The Average Cost of Therapy Session by State

September 1, 2023

Illustrated infographic depicting a map of the United States and the different rates in each state helping therapists understand the average cost of psychotherapy session

What’s the average cost of therapy in the United States? As you build your practice and client list, you may struggle with an important question—how much should you charge for therapy?

While we can’t answer that question for you, we can provide insight into what others in your area charge for specific services (i.e., CPT codes 90791, 90834, or 90837).

In this article, we look at one of the several important factors to consider when setting session rates: what others in your area are charging. This, along with specialty, degree, and years of experience, helps determine what rate is right for your business.

If you’ve ever had any uncertainty about what to charge clients or how to increase your session rates, keep reading. infographic map of therapy fees by city and state

Understanding your market

To survive as a clinician in private practice or as an owner of a small business in any industry, you need to charge an amount that enables you to stay in business. That’s Business 101.

At the same time, both you and your clients need to feel that your fees are fair.

Alas, without knowing what the “market rate” is in your area, it’s difficult to feel confident that your rate is fair.

The market rate, also known as the going rate for a therapy session, refers to the range of rates which vary by locality.

While this information is just one of many data points you should consider when setting your rate, it’s arguably one of the most important.

For some professions, it’s possible to find the market rate from a 2-minute web search.

Unfortunately, for therapists, it’s not quite as easy.

The reason for this is simple: We live in a society that is close-lipped when it comes to money. Plus, rates tend to be very personal since it associates a value with your service.

If your rate is too low, does that mean you offer less value?

If your rate is too high, are you not delivering the access to care that drew you to your practice in the first place?

U.S. median session rates

Among the three CPT codes we included in this study, the initial intake interview (CPT code 90791) had the highest median session rate at $150. Since this is generally a more lengthy session, it makes sense that the rate is highest.

The national median rates for the other two CPT codes, 90834 (45 minutes of psychotherapy) and 90837 (60 minutes of psychotherapy) were $125 and $130, respectively as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 National Median Session Rates for 2018 FIGURE 1. National median session rates for CPT code 90791, 90834, and 90837: 2018 In addition to providing tips and guidance on how to set your rates, we also included the median therapy session rates for all 50 states and metropolitan areas in 2017. Based on over six million sessions billed through SimplePractice for CPT code 90837 (psychotherapy), this information provides an extremely reliable way to see how your rates compare to others in your state or region. Here’s a summary of some of the findings from this section infographic map of therapy fees by city and state

Median therapy session rates by state

Five states (Vermont, South Carolina, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Colorado) had median therapy rates at or below $120.
Thirteen states (Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Florida, Missouri, Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming) had rates at $125.
Fourteen states (Hawaii, New Jersey, District of Columbia, Nevada, Arizona, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and Rhode Island) had median rates at or above $150.

Median therapy session rates by city / metropolitan area

Among the metropolitan areas we included, the highest rates were:

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL, $250
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, $175
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, $165

And the lowest rates were:

Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL $68
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI $75
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI $75

