earn an hourly pay in the range from $29.09 to $61.83. Professionals employed at speech therapists’ offices are generally paid between $24.75 and $73.97 per hour and those working in public K-12 education report earning an hourly wage in the range from $24.57 to $56.97 according to Payscale.

In terms of hospital setting, speech therapists working in extended care and nursing homes typically earn an hourly pay in the range from $26.50 to $43 and those employed at general hospitals make between $29.67 and $48.94 per hour. Professionals employed by schools are generally paid between $20 and $48.59 per hour and those working in community and home health earn an hourly wage in the range from $40.50 to $68.99 based on the salary information provided by Payscale.

The hourly rate for speech therapists also depends on the size of the company or organization that employs them. Professionals working for organizations with 1 to 9 employees typically make between $26.45 and $48.03 per hour, those working for organizations that employ between 10 and 49 people are generally paid between $27.80 and $58.50 per hour and speech therapists working for organizations that employ 50 to 199 people typically report being offered an hourly rate in the range from $34.39 to $59.01 based on Payscale’s salary data.

In terms of employer type, speech therapists who are self-employed generally make between $32 and $71.33 per hour and those working as contractors earn an hourly salary in the range from $34.39 to $50.87. Professionals employed by companies are generally paid between $26.18 and $59.20 per hour, those employed by private practices and firms make between $32.43 and $46.80 per hour, and speech therapists working for schools and school districts report being offered an hourly rate in the range from $20 to $45.

Speech therapists working at hospitals typically make between $24.90 and $48.48 per hour, those working for non-profit organizations are generally paid between $32.43 and $46.80 per hour, and professionals working for other organizations usually earn an hourly wage in the range from $25.50 to $43.04 according to the salary data reported by Payscale.

Based on the salary data reported by Jobstat, the median hourly salary for speech therapists working in the U.S. is $32.49. The highest hourly wage recorded for this occupation is $51.24 and the lowest, $20.45 per hour.

Bilingual speech therapists earn a median hourly wage of $32.60 based on Jobstat’s data. The highest hourly pay recorded for this profession is $55.65 and the lowest, $22.79 per hour.

The median hourly wage for speech therapists, as reported by HealthcareSalaryOnline.com, is $33.22 per hour. The 10% of the best paid speech therapists based in the U.S. earn $51 per hour or more and the 10% on the lower end of the pay scale make $21.28 per hour or less.

Benefits

Speech therapists typically get a variety of benefits along with their basic annual salary and bonus earnings, and their benefits packages can sometimes reflect their yearly income.

Speech therapists who have 401(k) plans earn an annual pay in the range from $40,000 to $71,939, those who have 403(b) plans are generally paid between $44,602 and $88,769 annually, and professionals who have life and disability insurance as part of their benefits package typically report earning salaries in the range from $39,211 to $88,769 a year.

Speech therapists who have paid sick leave generally make between $31,943 and $70,377 a year and those who have paid vacations and holidays usually earn between $39,262 and $74,497 a year. Professionals who get reimbursement for professional training, education, tuition, or certification earn a yearly income in the range from $48,980 to $69,496 and those who are allowed to dress casually at work are paid between $48,000 and $68,496 a year based on Payscale’s salary data.

The most popular perks and benefits among speech therapists are 401(k), paid vacation, life and disability insurance, paid sick leave, reimbursement for education and training, casual dress and atmosphere at work, and 403(b) plans.

Other income factors

These professionals’ annual income can vary considerably depending on the type of employer. Based on Payscale’s data, speech therapists employed by schools and school districts generally make between $39,113 and $81,094 a year, those employed by companies earn salaries in the range from $33,935 to $82,434 a year, and professionals employed by hospitals are generally paid between $37,745 and $80,537 annually.

Speech therapists working for private practices and firms earn an income in the range from $35,000 to $62,465 a year and those employed by non-profit organizations typically report earning an annual pay in the range from $49,000 to $62,000 based on the salary figures provided by Payscale.

Speech therapists’ salaries can also vary depending on the size of the company or organization that employs them. For example, speech therapists working for organizations that employ between 1 and 9 people typically earn between $40,547 and $78,906 a year and professionals working for organizations with 200 to 599 employees generally make between $44,300 and $57,000 a year according to Payscale’s salary data.

Hospital setting is another factor that can affect a speech therapist’s annual pay. Professionals working at schools generally earn salaries in the range from $38,170 to $71,490 a year, those working in extended care and nursing homes are usually paid between $30,000 and $60,000 annually, and speech therapists employed at general hospitals typically make between $45,500 and $80,000 a year.

Professionals employed at physicians’ offices and private practices generally earn an annual wage in the range from $44,219 to $66,054 and those working in community and home health earn a yearly income in the range from $42,500 to $67,500 according to Payscale.