SLP Statistics 2026: Caseload, Salary and Shortage Data for the US and Canada

ASHA represents 218,646 certified speech-language pathologists (year-end 2025; 216,272 of them live in the US), and Canada has 12,111 regulated SLPs (2024). A typical US school SLP serves 50 students, ten more than SLPs themselves call manageable, and 73.3% of school SLPs name paperwork as one of their greatest challenges. The median US SLP earns $97,870 a year; the median Canadian audiologist or SLP earns C$46.15 an hour.

This page collects the current numbers on the SLP workforce in both countries: headcount, caseload, time use, pay, shortages, burnout and job outlook. Every figure links to its primary source (ASHA, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, CIHI, Statistics Canada, Job Bank and provincial regulators) and shows the year the data describe. Figures were last checked on October 20, 2026, a few days after ASHA released its 2026 Schools Survey.

Key SLP statistics for 2026

• 218,646 ASHA-certified SLPs at year-end 2025, up 2.7% in a year; 216,272 live in the US (ASHA Member and Affiliate Profile, 2025).

• 12,111 regulated SLPs in Canada in 2024, or 29.3 per 100,000 people; the US has 61.9 ASHA-certified SLPs per 100,000, roughly twice the Canadian rate, though the two counts are defined differently (CIHI, 2026; ASHA, 2025).

• 50 students is the median caseload of a US school SLP in 2026; SLPs say 40 would be manageable (ASHA 2026 Schools Survey).

• 89.7% of school SLPs regularly treat students with speech sound disorders, about 20 such students each (ASHA 2026).

• 73.3% of school SLPs list "large amount of paperwork" among their greatest challenges, the most common answer (ASHA 2026 Schools Survey summary).

• 5.1 hours of a 37.5-hour school SLP week go to documentation, plus 1.8 hours to Medicaid billing (ASHA 2026).

• $97,870 is the US median SLP salary, or $47.05 an hour (BLS, May 2025).

• C$46.15 an hour is the median wage for audiologists and SLPs in Canada; Alberta pays the most at C$55.00 (Job Bank).

• 17% projected growth in US SLP jobs from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,500 openings a year (BLS).

• 67.9% of school SLPs say job openings outnumber job seekers in their area, down from 79% in 2024 (ASHA 2026).

• 27% of school SLPs were considering leaving the profession because of burnout in 2024, the latest year measured (ASHA 2024).

• 45% fewer job vacancies for audiologists and SLPs in Canada in Q2 2026 than in Q1 2024 (490 vs 895, by our calculation), while average offered wages rose 19% (Statistics Canada).

How many speech-language pathologists are there in the US?

There are three common counts, and they measure different things:

• ASHA added about 5,800 certified SLPs in 2025 (from 212,864 to 218,646). 96.4% of SLPs it represents are certified members.

• There were 61.9 ASHA-certified SLPs per 100,000 US residents in 2024, up from 41.4 in 2010, an increase of about 50% (ASHA ratios report).

• The Northeast has the most SLPs per capita (84.2 per 100,000) and the West the fewest (48.2). By state, Arkansas leads (101.0), followed by New York (95.7); Nevada is lowest (33.4).

• The training pipeline: 322 US universities offer an SLP master's. In 2024–25 they received 52,830 applications, made 24,413 offers (46.2%), enrolled 10,668 first-year students and granted 9,896 degrees (ASHA CSD Education Survey).

• ASHA certified 1,186 SLP assistants at year-end 2025. Assistant certification is voluntary, so most state-licensed SLPAs are not in this count.

How many SLPs are there in Canada?

Canada had 12,111 regulated speech-language pathologists (S-LPs) in 2024, or 29.3 per 100,000 people, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information. By our sum of CIHI's provincial and territorial counts, that is up from 10,918 in 2020, though CIHI cautions that supply definitions have changed over time. Quebec has the most SLPs per capita and Ontario the fewest of the ten provinces.

Sources: SLP counts and rates from CIHI, Health Workforce in Canada 2020 to 2024 (territories omitted: CIHI flags their counts as unreliable). Wages (2023–24) and outlooks (updated December 2025) from Job Bank for NOC 31112, which combines audiologists and SLPs.

