Acupuncturists — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$76,040
United States, 2025
Employment
7,830
United States, 2025
Typical education
Master's Degree
Job Zone 5
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
Diagnose, treat, and prevent disorders by stimulating specific acupuncture points within the body using acupuncture needles. May also use cups, nutritional supplements, therapeutic massage, acupressure, and other alternative health therapies.
- O*NET code
- 29-1291.00
- Job zone
- 5
- Experience required
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years
Typical tasks
- Maintain and follow standard quality, safety, environmental, and infection control policies and procedures.
- Treat patients using tools, such as needles, cups, ear balls, seeds, pellets, or nutritional supplements.
- Adhere to local, state, and federal laws, regulations, and statutes.
- Identify correct anatomical and proportional point locations based on patients' anatomy and positions, contraindications, and precautions related to treatments, such as intradermal needles, moxibustion, electricity, guasha, or bleeding.
- Develop individual treatment plans and strategies.
- Insert needles to provide acupuncture treatment.
- Evaluate treatment outcomes and recommend new or altered treatments as necessary to further promote, restore, or maintain health.
- Collect medical histories and general health and lifestyle information from patients.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$38,830
25th percentile
$55,380
75th percentile
$102,280
90th percentile
$161,470
Most important skills
- Active Listening3.9
- Social Perceptiveness3.8
- Service Orientation3.8
- Critical Thinking3.8
- Speaking3.6
- Judgment and Decision Making3.5
- Complex Problem Solving3.3
- Monitoring3.3
- Reading Comprehension3.3
- Coordination3.1
- Active Learning3.1
- Writing3.1
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 13 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
13
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active Listening | 3.9 | 4.1 | Not selected | 4.1 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.8 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.8 | 3.8 | Not selected | 3.8 |
| Speaking | 3.6 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Service Orientation | 3.8 | 3.4 | Not selected | 3.4 |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.3 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.5 | 3.5 | Not selected | 3.5 |
| Monitoring | 3.3 | 3.5 | Not selected | 3.5 |
| Writing | 3.1 | 3.5 | Not selected | 3.5 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.3 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Coordination | 3.1 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Active Learning | 3.1 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Time Management | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
Related careers
Supplemental
National median $358,550
Compare with AcupuncturistsHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| TN | $141,430 | — | 2025 |
| NJ | $125,260 | 240 | 2025 |
| IN | $120,490 | 30 | 2025 |
| Boston, MA | $107,880 | — | 2025 |
| Baltimore, MD | $105,850 | — | 2025 |
| MD | $101,650 | — | 2025 |
| San Jose, CA | $101,390 | — | 2025 |
| Washington, DC | $100,920 | 160 | 2025 |
| New York, NY | $100,550 | 1,210 | 2025 |
| Atlanta, GA | $99,360 | — | 2025 |
| Seattle, WA | $98,240 | — | 2025 |
| MA | $93,360 | — | 2025 |
| Santa Cruz, CA | $91,350 | 50 | 2025 |
| Durham, NC | $89,990 | 90 | 2025 |
| MO | $89,000 | — | 2025 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $86,530 | — | 2025 |
| NY | $86,120 | 1,160 | 2025 |
| AZ | $85,300 | 70 | 2025 |
| Cincinnati, OH | $85,130 | 50 | 2025 |
| KY | $85,130 | 60 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Acupuncturists to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.