Median pay for chiropractors runs from $37,430 in Southwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area to $120,440 in Sheboygan — a 3.22× range across 228 metropolitan areas. The national median of $79,200 sits inside that range but describes no particular market.
The top tenth of chiropractors earn $146,080 or more; the bottom tenth earn under $43,460. That is a 3.36× gap within the same occupation, in the same year. A spread this wide means the job title is not what determines pay — specialisation, employer type, seniority or book of business is. Expect the early years to sit near the bottom of the band rather than the middle, and treat the $79,200 median as a waypoint, not a destination.
Sheboygan (WI) leads and Southwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area () trails, but the gap is modest. For a role like this the more useful comparison is not between cities but between the 10th and 90th percentile within one — see the band above.
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheboygan WI | $120,440 | $57.90 | 2.01 | 30 |
| Anchorage AK | $118,080 | $56.77 | 1.11 | 50 |
| Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area | $116,420 | $55.97 | 1.97 | 70 |
| Green Bay WI | $115,380 | $55.47 | 1.55 | 70 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford CT | $113,560 | $54.59 | 0.56 | 90 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | $105,290 | $50.62 | 1.16 | 620 |
| Raleigh-Cary NC | $104,330 | $50.16 | 1.12 | 210 |
| Oklahoma City OK | $103,490 | $49.76 | 1.12 | 190 |
| Western North Carolina nonmetropolitan area | $103,270 | $49.65 | 1.11 | 70 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom CA | $103,090 | $49.56 | 0.46 | 130 |
| Huntsville AL | $102,560 | $49.31 | 1.17 | 80 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler AZ | $102,110 | $49.09 | 1.37 | 830 |
| Appleton WI | $101,410 | $48.76 | 1.8 | 60 |
| Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh NY | $100,900 | $48.51 | 0.68 | 50 |
| Asheville NC | $100,850 | $48.49 | 1.08 | 50 |
| Northeast Alabama nonmetropolitan area | $100,620 | $48.38 | 0.84 | 30 |
| Toledo OH | $100,540 | $48.34 | 0.77 | 60 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson MD | $100,410 | $48.27 | 0.67 | 230 |
| Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard WA | $100,400 | $48.27 | 1.33 | 30 |
| Greensboro-High Point NC | $100,310 | $48.22 | 0.64 | 60 |
| Medford OR | $100,170 | $48.16 | 1.32 | 30 |
| Springfield MA | $100,130 | $48.14 | 1.18 | 60 |
| Salem OR | $99,360 | $47.77 | 1.04 | 50 |
| Jacksonville FL | $99,280 | $47.73 | 1.08 | 210 |
| Portland-South Portland ME | $99,210 | $47.70 | 1.68 | 120 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area | $37,430 | $18.00 | 1.42 | 40 |
| Upper Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area | $44,190 | $21.25 | 2.2 | 60 |
| Kansas nonmetropolitan area | $46,640 | $22.42 | 1.58 | 150 |
| Southwest Missouri nonmetropolitan area | $46,890 | $22.54 | 1.51 | 30 |
| Missoula MT | $49,550 | $23.82 | 2.47 | 40 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad CA | $51,990 | $25.00 | 1.63 | 640 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell GA | $52,000 | $25.00 | 1.44 | 1,060 |
| Youngstown-Warren OH | $52,890 | $25.43 | 0.83 | 30 |
| Provo-Orem-Lehi UT | $53,450 | $25.70 | 1.18 | 90 |
| Ogden UT | $53,490 | $25.72 | 0.99 | 70 |
Bismarck has 5.96× the national concentration of chiropractors — the densest market in the country for this role, with 110 employed locally. Pay there is $77,990, which does not put it near the top of the pay table. Concentration and compensation are different things — a dense market is easier to get hired in and easier to move around within, but the competition that makes it dense also caps what employers need to offer.
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bismarck ND | $77,990 | $37.49 | 5.96 | 110 |
| Iowa City IA | $77,970 | $37.49 | 4.26 | 100 |
| Cedar Rapids IA | $77,460 | $37.24 | 3.55 | 130 |
| North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota FL | $91,980 | $44.22 | 3.32 | 290 |
| Northeast Iowa nonmetropolitan area | $66,830 | $32.13 | 3.19 | 80 |
| Eau Claire WI | $88,160 | $42.39 | 3.1 | 70 |
| Fargo ND-MN | $79,650 | $38.29 | 3.05 | 120 |
| West Montana nonmetropolitan area | $77,320 | $37.17 | 2.9 | 60 |
| East North Dakota nonmetropolitan area | $60,870 | $29.27 | 2.66 | 40 |
| Prescott Valley-Prescott AZ | $78,190 | $37.59 | 2.63 | 50 |
| West South Dakota nonmetropolitan area | $76,100 | $36.59 | 2.62 | 40 |
| Cape Coral-Fort Myers FL | $66,670 | $32.05 | 2.53 | 200 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN | $72,440 | $34.83 | 1.28 | 1,470 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX | $97,580 | $46.91 | 1.08 | 1,110 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell GA | $52,000 | $25.00 | 1.44 | 1,060 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA-NJ-DE-MD | $79,450 | $38.20 | 1.18 | 870 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler AZ | $102,110 | $49.09 | 1.37 | 830 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI | $98,630 | $47.42 | 1.62 | 810 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial CO | $84,100 | $40.43 | 1.83 | 750 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater FL | $78,000 | $37.50 | 2.02 | 740 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad CA | $51,990 | $25.00 | 1.63 | 640 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | $105,290 | $50.62 | 1.16 | 620 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach FL | $97,300 | $46.78 | 0.84 | 610 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $75,940 | $36.51 | 0.82 | 570 |
Figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, May 2025 release, SOC code 29-1011. OEWS surveys employers, so it reports what is actually paid rather than what job advertisements claim, and it excludes the self-employed. Estimates are published for 228 of 528 metropolitan areas; the remaining 300 had too few survey responses for BLS to publish without risking disclosure, so they are absent here rather than estimated. For a specialised role that is normal. Read the methodology.