How Much Do Occupational Therapists Make in 2021 (including Starting Salary)

Stan T.Career, SalaryLeave a Comment

Annual Salary, Salary Range, and Highest Paying States and Industries

Occupational Therapists

Occupational Therapists assess, plan, and organize rehabilitative programs that help build or restore vocational, homemaking, and daily living skills, as well as general independence, to persons with disabilities or developmental delays. Use therapeutic techniques, adapt the individual's environment, teach skills, and modify specific tasks that present barriers to the individual.

Salary
$87480
Becoming One
Very Hard
Education
Master's degree
Job Satisfaction
Job Growth

Personality
Interest Match



Table of contents
  1. Average salary
  2. Starting salary
  3. Salary rank
  4. Salary range
  5. Highest paying states
  6. Highest paying industries

Average salary

Annual salary
$87480 per year
Hourly wage
$42 per hour

Starting salary

Entry-level annual salary
$57,330 to $70,880 per year
Entry-level hourly wage
$28 to $34 per hour

Entry-level Occupational Therapists with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $57,330 to $70,880 per year or $28 to $34 per hour. Similar to any other job, their salary will increase as they gain experience.

Salary rank

Salary rank
A

We wanted to make it easy for our readers to compare the salary of Occupational Therapists to all the other careers out there. So we created Salary Rank. We compared the salary of all careers then we gave them a rank of A, B, C, or D depending on where their average salary sit in comparison to other careers.

Salary range

Level Hourly Annual
Highest (Top 10%) $59 $122,670
Senior (Top 25%) $50 $103,060
Middle (Mid 50%) $41 $86,280
Junior (Bottom 25%) $34 $70,880
No experience (Bottom 10%) $28 $57,330

Highest paying states

State Hourly Annual
NV $54 $111,270
CA $49 $101,080
AZ $48 $99,950
NJ $47 $98,750
DC $46 $96,330
VA $46 $95,170
AK $45 $93,980
RI $45 $93,330
CT $44 $92,000
CO $44 $91,650

Another simple way to increase your salary as an Occupational Therapist is to move to a higher paying state. However moving to a higher paying state like NV doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the expenses at NV might be much higher than where you are currently living at right now.

According to BLS, the highest paid Occupational Therapists are in the states of NV, CA, AZ, NJ and DC.

Highest paying industries

Salary by industry Annual Hourly
Child Day Care Services $106070 $51.00
Management of Companies and Enterprises $99850 $48.00
Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly $94360 $45.36
Home Health Care Services $94270 $45.32
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) $91810 $44.14
Federal Executive Branch $91140 $43.82
Outpatient Care Centers $90760 $43.63
Offices of Physicians $88650 $42.62
Specialty Hospitals $88330 $42.46
Offices of Other Health Practitioners $88220 $42.41
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals $88200 $42.40
Local Government $88120 $42.37
Employment Services $85760 $41.23
Vocational Rehabilitation Services $85740 $41.22
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools $84890 $40.81
Other Residential Care Facilities $84240 $40.50
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services $83240 $40.02
Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Facilities $82950 $39.88
Other Schools and Instruction $80170 $38.54
Individual and Family Services $79420 $38.18
Elementary and Secondary Schools $78890 $37.93
State Government $77200 $37.11
Educational Support Services $77120 $37.08
Junior Colleges $73640 $35.40
Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals $65530 $31.51
Grantmaking and Giving Services $47810 $22.98

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