• Provincial regulators publish their own, slightly higher counts, partly because some include every class of registrant and partly because their figures are more recent. Ontario's CASLPO had 4,232 registered SLPs in the year ending September 30, 2025, with 188 new registrants, down 20% (CASLPO 2025 Annual Report).

• Alberta's ACSLPA had 1,720 registered SLPs on December 31, 2025, of whom 1,581 held a general practising permit (ACSLPA 2025 Annual Report). One in five Alberta SLPs (20.7%) earned their qualifying degree in the United States.

• Quebec's OOAQ counted 3,621 orthophonistes on March 31, 2026, and 37% of them are under 35 (OOAQ).

• Ontario's SLP count grew 14% from 2020 to 2024, but its density barely moved (22.7 to 23.7 per 100,000) because the population grew too. Alberta's count grew only 4%, and its density fell from 34.1 to 32.0.

• CIHI lists SLP education programs in only five provinces: Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. The University of Saskatchewan's new master's program was scheduled to take its first students in fall 2026 (CJME).

• Speech-Language & Audiology Canada (SAC) reports "more than 7,000 members and associates" (SAC). Membership is voluntary and includes audiologists, so it is not a count of Canadian SLPs.

What is the average school SLP caseload in 2026?

The median US school SLP served 50 students in a typical month in 2026, and said a manageable caseload would be 40 (ASHA 2026 Schools Survey: Caseload and Workload; 3,872 full-time clinicians). The median was also 50 in 2024 and in 2006–2010, and 47–48 in the years 2012–2022 (ASHA caseload trends).

Source: ASHA 2026 Schools Survey; only states with at least 25 respondents are reported.

• By region, caseloads are highest in the West South Central states (58) and East South Central states (57), and lowest in New England and the Mid-Atlantic (40).

• By setting, SLPs working from a telepractice office carry the most students (median 55) and those in special day or residential schools the fewest (25).

• Rural and urban SLPs have the same median caseload (50), but rural SLPs consider 45 manageable versus 40 for urban and suburban SLPs.

• 89.7% of school SLPs regularly serve students with speech sound disorders, with an average of 20 such students each. Only autism spectrum disorder (92.5%) is more common; language disorders of semantics, morphology and syntax (88.3%) are close behind, at 22.9 students on average.

• In health care, 41% of SLPs said their caseload had grown since January 2024 and 51% said it stayed the same (ASHA 2025 Health Care Survey).

Which states cap SLP caseloads?

About 19 states set a numeric limit on school SLP caseloads, from 30 in Alabama to 80 in Ohio. ASHA's 2025 state-by-state chart lists 29 jurisdictions (28 states and the District of Columbia) with no minimum or maximum (ASHA State Caseload Guidance).

• Examples of numeric caps: Alabama 30 student records, Arkansas 45, California an average of 55 per SELPA (40 for preschool), Kentucky 65, New York 65, Pennsylvania 65, Virginia 68, Ohio 80.

• Some states use other rules: Indiana limits the caseload to what lets the SLP carry out each student's IEP, Louisiana uses a weighted workload formula, and New Jersey has no caseload limit but caps groups at 5 students.

• Asked for the single greatest barrier to a manageable caseload in 2026, 28% of school SLPs chose excessive non-therapy workload, 19% the lack of enforceable caseload limits and 10% a shortage of SLPs in their area; 24% said they faced no barrier (ASHA 2026).

• Only 26% of school SLPs had used ASHA's Workload Calculator in 2026.

How much time do SLPs spend on paperwork?

Full-time school SLPs (3,051 respondents) reported a mean 37.5-hour week in 2026, split like this (ASHA 2026):

• By our calculation, documentation and Medicaid billing together take 6.9 hours, or about 18% of the working week. In 2024 the same survey recorded 6.0 hours of documentation in a 39.3-hour week.

