How much do occupational therapists make in 2026?
Occupational therapists earn a national median of $100,330 a year ($48.24 an hour) per BLS OEWS May 2025 (SOC 29-1122). The bottom 10% earn about $71,690 and the top 10% reach $131,950. Setting is the strongest single variable: school-based and early-intervention practice sits below the median with a school calendar attached, hospital and outpatient rehabilitation sits near it, and home health and skilled nursing pay above it because of travel, productivity expectations and documentation load. Entry requires a master's or doctoral degree from an accredited programme, the NBCOT examination and a state licence, so the P10 reflects a first-year licensed therapist. Employment is projected to grow 13.8% through 2034 with roughly 10,200 openings a year. → Full occupational therapist career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $100,330 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Occupational Therapists earn a national median $100,330/yr ($48.24/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 29-1122); the P10 to P90 range is $71,690 to $131,950.
- Setting decides occupational-therapy pay: home health and skilled nursing sit above the $100,330 median, while school-based practice sits below it in exchange for a school calendar.
- Specialty certification in hand therapy, low vision or paediatric practice is the main non-geographic lever, and hand therapy is the best-paid of them.
- BLS projects 13.8% growth through 2034 with roughly 10,200 openings a year, one of the higher growth rates among licensed clinical professions at this pay level.
US Occupational Therapist Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do occupational therapists earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 29-1122; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 29-1122, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does an occupational therapist earn at each career stage?
Occupational therapy has a single licence, so the stages below follow setting, specialisation and clinical leadership. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 29-1122.
By State
Which states pay occupational therapists the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates — the BLS national median scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index — not BLS state observations. Occupational therapy has an interstate licensure compact in participating states, which is steadily lowering the cost of multi-state and travel practice, though a compact privilege is not the same as a home-state licence.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($115,380), the highest-paying state shown. See all 51 state salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay occupational therapists the most?
Modeled metro estimates: the national median scaled by the state wage index and then by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local wage levels, not BLS metropolitan-area observations.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise an occupational therapist’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does occupational therapist pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Occupational Therapists sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify occupational therapist wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does an occupational therapist actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Occupational Therapist Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
Occupational Therapist career research journey
Do your homework, then let the network do the rest.Get the job, then keep rising
FreeSet your intent, matching jobs come to you. No applying.
A roadmap to your next licence tier and higher pay band.
Once placed, we cover all certification, licence & career-guide fees.
Hiring occupational therapists?
Get a verified shortlist of 3–5 qualified candidates in 48 hours
GlobalCybers verifies active state licenses, trade certifications, Intent and right-to-work status before any candidate reaches your portal. Flat $2,999/mo RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing), up to 3 concurrent roles, or a free trial (pay on hire). 90-day written guarantee.
Related · Occupational Therapist
Everything for occupational therapists in one place
Salary data, licensing, interview prep, and hiring, all cross-linked so you (and search engines) can move through the full occupational therapist cluster.