Best Marriage programs in Kentucky, ranked by enrollment
Diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders, whether cognitive, affective, or behavioral, within the context of marriage and family systems.
15 schools in Kentucky run programs that feed this job, graduating 2,431 people a year. The job pays a median of $52,420 in Kentucky across about 330 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Kentucky that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
2 programs in Kentucky that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Kentucky (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Kentucky page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 44.0701In Kentucky → | 2,415 | 99.3% | 15 | $37,264 | $26,140 |
| 2 | CIP 51.1505In Kentucky → | 16 | 0.7% | 1 | $37,335 | $22,861 |
Top 15 schools in Kentucky
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 9 of the 15 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Kentucky Lexington, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 1,355 | Social Work | $36,312 | 71% | — | 93% |
| 2 | University of Louisville Louisville, KY Public · 2 feeder programs | 269 | Social Work | $35,257 | 61% | — | 79% |
| 3 | Campbellsville University Campbellsville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 202 | Social Work | $34,852 | 42% | $18,824 | 80% |
| 4 | Eastern Kentucky University Richmond, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 137 | Social Work | $33,575 | 50% | — | 78% |
| 5 | Northern Kentucky University Highland Heights, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 133 | Social Work | $37,037 | 52% | — | 68% |
| 6 | Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 133 | Social Work | $34,748 | 56% | — | 94% |
| 7 | Morehead State University Morehead, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 46 | Social Work | $35,300 | 52% | — | 77% |
| 8 | Brescia University Owensboro, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 41 | Social Work | $37,841 | 54% | $14,604 | 35% |
| 9 | Murray State University Murray, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 40 | Social Work | $31,692 | 61% | — | 86% |
| 10 | Spalding University Louisville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 34 | Social Work | — | 52% | $23,661 | 99% |
| 11 | Asbury University Wilmore, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Social Work | — | 65% | $19,816 | 63% |
| 12 | University of the Cumberlands Williamsburg, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Social Work | — | 50% | $11,672 | 99% |
| 13 | University of Pikeville Pikeville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Social Work | — | 42% | $13,886 | — |
| 14 | Kentucky State University Frankfort, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Social Work | — | 32% | — | 96% |
| 15 | Kentucky Christian University Grayson, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Social Work | — | 37% | $21,713 | 61% |
All 15 schools in Kentucky
Every school in Kentucky with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Kentucky | Lexington | Public | 1,355 | 1 |
| University of Louisville | Louisville | Public | 269 | 2 |
| Campbellsville University | Campbellsville | Private not-for-profit | 202 | 1 |
| Eastern Kentucky University | Richmond | Public | 137 | 1 |
| Northern Kentucky University | Highland Heights | Public | 133 | 1 |
| Western Kentucky University | Bowling Green | Public | 133 | 1 |
| Morehead State University | Morehead | Public | 46 | 1 |
| Brescia University | Owensboro | Private not-for-profit | 41 | 1 |
| Murray State University | Murray | Public | 40 | 1 |
| Spalding University | Louisville | Private not-for-profit | 34 | 1 |
| Asbury University | Wilmore | Private not-for-profit | 12 | 1 |
| University of the Cumberlands | Williamsburg | Private not-for-profit | 10 | 1 |
| University of Pikeville | Pikeville | Private not-for-profit | 8 | 1 |
| Kentucky State University | Frankfort | Public | 7 | 1 |
| Kentucky Christian University | Grayson | Private not-for-profit | 4 | 1 |
What marriage and family therapists earn in Kentucky
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $66,940. Kentucky pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Kentucky
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Marriage and Family Therapists page.
How to become a Marriage
Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above- Typical entry education
- Master's degree
- On-the-job training
- Internship/residency
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Kentucky
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 5 majors mapped to Marriage and Family Therapists4 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 44.0701Social Work
- 51.1505Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling
- 51.1506Clinical Pastoral Counseling/Patient Counseling
- 51.1510Infant/Toddler Mental Health Services(no graduates reported)
- 51.1511Medical Family Therapy/Therapist
Common questions
Answers for people weighing marriage and family therapists programs in Kentucky.
What degree do you need to become a Marriage?+
Master's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Social Work, which awarded 2,415 degrees in Kentucky in 2024-25, 99.3% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Marriage?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Social Work, Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions. Together they graduate about 2,431 people a year in Kentucky.
How much do marriage and family therapists earn in Kentucky?+
The median is $52,420 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 21.7% below the U.S. median of $66,940. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for marriage and family therapists growing?+
BLS projects a +12.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 7,700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Kentucky?+
15 institutions in Kentucky reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do marriage and family therapists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Clinical Therapist, Outpatient Therapist, Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT), Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 21-1013.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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