• 73.3% of school SLPs named "large amount of paperwork" among their greatest challenges in 2026, ahead of the volume of meetings (59.0%), high workload or caseload size (58.4%), low salary (42.0%) and personnel shortage (35.8%) (ASHA 2026 summary). In 2024 the paperwork figure was 76%.

• 82% of school SLPs are involved in Medicaid billing; 4% bill private insurance.

• In health care, 60% of SLPs have a productivity requirement, averaging 79% of the workday; 53% say administrative tasks get in the way of optimal care; and 37% of SLPs paid per visit do off-the-clock work every day (ASHA 2025 Practice Issues).

One gap is worth knowing about: ASHA's time-use question has no line for planning sessions or preparing materials, so we found no national statistic on SLP prep time. In the survey, that work has to fit into "other duties," into documentation, or outside paid hours.

How much do SLPs make in 2026?

The median US speech-language pathologist earned $97,870 a year ($47.05 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lowest-paid 10% earned under $62,900 and the highest-paid 10% over $134,160; the mean was $98,170.

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, SOC 29-1127. School pay is usually for a 9–10 month contract.

• Highest-paying states (median, May 2025): California $118,970, Colorado $110,750, District of Columbia $109,380, Washington $105,550, Nevada $104,510.

• Lowest-paying states: South Dakota $65,680, Louisiana $69,610, Alabama $73,660, North Dakota $75,240, Mississippi $78,130.

• School SLPs: median $79,000 for a 9–10 month contract and $89,000 for 11–12 months in 2026; school SLPs paid by the hour earn a median $60 (ASHA 2026 salary report). ASHA's trend report, which uses a slightly different basis, puts the 2026 median at $78,000, up 18% from $66,000 in 2020 (ASHA salary trends).

• School pay ranges from a median $114,000 in California to $60,000 in Louisiana (ASHA 2026).

• Holding the CCC-SLP earns school SLPs a median salary supplement of just $2,000, and only 25% say their employer pays their ASHA dues.

• Health care SLPs: median full-time salary $85,900 for clinicians, a median $46.00 an hour, or a median $65 per visit (ASHA 2025 Health Care Survey). Only 37% of health care SLPs are salaried; 45% are paid by the hour and 15% per visit.

What do SLPs earn in Canada, and how does it compare with the US?

The median wage for audiologists and speech-language pathologists in Canada is C$46.15 an hour (2023–24 data; the occupation code combines the two professions). Alberta pays the most (C$55.00) and Quebec the least (C$41.00), see the province table above (Job Bank).

• Job Bank publishes hourly wages only. British Columbia's Labour Market Outlook gives a median annual salary of C$81,028 for the occupation in BC, based on about 33 usual weekly hours (EducationPlannerBC).

• 92.6% of Canadian audiologists and SLPs receive at least one non-wage benefit, such as a pension or health plan.

• Employers advertising audiologist and SLP vacancies offered an average of C$41.00 an hour in Q2 2026, up from C$34.50 in Q1 2024 (Statistics Canada). In Quebec the average offer was C$32.00, against C$45.15 in Ontario and C$43.85 in British Columbia.

At the Bank of Canada's 2025 average exchange rate (1.3978), the US median hourly wage equals about C$65.77, so the Canadian median is roughly 70% of the US one, by our calculation. The two figures cover different years (2023–24 and May 2025), and the comparison ignores taxes, benefits and cost of living.

Is there an SLP shortage in 2026?

In the US, school SLPs still report more jobs than applicants, but fewer than in 2024. In 2026, 67.9% of school SLPs said job openings outnumber job seekers in their area, 21.3% said the two are in balance and 10.8% said there are fewer openings than seekers (ASHA 2026). In 2024 the figure was 79%, higher than in any earlier year ASHA reported (72% in 2008, 54% in 2018) (ASHA workforce trends).

• In health care, 55.5% of SLPs see more openings than job seekers, and 44% say their facility has funded SLP positions it cannot fill; in pediatric hospitals the figure is 57% (ASHA 2025 Health Care Survey: Workforce).

• Some states formally list speech-language pathology as a teacher shortage area, including Connecticut and Nebraska for 2025–26.

