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Chiropractic

Instructional content is defined in code 51.0101.

Types of Degrees Chiropractic Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Chiropractic have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Doctor’s Degree	2,707

What Chiropractic Majors Need to Know

Programs in Chiropractic emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Chiropractic graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Chiropractic emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Biology — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set built by a Chiropractic program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Chiropractic careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Chiropractic graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.4 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.3 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.3 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.2 / 7
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.2 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.1 / 7
Working with Computers	4.1 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.0 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.0 / 7
Processing Information	3.9 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Chiropractic professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Quick Notes QNotes Office EMR	Medical software	—
ForteEMR	Medical software	—
ChiroTouch EHR	Medical software	—
Scheduling software	Calendar and scheduling software	—
EZClaim medical billing software	Billing and invoicing software	—
ChiroSoft	Medical software	—
BioEx Systems Exercise Pro	Medical software	—
DocumentPlus	Medical software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Chiropractic graduates include:

• Chiropractic Physician
• Chiropractor
• Chiropractic Doctor (DC)
• Chiropractic Neurologist
• Virology Teacher
• Occupational Therapy Professor
• Coding Educator
• Radiology Teacher
• Podiatric Medicine Professor
• Pharmacology Teacher
• Pediatrics Teacher
• Occupational Therapy Teacher
• Public Health Teacher
• Correctional Therapy Teacher
• Anesthesiology Teacher

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Chiropractic graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	59.7%
Master’s degree	14.1%
Post-doctoral training	7.5%
Postsecondary certificate	5.2%
Bachelor’s degree	4.9%
First professional degree	4.6%
High school diploma or equivalent	2.2%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	1.8%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Chiropractic?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 46.5% women and 53.5% men among Chiropractic graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	1,259	46.5%
Men	1,448	53.5%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Chiropractic graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	1,622	59.9%
Asian	209	7.7%
Hispanic or Latino	371	13.7%
Black or African American	164	6.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native	19	0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	13	0.5%
Two or More Races	70	2.6%
Race Unknown	119	4.4%
International Students	120	4.4%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Chiropractic Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Chiropractic graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$49,003
4 years	$52,932
5 years	$60,390

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $60,390 — roughly 23% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Is a Degree in Chiropractic Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Chiropractic graduates earn a median of $52,932 four years after completion — roughly 39% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Health Care Professions	994,689
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	311,372
Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants	99,987
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	90,379
Health and Medical Administrative Services	90,166
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services	80,693
Public Health	41,086
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions	33,946
Medicine	29,737
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	29,603
Dental Support Services and Allied Professions	24,761
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	23,250

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.