The world is changing at such a rapid pace each day that it’s hard to keep up and our team has started reflecting on some of the common questions we get and see asked online about the massage industry in 2026, especially when it comes to salaries, and this post hits on that.
It’s important to note that the field of massage therapy when we first launched Burke Williams 40 years ago was in its infancy stage and it has been both a joy and honor to play a critical role in making the luxury day spa industry what it has become today. Taking everything we learned in the past and looking towards the future, below are our predictions:
Massage Therapist Salaries Will Continue to Rise
Aside from all salaries historically going up (along with home prices, cost of food, etc.) over decades we can only anticipate salaries for massage therapists across the United States and the world will rise in 2026. All of our luxury day spas are located in California so we’re only seeing one slice of the pie though the national and global impact will likely follow suit.
Increased Demand/Expectation for Additional Benefits
A big shift that’s happening now and will continue in 2026 is massage therapists not just looking at the dollar amount of a salary, but instead what additional benefits come with the role?
For example, instead of creating your own massage therapy business you decide to work for an established company with existing demand/guests because you want that safety and security which comes from pay (salary) along with additional benefits.
At Burke Williams we offer health and wellness benefits with medical, dental, vision, 401K, massages and chiropractic care for part-time as well as full-time employees aside from continued education.
Continued Education is Absolutely Critical
Massage therapists that view the field as their career/passion need to continue learning/growing by educating themselves on new massage techniques as well as trends in the industry. Lymphatic drainage and other more recent modalities are prime examples, and it’s important to keep up yet many times hard to spend time learning new techniques while you’re busy each day as well as the costs associated with getting certified.
Again, Burke Williams is innovating and we’re one of the first (or only) companies that provide massage services and also developed nationally-recognized certification programs that our team has full access to. This ultimately trickles down to giving our guests the best experiences possible.
In a nutshell, we are looking forward to 2026 especially when it comes to innovation/expansion and will be announcing more soon.