• 56.7% of school SLPs say their district does not employ SLP assistants at all (ASHA 2026).

• The supply of SLPs has grown faster than the population (up about 50% per capita since 2010), and in 2026 school SLPs ranked paperwork, meetings and workload well ahead of personnel shortage as challenges. Our reading of the data: the pressure is real, but it comes as much from workload and uneven distribution as from total headcount.

In Canada, the official outlook is "moderate," and vacancies are falling.

• Employment and Social Development Canada projects a "moderate risk of labour shortage" for audiologists and SLPs nationally from 2024 to 2033 (Job Bank).

• Job vacancies for the occupation fell from 895 in Q1 2024 to 490 in Q2 2026, a 45% drop by our calculation, while the average offered wage rose 19%, from C$34.50 to C$41.00 an hour. Quarterly vacancy estimates are rounded and can swing from quarter to quarter (Statistics Canada, Table 14-10-0443-01).

• Shortages are local. Job Bank recorded a labour shortage for the occupation in Quebec's Capitale-Nationale region in 2023–2025. In Newfoundland and Labrador, the province told CBC that 45 SLPs served more than 200 schools; in 2025 it added five school SLP positions, the first increase in 30 years (CBC News).

• In Saskatchewan, SAC says the SLP shortage has lasted "over a decade"; 407 SLPs were registered in the province in 2024 (CJME).

• Ontario has the lowest SLP density of any province (23.7 per 100,000), which matters for families waiting for publicly funded services. Our speech therapy cost and wait time statistics cover the wait lists.

SLP burnout statistics

ASHA last measured burnout among school SLPs in 2024; the 2026 workforce report has not been published yet (ASHA 2024 Workforce and Work Conditions):

• 24% of school SLPs said they were not experiencing burnout.

• 34% were considering changing to a different work setting because of burnout.

• 27% were considering leaving the profession because of burnout.

• 19% were considering retiring because of burnout.

What would keep them? Half (50%) of school SLPs put "place SLPs on a separate salary schedule from teachers" among their top two retention measures in 2024, and it was again the most common first choice in 2026 (46.5%). In health care, 37% of SLPs report mental health and stress-related concerns as on-the-job safety risks, and 11% say they have been pressured to provide services at an inappropriate frequency or intensity (ASHA 2025).

Where do SLPs work?

• About half (49.6%) of ASHA-certified SLPs work in schools and 40.4% in health care; 24.8% work full or part time in private practice (ASHA 2025).

• BLS counts 39% of SLP jobs in educational services, 25% in therapy offices, 13% in hospitals, 5% in nursing and residential care, and 5% self-employed.

• Among school SLPs, 57.2% work mainly in elementary schools, 13.8% in secondary schools, 11.8% in preschools and 2.3% from a telepractice office (ASHA 2026).

• 37% of health care SLPs used telepractice in 2025, rising to 59% in outpatient clinics and offices.

• In Canada, Job Bank estimates that schools employ 23% of audiologists and SLPs in Alberta, 15% in Ontario, 23% in British Columbia and 25% in Quebec. In Alberta, 29.8% of SLPs work in private practice (ACSLPA 2025).

SLP demographics

• 96.3% of ASHA-certified SLPs are women and 3.5% are men. Only 3.4% of first-year SLP master's students are men.

• 90.1% of SLPs are white, 3.9% Black and 3.3% Asian; 7.7% are Hispanic or Latino. Among first-year master's students, 31.6% are from racial or ethnic minority groups.

• 19,367 certified SLPs identify as multilingual service providers; 68.3% of all ASHA multilingual providers offer services in Spanish, across 93 languages in total (ASHA, 2025).

• 24.4% of SLPs are 34 or younger and 8.2% are 65 or older.

• In Canada, 95% to 98% of SLPs are women in every province that reports it (CIHI, 2024).

SLP job outlook

• BLS projects US SLP employment to grow 17% from 2025 to 2035, from 193,400 to 225,500 jobs, "much faster than average," with about 12,500 openings a year.