**How to read the table**
The below table includes rates, by state, for the following CPT codes:

**90791** – Psychiatric/psychological diagnostic interview without medical services (intake interview)

**90834 –** Individual psychotherapy, 45 minutes

**90837 –** Individual psychotherapy, 60 minutes

*Table 1. Session rates by state and CPT code: 2018*
State	CPT 90791			CPT 90834			CPT 90837
State	Pctl 25	Median	Pctl 75	Pctl 25	Median	Pctl 75	Pctl 25	Median	Pctl 75
Alaska	$115	$150	$180	$135	$200	$200	$120	$140	$160
Alabama	$96	$100	$140	$125	$160	$160	$136	$136	$150
Arkansas	$170	$200	$220	$125	$135	$150	$150	$155	$165
Arizona	$150	$178	$200	$100	$125	$140	$140	$150	$170
California	$110	$130	$160	$95	$120	$150	$102	$130	$150
Colorado	$104	$125	$150	$85	$100	$120	$100	$120	$140
Connecticut	$130	$150	$175	$111	$135	$150	$100	$125	$150
DC	$109	$125	$170	$130	$150	$150	$125	$150	$175
Delaware *	$150	$150	$150	$110	$125	$125	$120	$130	$150
Florida	$120	$150	$175	$100	$150	$150	$87	$125	$150
Georgia	$120	$140	$150	$100	$117	$125	$110	$125	$135
Hawaii	$150	$150	$200	$95	$100	$130	$138	$150	$200
Iowa	$150	$165	$170	$100	$125	$150	$150	$155	$160
Idaho	$130	$150	$155	$100	$100	$115	$120	$125	$130
Illinois	$150	$160	$185	$100	$130	$150	$135	$150	$170
Indiana	$135	$150	$175	$100	$100	$120	$120	$125	$140
Kansas	$150	$150	$160	$110	$125	$125	$125	$145	$155
Kentucky	$150	$155	$175	$100	$125	$125	$100	$125	$150
Louisiana	$115	$140	$175	$80	$100	$100	$100	$110	$140
Massachusetts	$130	$150	$195	$110	$130	$150	$125	$148	$175
Maryland	$150	$150	$175	$100	$125	$160	$125	$140	$150
Maine	$135	$150	$150	$100	$120	$150	$100	$125	$150
Michigan	$141	$160	$185	$120	$120	$128	$125	$150	$160
Minnesota	$180	$195	$200	$140	$150	$150	$165	$170	$175
Missouri	$100	$125	$150	$90	$100	$125	$100	$125	$145
Mississippi	$110	$118	$150	$90	$110	$150	$120	$150	$200
Montana	$150	$165	$190	$125	$125	$125	$135	$140	$150
North Carolina	$125	$150	$160	$100	$100	$125	$100	$125	$140
North Dakota *	$190	$200	$200	$123	$125	$131	$200	$200	$200
Nebraska	$150	$170	$195	$100	$120	$125	$125	$150	$150
New Hampshire	$130	$145	$160	$100	$125	$140	$120	$138	$155
New Jersey	$130	$165	$199	$125	$135	$165	$125	$150	$175
New Mexico	$125	$150	$164	$100	$125	$125	$110	$128	$156
Nevada	$140	$195	$200	$100	$120	$125	$125	$150	$160
New York	$120	$150	$160	$95	$140	$180	$100	$125	$150
Ohio	$140	$150	$165	$100	$115	$125	$110	$130	$150
Oklahoma	$120	$130	$150	$94	$110	$220	$110	$125	$130
Oregon	$105	$150	$180	$104	$125	$150	$120	$144	$155
Pennsylvania	$125	$140	$150	$100	$100	$110	$100	$125	$150
Rhode Island	$130	$150	$180	$100	$100	$130	$100	$150	$160
South Carolina	$100	$125	$150	$80	$95	$110	$100	$112	$125
South Dakota *	$180	$200	$200	$115	$150	$150	$163	$195	$200
Tennessee	$85	$120	$150	$70	$100	$125	$85	$100	$130
Texas	$110	$130	$150	$100	$115	$125	$100	$125	$150
Utah	$130	$150	$155	$100	$105	$125	$120	$125	$145
Virginia	$125	$150	$155	$100	$120	$150	$100	$125	$150
Vermont	$120	$140	$150	$100	$100	$125	$100	$120	$125
Washington	$150	$160	$180	$113	$125	$145	$125	$140	$160
Wisconsin	$160	$175	$200	$95	$125	$150	$150	$150	$175
West Virginia *	$185	$190	$200	$130	$130	$150	$150	$165	$175
Wyoming *	$150	$150	$180	$120	$120	$120	$120	$125	$165
Total	$125	$150	$175	$100	$125	$150	$120	$130	$150

Need more help? Try our income calculator

Another way to think about setting your rate is to calculate all your practice expenses and then determine your rate based on this information. For example, your rates may be too low based on the amount of your monthly business expenses (e.g., rent, liability insurance, continuing education, and practice management software). In order to truly have a successful practice, you need to be profitable, so we created a downloadable calculator to help you determine a session rate that will cover your monthly expenses.