Best programs to become an acupuncturist
BLS lists a master's degree as the typical entry-level education for acupuncturists. The field of study that leads most directly to this job is Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (IPEDS completions).
1 college program at 45 schools trains acupuncturists, graduating 1,453 people a year (IPEDS completions). The job pays a median of $76,040 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About acupuncturists
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.
Best programs to study to become an acupuncturist
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Acupuncture and Oriental Medicinemain feeder CIP 51.3301 | 1,453 | 100.0% | 45 | $27,262 | $18,492 |
Top 45 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
What acupuncturists earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $75,530 | 2,520 | 2.75× | 11 | 605 |
| New Yorkmoderate | $86,120 | 1,160 | 2.38× | 3 | 148 |
| Floridamoderate | $69,990 | 900 | 1.80× | 4 | 109 |
| Massachusettslimited | $93,360 | — | — | 1 | 70 |
| North Carolinalimited | $76,500 | 320 | 1.29× | 2 | 65 |
| Texaslimited | $66,530 | — | — | 2 | 44 |
| Minnesotalimited | $69,690 | 210 | 1.42× | 2 | 41 |
| Washingtonlimited | $83,200 | — | — | 2 | 34 |
| Hawaiilimited | $64,570 | — | — | 1 | 26 |
| Arizonalimited | $85,300 | 70 | 0.44× | 2 | 25 |
| Oregonlimited | $64,870 | 360 | 3.64× | 1 | 22 |
| New Jerseylimited | $125,260 | 240 | 1.11× | 1 | 20 |
| Marylandlimited | $101,650 | — | — | 1 | 18 |
| Coloradolimited | $56,950 | — | — | 2 | 11 |
| Wisconsinlimited | $84,820 | 170 | 1.14× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and knowledge
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- 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.
Skills
- Active Listening3.9
- Critical Thinking3.8
- Speaking3.6
- Monitoring3.3
- Reading Comprehension3.3
- Writing3.1
- Active Learning3.1
- Learning Strategies2.6
Knowledge areas
- Customer and Personal Service4.5
- Medicine and Dentistry4.1
- Psychology3.8
- Biology3.7
- English Language3.6
- Administrative3.5
Abilities
- Problem Sensitivity3.9
- Oral Expression3.9
- Oral Comprehension3.9
- Deductive Reasoning3.9
- Near Vision3.9
- Written Comprehension3.8
Core activities
- Assisting and Caring for Others4.7
- Documenting/Recording Information4.5
- Getting Information4.3
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge4.3
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships4.2
- Performing for or Working Directly with the Public4.2
How to get in
How to become an acupuncturist
- Typical entry education
- Master's degree
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.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 1 majors mapped to Acupuncturists1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 51.3301Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become an acupuncturist?+
BLS lists a master's degree as the typical entry-level education for acupuncturists. The field of study that leads most directly to this job is Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (IPEDS completions).
Which college majors lead to becoming an acupuncturist?+
The field of study that leads most directly to this job is Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (IPEDS completions). In all, the NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 program to this job, which graduates about 1,453 people a year.
How much do acupuncturists earn?+
The median is $76,040 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $38,830 at the 10th percentile to $161,470 at the 90th. 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 acupuncturists growing?+
BLS projects a +6.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
45 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 1 program 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 acupuncturists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Herbalist, Acupuncturist, Acupuncture Physician, Licensed Acupuncturist (LAC) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 29-1291.
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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