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If you're exploring what are some health care careers that blend hands-on patient work with sports science, athletic training is probably on your radar. But before you commit years of education and clinical hours, you deserve an honest look at the athletic training average salary — and more importantly, how it compares to the compensation you'd earn in closely related roles. I've spent years helping healthcare job seekers navigate exactly these kinds of decisions on healthcareers.app, and one thing I've learned is that salary context is everything. A number in isolation doesn't tell you whether you're being fairly compensated or whether a lateral move might dramatically change your earning potential.
In this post, I'm going to break down what athletic trainers typically earn, examine the factors that push that number up or down, and then compare compensation across six related healthcare careers so you can make the most informed decision possible.
Athletic trainers are licensed healthcare professionals who specialize in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for athletic trainers has consistently landed in the mid-$50,000s in recent years, though this figure can vary significantly based on setting, experience, and geography.
Here's what I want you to understand: median is not the ceiling. Athletic trainers working in professional sports, large hospital systems, or performing arts organizations often earn considerably more than the median. Conversely, those in entry-level positions at high schools or small colleges may earn below it.
Salary comparisons only work when you're looking at roles with similar education requirements, scope of practice, and daily responsibilities. I've selected six careers that share meaningful overlap with athletic training — whether in patient population, physical rehabilitation focus, or educational pathway. Let's walk through each one.
Physical therapists earn a significantly higher median salary than athletic trainers, with BLS data consistently placing PT median wages well above $90,000 annually. However, the trade-off is substantial: physical therapy requires a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree, which typically takes three years of graduate study beyond a bachelor's degree. Athletic trainers now require a master's degree as well (as of the 2023 CAATE requirement), but the total educational investment is still generally less than for PTs. If salary is your primary driver, PT offers a clear advantage — but the additional student debt and years of schooling must factor into your calculation.
Occupational therapists also out-earn athletic trainers on average, with median salaries that BLS data places in the mid-$90,000 range. OTs focus on helping patients perform daily living activities after injury, illness, or disability. The education requirement is similar to physical therapy — a master's or doctoral degree. The patient populations differ meaningfully, though: if your passion is specifically sports injury and performance optimization, OT may feel less aligned with your interests despite the higher pay.
Exercise physiologists typically earn slightly less than athletic trainers on average. BLS data has historically placed their median salary in the low-to-mid $50,000s. The education requirement — usually a bachelor's degree — is less intensive than athletic training's new master's requirement. However, exercise physiologists generally have a narrower clinical scope and fewer licensure protections. This is a role where the athletic training credential may actually give you a competitive edge in the job market, even if starting salaries look similar.
Physician assistants specializing in sports medicine or orthopedics represent the high end of this comparison. BLS data consistently places PA median salaries above $120,000 annually. The education pathway — typically a master's degree from an accredited PA program plus substantial prerequisite clinical hours — is demanding but the return on investment is significant. I've worked with athletic trainers on healthcareers.app who transitioned into PA programs specifically because their AT clinical experience gave them a strong foundation for the PA curriculum.
Chiropractors earn a median salary that BLS data places in the mid-$70,000s, meaningfully above athletic trainers. However, chiropractic education requires a Doctor of Chiropractic degree (typically four years post-bachelor's), and many chiropractors work in private practice, meaning their income can be highly variable and tied to business management skills. The scope of practice overlaps with athletic training in musculoskeletal care but diverges significantly in philosophy and treatment approach.
Recreational therapists use activity-based interventions to improve patients' physical, emotional, and social functioning. Their median salary, according to BLS data, tends to fall in the low-to-mid $50,000s — comparable to or slightly below athletic training. A bachelor's degree is the typical entry point. This comparison is useful because it shows that athletic training's new master's requirement positions the field to potentially command higher wages over time relative to roles that require less education.
One of the most underappreciated aspects of athletic training compensation is how dramatically it shifts based on where you work. Let me break this down in a way that's actionable.
Working for a professional sports team is the dream for many athletic trainers, and salaries at this level can be significantly above the national median — sometimes exceeding $75,000 to $100,000 or more for experienced professionals with top-tier teams. Major Division I college programs also tend to pay competitively. The catch? These positions are extremely competitive, the hours can be grueling (especially during season), and job security can be tied to coaching staff turnover.