• 37 jurisdictions (36 states and one territory) have enacted the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact, which will let licensed SLPs practice across member states; so far only a few states, such as Louisiana, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia, have opened registration for privileges to practice (ASLP-IC).

• In Canada, Job Bank rates the 2025–2027 outlook "good" in Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick, and "moderate" in British Columbia, Quebec, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. BC expects 363 openings for the occupation over five years.

Outdated SLP statistics you will still find online

Many pages, and the AI answers built on them, still repeat older figures. Current replacements:

Frequently asked questions

How many SLPs are there in the US?

ASHA represented 218,646 certified speech-language pathologists at the end of 2025, 216,272 of them living in the US. BLS counts 193,400 SLP jobs (2025), or 183,390 wage-and-salary jobs in May 2025.

How many speech-language pathologists are there in Canada?

12,111 regulated SLPs in 2024, according to CIHI, or 29.3 per 100,000 people. Ontario has the most (3,824) and Quebec the highest density (38.5 per 100,000).

What is the average caseload for a school SLP?

The median is 50 students per month (ASHA 2026 Schools Survey), against 40 that SLPs consider manageable. It ranges from 30 in New York to 75 in Indiana.

Which state has the highest SLP caseload?

Among the 36 states with enough survey responses, Indiana, with a median of 75 students in 2026, followed by Florida (65) and Texas (62).

Do SLPs make more in the US or in Canada?

The US median is US$47.05 an hour; the Canadian median for audiologists and SLPs is C$46.15, about 70% of the US figure after currency conversion, by our calculation. Alberta (C$55.00) comes closest to US pay.

Which province pays SLPs the most?

Alberta, at a median C$55.00 an hour, followed by Saskatchewan (C$53.00). Quebec is lowest at C$41.00.

Is there a shortage of speech-language pathologists?

In the US, 67.9% of school SLPs and 55.5% of health care SLPs report more openings than job seekers. In Canada, the federal outlook is a "moderate risk" of shortage and vacancies fell 45% between early 2024 and mid-2026, though some regions and school systems remain short.

What percentage of SLPs are male?

3.5% of ASHA-certified SLPs are men, and 3.4% of first-year SLP graduate students.

Methodology and sources

We compiled these statistics on October 20, 2026, from primary sources only and checked each figure against the original report or data table. Where we calculated a number ourselves, such as the share of the week spent on documentation or the currency conversion, the text says so. Keep in mind:

• ASHA surveys are self-reported; the 2026 Schools Survey had a 17.0% response rate and the 2025 Health Care Survey 18.6%.

• US and Canadian counts use different definitions: ASHA counts certificate holders, BLS counts jobs, CIHI counts provincial registrants, and Canadian wage data combine audiologists with SLPs.

• Amounts are in US dollars unless marked C$, and are not adjusted for cost of living.

Main sources: ASHA 2026 Schools Survey reports, ASHA 2025 Member and Affiliate Profile, ASHA 2025 SLP Health Care Survey, BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, BLS OEWS, May 2025, CIHI Health Workforce in Canada, Job Bank, NOC 31112, Statistics Canada Job Vacancy and Wage Survey, and the annual reports of CASLPO, ACSLPA and OOAQ.

We will update this page when BLS releases May 2026 wage data (spring 2027), when ASHA publishes its 2026 workforce report, and when CIHI releases 2025 counts.

To cite this page: Ga-loo (2026). SLP Statistics 2026: Caseload, Salary and Shortage Data for the US and Canada. https://ga-loo.com/blog/slp-statistics

Related reading

• Speech delay and speech sound disorder statistics: how many children need the SLPs counted here.

• Speech therapy cost and wait time statistics: session prices, insurance and wait lists in the US and Canada.

• How school SLPs save hours every week: practical ways to win back documentation and prep time.

• Speech therapy data collection apps: tools for the session data that drives so much of the paperwork.

Nine in ten school SLPs treat speech sound disorders. Ga-loo builds a fresh weekly practice pack for each articulation goal, with picture cards, a no-prep game, a data sheet and a home practice page, from phonetically checked word lists by sound.