Marriage and family therapists
SOC Code: 21-1013
Marriage and family therapists carries a 32% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $63,780 and +12.6% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 77,800 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 32% AI exposure, Marriage and family therapists sits 5 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 37% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
73/100
Marriage and family therapists, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage C $63,780
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth A+ +12.6%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) C+ 32% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Marriage and family therapists in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Graduate credential among the thinner entry shelves
Marriage and family therapists is in the Graduate band (113 of 832) with BLS pace Fast growth (67/832). Graduate entry is a minority shelf - pairing it with fast growth growth is the standing that separates this SOC from bachelor-dominated neighbors.
Where Marriage and family therapists sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Marriage and family therapists sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
32% Lower than most lower than 63% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Marriage and family therapists vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Marriage and family therapists is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Marriage and family therapists's Medium automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score below 40% reflects tasks anchored in physical dexterity, unstructured environments, or high-touch human interaction that current AI cannot reliably replicate.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 21-1013) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Marriage and family therapists be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Marriage and family therapists. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Encourage individuals and family members to develop and use skills and strategies for confronting their problems in a constructive manner.
- 2. Ask questions that will help clients identify their feelings and behaviors.
- 3. Develop and implement individualized treatment plans addressing family relationship problems, destructive patterns of behavior, and other personal issues.
- 4. Maintain case files that include activities, progress notes, evaluations, and recommendations.
- 5. Counsel clients on concerns, such as unsatisfactory relationships, divorce and separation, child rearing, home management, or financial difficulties.
- 6. Collect information about clients, using techniques such as testing, interviewing, discussion, or observation.
- 7. Confer with clients to develop plans for posttreatment activities.
- 8. Confer with other counselors, doctors, and professionals to analyze individual cases and to coordinate counseling services.
- 9. Determine whether clients should be counseled or referred to other specialists in such fields as medicine, psychiatry, or legal aid.
- 10. Follow up on results of counseling programs and clients' adjustments to determine effectiveness of programs.
Key Skills Required
- Active Listening
- Social Perceptiveness
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Service Orientation
- Complex Problem Solving
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
Knowledge Areas
- Therapy and Counseling
- Psychology
- Customer and Personal Service
- Sociology and Anthropology
- English Language
- Administrative
- Law and Government
- Philosophy and Theology
- Education and Training
- Computers and Electronics
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Marriage and family therapists?
Marriage and family therapists has an AI exposure score of 32%, indicating a medium level of automation risk. The majority of tasks in this role require human judgment, creativity, or physical presence that AI cannot easily replicate.
What is the job outlook for Marriage and family therapists?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Marriage and family therapists is projected to grow by 12.6% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 77,800 workers.
What skills are needed for Marriage and family therapists?
Key skills for Marriage and family therapists include Active Listening, Social Perceptiveness, Speaking, and others. Typical entry-level education is Master's degree.
How much do Marriage and family therapists earn?
The median annual wage for Marriage and family therapists is $63,780, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Marriage and family therapists?
The typical entry-level education for Marriage and family therapists is Master's degree. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Internship/residency. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Marriage and family therapists?
Marriage and family therapists roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
Medium automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. Most tasks require human judgment and are resistant to automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Marriage and family therapists: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (32% here).
- Architecture teachers, postsecondary · AI exposure 32%
- Area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary · AI exposure 32%
- Audiovisual equipment installers and repairers · AI exposure 32%
- Bus drivers, school · AI exposure 32%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+12.6% here).
- Counselors, all other · growth +12.6%
- Medical assistants · growth +12.5%
- Occupational health and safety specialists · growth +12.5%
- Computer numerically controlled tool programmers · growth +12.8%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 10 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Marriage and family therapists' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Marriage and family therapists side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).