Best programs to become a chiropractor
BLS lists a doctoral or professional degree as the typical entry-level education for chiropractors. The field of study that leads most directly to this job is Chiropractic (IPEDS completions).
1 college program at 18 schools trains chiropractors, graduating 3,022 people a year (IPEDS completions). The job pays a median of $79,200 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About chiropractors
Assess, treat, and care for patients by manipulation of spine and musculoskeletal system. May provide spinal adjustment or address sacral or pelvic misalignment.
Best programs to study to become a chiropractor
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 | Chiropracticmain feeder CIP 51.0101 | 3,022 | 100.0% | 18 | — | — |
Top 18 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Palmer College of Chiropractic Davenport, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 626 | Chiropractic | — | — | — |
| 2 | Life University Marietta, GA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 417 | Chiropractic | 38% | $30,667 | 93% |
| 3 | Parker University Dallas, TX Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 413 | Chiropractic | 74% | $27,144 | — |
| 4 | Logan University Chesterfield, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 290 | Chiropractic | 22% | $17,906 | 64% |
| 5 | Southern California University of Health Sciences Whittier, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 213 | Chiropractic | 50% | $45,633 | — |
| 6 | Life Chiropractic College West Hayward, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 152 | Chiropractic | — | — | — |
| 7 | Northwestern Health Sciences University Bloomington, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 149 | Chiropractic | 0% | $29,794 | — |
| 8 | University of Western States Portland, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 128 | Chiropractic | — | — | — |
| 9 | Northeast College of Health Sciences Seneca Falls, NY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 120 | Chiropractic | — | — | 94% |
| 10 | Cleveland University - Kansas City Overland Park, KS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 118 | Chiropractic | 100% | $33,244 | 69% |
| 11 | Sherman College of Chiropractic Boiling Springs, SC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 110 | Chiropractic | — | — | — |
| 12 | National University of Health Sciences Lombard, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 75 | Chiropractic | — | — | — |
| 13 | Texas Chiropractic College Foundation Inc Pasadena, TX Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 71 | Chiropractic | — | — | — |
| 14 | University of Bridgeport Bridgeport, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 41 | Chiropractic | 41% | $25,149 | 83% |
| 15 | D'Youville University Buffalo, NY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 40 | Chiropractic | 67% | $18,846 | 81% |
| 16 | Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale, FL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 27 | Chiropractic | 61% | $35,483 | 97% |
| 17 | Universidad Central Del Caribe Bayamon, PR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 23 | Chiropractic | 40% | $8,011 | 60% |
| 18 | Campbellsville University Campbellsville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 9 | Chiropractic | 42% | $18,824 | 80% |
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 chiropractors 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowalimited | $75,050 | 970 | 2.45× | 1 | 626 |
| Texaslimited | $87,520 | 2,840 | 0.79× | 2 | 484 |
| Georgialimited | $61,660 | 1,500 | 1.20× | 1 | 417 |
| Californialimited | $75,470 | 2,760 | 0.59× | 2 | 365 |
| Missourilimited | $65,090 | 660 | 0.88× | 1 | 290 |
| New Yorklimited | $120,950 | 1,360 | 0.55× | 2 | 160 |
| Minnesotalimited | $79,510 | 1,160 | 1.54× | 1 | 149 |
| Oregonlimited | $81,540 | 610 | 1.22× | 1 | 128 |
| Kansaslimited | $57,600 | 570 | 1.56× | 1 | 118 |
| South Carolinalimited | $79,310 | 680 | 1.16× | 1 | 110 |
| Illinoislimited | $66,650 | 2,190 | 1.41× | 1 | 75 |
| Connecticutlimited | $79,560 | 240 | 0.55× | 1 | 41 |
| Floridalimited | $84,280 | 3,220 | 1.27× | 1 | 27 |
| Kentuckylimited | $81,740 | 470 | 0.92× | 1 | 9 |
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
- Evaluate the functioning of the neuromuscularskeletal system and the spine using systems of chiropractic diagnosis.
- Diagnose health problems by reviewing patients' health and medical histories, questioning, observing, and examining patients and interpreting x-rays.
- Perform a series of manual adjustments to the spine or other articulations of the body to correct the musculoskeletal system.
- Obtain and record patients' medical histories.
- Maintain accurate case histories of patients.
- Advise patients about recommended courses of treatment.
- Analyze x-rays to locate the sources of patients' difficulties and to rule out fractures or diseases as sources of problems.
- Counsel patients about nutrition, exercise, sleeping habits, stress management, or other matters.
Skills
- Active Listening4.0
- Reading Comprehension3.9
- Critical Thinking3.9
- Speaking3.9
- Writing3.8
- Active Learning3.4
- Science3.4
- Monitoring3.1
Knowledge areas
- Medicine and Dentistry4.3
- English Language4.1
- Customer and Personal Service4.1
- Biology3.9
- Psychology3.8
- Administration and Management3.8
Abilities
- Problem Sensitivity4.0
- Oral Comprehension4.0
- Oral Expression4.0
- Deductive Reasoning4.0
- Inductive Reasoning4.0
- Written Comprehension4.0
Core activities
- Assisting and Caring for Others4.7
- Documenting/Recording Information4.5
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.3
- Getting Information4.3
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge4.2
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events4.1
How to get in
How to become a chiropractor
- Typical entry education
- Doctoral or professional 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 Chiropractors1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 51.0101Chiropractic
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 a chiropractor?+
BLS lists a doctoral or professional degree as the typical entry-level education for chiropractors. The field of study that leads most directly to this job is Chiropractic (IPEDS completions).
Which college majors lead to becoming a chiropractor?+
The field of study that leads most directly to this job is Chiropractic (IPEDS completions). In all, the NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 program to this job, which graduates about 3,022 people a year.
How much do chiropractors earn?+
The median is $79,200 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $43,460 at the 10th percentile to $146,080 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 chiropractors growing?+
BLS projects a +9.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 2,800 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
18 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 chiropractors work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Chiropractor, Chiropractic Physician, Chiropractic Doctor (DC), Chiropractic Neurologist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 29-1011.
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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