Occupational therapy is an important part of the rehabilitation field. The occupational therapy professionals are licensed practitioners; they provide occupational therapy intervention to the client. If you are new to the term occupational therapy, please read the below mentioned article.
What is Occupational Therapy? And what does an OT do?
Occupational therapy Job Outlook? and Future perspective?
Ok, now we can assume that you know something about our profession. If you are interested or want to learn more about the salary part of OT, Just read out the complete article.
In this article, we will try our best to answer some common questions regarding occupational therapy salary. “Occupational therapy salary in the USA”, “What is the average starting salary for an occupational therapist?”, “Do occupational therapists get paid well?” and “Are occupational therapists in high demand?” These are some common queries search by the people in Google search.
Occupational Therapy Salary in the USA-
Like every profession, the salary part depends on many factors like demand, designation, education, experience, location, etc. Similarly, An Occupational therapist salary does vary according to the various factors. The entry-level salary (just graduated) is less compared to the experienced one. Even some state (such as Nevada) has very high demand where entry-level pay is more than the experienced OT from another state (such as Kentucky).
In this article, we will focus on the entry-level salary; it will be helpful for the students who want to join Occupational therapy as a career.
What is the average starting salary for an occupational therapist? Or How much do Occupational Therapists Make?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean hourly wages of OTs in May 2017 was $40.69 while the mean annual income was $84,640. The best-paid 10 percent in the profession made $120,440, while the lowest-paid 10 percent made $54,560.
Industry (Practice area) wise pay profile for the Occupational therapist:
Here is the list of top 5 Practice areas with the published employment and wages for the occupational therapists are provided. Home health care services topped the list of the highest paying practice area by offering mean wage $43.70 per hour and $90,890 per annum. Elementary and Secondary Schools were 5th in this list and offered $36.13 per hour and $75,140 per annum.
| Rank(highest pay) | Industry (practice area) | Employment | Hourly mean wage | Annual mean wage |
| 1 | Home Health Care Services | 12,250 | $43.70 | $90,890 |
| 2 | Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) | $12,060 | $43.61 | $90,700 |
| 3 | Offices of Other Health Practitioners | $33,800 | $41.91 | $87,170 |
| 4 | General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | $27,520 | $40.74 | $84,750 |
| 5 | Elementary and Secondary Schools | $13,840 | $36.13 | $75,140 |
Top 5 paying practice areas for the Occupational therapist:
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services topped the list of the highest paying practice area by offering mean wage $45.81 per hour and $95,280 per annum. Skilled Nursing Facilities were 5th in this list and offered $43.61 per hour and $90,700 per annum.
| Rank (highest Pay) | Industry | Employment | Hourly mean wage | Annual mean wage |
| 1 | Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services | 110 | $45.81 | $95,280 |
| 2 | Other Schools and Instruction | (8) | $45.66 | $94,970 |
| 3 | Management of Companies and Enterprises | 420 | $45.32 | $94,270 |
| 4 | Home Health Care Services | $12,250 | $43.70 | $90,890 |
| 5 | Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) | $12,060 | $43.61 | $90,700 |
Salaries of Occupational therapists in different States of the USA-
Here is the list of all states with current employment, hourly men wage and an annual mean wage of occupational therapists.
| State | Employment | Hourly mean wage | Annual mean wage |
| Alabama | 1200 | $39.13 | $81390 |
| Alaska | 270 | $39.81 | $82810 |
| Arizona | 1800 | $41.60 | $86530 |
| Arkansas | 1090 | $38.09 | $79220 |
| California | 10620 | $43.21 | $89870 |
| Colorado | 2770 | $42.45 | $88290 |
| Connecticut | 1990 | $43.63 | $90760 |
| Delaware | 460 | $40.60 | $84450 |
| District of Columbia | 340 | $44.77 | $93110 |
| Florida | 6600 | $40.51 | $84260 |
| Georgia | 2840 | $38.46 | $79990 |
| Hawaii | 290 | $38.74 | $80580 |
| Idaho | 430 | $39.82 | $82820 |
| Illinois | 5210 | $39.56 | $82290 |
| Indiana | 2890 | $38.22 | $79490 |
| Iowa | 1010 | $37.46 | $77910 |
| Kansas | 1330 | $37.02 | $77000 |
| Kentucky | 1340 | $37.87 | $78760 |
| Louisiana | 1790 | $40.40 | $84020 |
| Maine | 1000 | $32.83 | $68300 |