Athletic trainers working in hospital-based outpatient clinics or physician practice groups often earn salaries that track closer to the national median but come with more predictable hours and better benefits packages. This is a growing employment sector for ATs, and I've seen increased job listings in these settings on our platform over the past several years.
High school athletic trainers often earn less than the national median, particularly in districts where the position is part-time or grant-funded. However, some states and larger school districts offer competitive salaries with teaching supplements and robust public employee benefits. If work-life balance and community impact matter to you, don't discount this path solely based on starting salary.
This is a newer and rapidly growing area for athletic trainers. Companies hire ATs to reduce workplace injuries, manage ergonomic programs, and provide on-site injury care. Salaries in industrial settings often meet or exceed the national median, and the demand is growing as employers recognize the cost savings of proactive injury prevention.
This is a question I hear constantly from athletic training candidates, and it deserves a candid answer. The Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) moved the entry-level degree requirement to a master's starting in 2023. This means aspiring athletic trainers now invest more time and money in their education than previous generations did.
The concern is legitimate: if salaries don't increase proportionally to reflect the additional educational investment, the return on investment weakens. I've observed encouraging signs — more AT positions in clinical and industrial settings that pay above traditional norms — but the field still has work to do in terms of salary advocacy. Organizations like the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) have been actively working to expand practice authority and insurance reimbursement for ATs, both of which could positively impact compensation over time.
Here's something I find fascinating that most salary articles won't tell you. The study of ethology — animal behavior — has actually influenced modern athletic training and sports science in meaningful ways. Researchers studying movement patterns, stress responses, and recovery behaviors in animals have contributed frameworks that sports scientists and athletic trainers now apply to human performance and rehabilitation.
For example, concepts from ethology animal behavior research around how animals instinctively protect injured limbs have informed our understanding of compensatory movement patterns in human athletes. Athletic trainers who understand these interdisciplinary connections often bring a richer analytical framework to their clinical practice. It's a reminder that healthcare careers don't exist in silos — the most innovative practitioners draw from unexpected disciplines.
If you're committed to athletic training as a career, here are practical steps I recommend to push your compensation above the average:
Entry-level athletic trainers — those in their first one to two years of practice — typically earn below the national median. Based on general BLS trends and industry reports, starting salaries often fall in the low-to-mid $40,000s, though this varies by setting and location. Positions in professional sports or large healthcare systems may start higher, while high school positions in smaller districts may start lower.
If you're drawn to the blend of rehabilitation, injury prevention, and direct patient care that athletic training offers, related careers include physical therapy, occupational therapy, exercise physiology, sports medicine physician assisting, chiropractic care, and recreational therapy. Each has different education requirements, salary profiles, and daily responsibilities. We cover many of these in detail on healthcareers.app.
Yes, significantly. States with large populations of professional sports teams, robust high school athletics programs, and strong AT licensure laws tend to offer higher salaries. BLS data has historically shown states like California, Texas, New York, and New Jersey among the higher-paying states for athletic trainers. However, always weigh salary against cost of living for a true comparison.
The shift to a master's as the entry-level credential is relatively recent, and its full impact on salaries is still unfolding. In theory, a higher educational standard should support higher wages — it positions athletic training more comparably to other master's-level healthcare professions. However, salary increases tend to follow market demand and reimbursement changes rather than education requirements alone. I'm cautiously optimistic that this shift will contribute to upward salary pressure over the next decade.
Athletic training offers a solid middle-of-the-road healthcare salary with strong growth projected by the BLS. It won't match the earnings of physicians, PAs, or nurse practitioners, but it provides meaningful, hands-on clinical work with generally reasonable educational debt compared to doctoral-level health professions. The key is to be strategic about your work setting, geography, and specialty focus to maximize your financial outcome.
The athletic training average salary tells an important but incomplete story. When I look at this profession, I see a field undergoing a significant evolution — higher educational standards, expanding practice settings, and growing recognition of ATs as essential healthcare providers. The salary data reflects a career that compensates fairly for the work but hasn't yet fully caught up to the investment the new master's requirement demands. By comparing athletic training to related healthcare careers, targeting the right work settings, and building complementary skills, you can position yourself well above the median. We built healthcareers.app to help you find exactly those opportunities — the positions that value your expertise and compensate you accordingly.
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