| Maryland | 3300 | $41.16 | $85620 |
| Massachusetts | 5130 | $42.01 | $87380 |
| Michigan | 4780 | $38.51 | $80110 |
| Minnesota | 2820 | $35.42 | $73680 |
| Mississippi | 960 | $39.13 | $81400 |
| Missouri | 2380 | $37.24 | $77460 |
| Montana | 340 | $37.05 | $77070 |
| Nebraska | 890 | $36.43 | $75780 |
| Nevada | 730 | $49.65 | $103280 |
| New Hampshire | 1060 | $38.95 | $81010 |
| New Jersey | 5240 | $45.24 | $94100 |
| New Mexico | 690 | $39.09 | $81310 |
| New York | 9080 | $41.95 | $87260 |
| North Carolina | 3330 | $39.95 | $83100 |
| North Dakota | 430 | $32.66 | $67930 |
| Ohio | 4670 | $41.10 | $85480 |
| Oklahoma | 920 | $39.98 | $83150 |
| Oregon | 1260 | $43.30 | $90060 |
| Pennsylvania | 7310 | $38.40 | $79860 |
| Puerto Rico | 230 | $19.22 | $39980 |
| Rhode Island | 380 | $37.29 | $77570 |
| South Carolina | 1280 | $37.79 | $78610 |
| South Dakota | 410 | $32.21 | $66990 |
| Tennessee | 2100 | $39.88 | $82940 |
| Texas | 10170 | $45.45 | $94530 |
| Utah | 880 | $40.21 | $83650 |
| Vermont | 290 | $37.33 | $77650 |
| Virginia | 3000 | $43.62 | $90720 |
| Washington | 2800 | $38.74 | $80590 |
| West Virginia | 610 | $40.91 | $85090 |
| Wisconsin | 3250 | $33.97 | $70670 |
| Wyoming | 290 | $38.64 | $80380 |
Top 5 paying States for the Occupational therapist:
| Rank | State | Employment | Hourly mean wage | Annual mean wage |
| 1 | Nevada | 730 | $49.65 | $103,280 |
| 2 | Texas | 10,170 | $45.45 | $94,530 |
| 3 | New Jersey | 5,240 | $45.24 | $94,100 |
| 4 | District of Columbia | 340 | $44.77 | $93,110 |
| 5 | Connecticut | 1,990 | $43.63 | $90,760 |
Nevada topped the list of the highest paying states by offering mean wage $49.65 per hour and $103,280 per annum. Connecticut was 5th in this list and offered $43.63 per hour and $90,760 per annum.
Top 10 paying metropolitan city areas for the occupational therapist:
| Rank | Metropolitan area | Employment | Hourly mean wage | Annual mean wage |
| 1 | Peabody-Salem-Beverly, MA NECTA Division | 130 | $54.34 | $113,030 |
| 2 | Longview, TX | 40 | $54.08 | $112,480 |
| 3 | Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV | 530 | $53.01 | $110,250 |
| 4 | Colorado Springs, CO | 370 | $52.95 | $110,130 |
| 5 | Lubbock, TX | 140 | $52.40 | $109,000 |
| 6 | Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX | 50 | $52.21 | $108,610 |
| 7 | Tyler, TX | 110 | $50.32 | $104,660 |
| 8 | Waco, TX | 100 | $50.20 | $104,410 |
| 9 | Vallejo-Fairfield, CA | 90 | $50.04 | $104,080 |
| 10 | Hammond, LA | 50 | $49.93 | $103,860 |
Peabody-Salem-Beverly, MA topped the list of the highest paying metropolitan cities by offering mean wage $54.34 per hour and $113,030 per annum. Hammond, LA was 10th in this list and offered $49.92 per hour and $103,860 per annum.
Top 5 paying non metropolitan city areas for the occupational therapist:
| Rank | Nonmetropolitan area | Employment | Hourly mean wage | Annual mean wage |
| 1 | Big Thicket Region of Texas | 80 | $51.89 | $107,930 |
| 2 | West Tennessee | 120 | $48.18 | $100,220 |
| 3 | Northeast Florida | 40 | $46.44 | $96,600 |
| 4 | Central Louisiana | 80 | $46.32 | $96,340 |
| 5 | Northeast Oklahoma | 40 | $45.95 | $95,570 |
Big Thicket Region of Texas topped the list of the highest paying nonmetropolitan cities by offering mean wage $51.89 per hour and $107,930 per annum. Northeast Oklahoma was 5th in this list and offered $45.95 per hour and $95,570 per annum.
Are occupational therapists in high demand?
According to the reports of BLS, the job opportunities for occupational therapists are supposed to grow by 24% from 2016 to 2026. Thus, a bright future is looking ahead for the students pursuing their occupational therapy degree.
The BLS projects 27,700 new jobs to open in the occupational therapy field by 2026. The profession is expected to grow by 21 percent, compared with 16 percent growth in health diagnosing and treating practitioner jobs overall.
Do occupational therapists get paid well?
Occupational therapists earned an average annual wage of $83,200 in May 2017. They have a comparable salary to physical therapists, who brought home an average of $86,850 in 2017. However, they make more than occupational therapy assistants ($59,470) and registered nurses ($73,000).
According to the BLS, the median wage for workers in the United States in the fourth quarter of 2017 was $857 per week or $44,564 per year for a 40-hour workweek. However, salaries can vary significantly based on both occupation and location.
The demand and salary of occupational therapists are better than the general worker and comparable with the related occupation in the USA.
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