Annual Salary, Salary Range, and Highest Paying States and Industries
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Recreational Therapists
Recreational Therapists plan, direct, or coordinate medically-approved recreation programs for patients in hospitals, nursing homes, or other institutions. Activities include sports, trips, dramatics, social activities, and crafts. May assess a patient condition and recommend appropriate recreational activity.
Table of contents
- Average salary
- Starting salary
- Salary rank
- Salary range
- Highest paying states
- Highest paying industries
Average salary
Starting salary
Entry-level Recreational Therapists with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $31,450 to $37,570 per year or $15 to $18 per hour. Similar to any other job, their salary will increase as they gain experience.
Salary rank
We wanted to make it easy for our readers to compare the salary of Recreational 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%) | $38 | $79,250 |
| Senior (Top 25%) | $30 | $62,440 |
| Middle (Mid 50%) | $23 | $47,710 |
| Junior (Bottom 25%) | $18 | $37,570 |
| No experience (Bottom 10%) | $15 | $31,450 |
Highest paying states
| State | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| DC | $38 | $78,630 |
| CA | $37 | $77,960 |
| CT | $30 | $61,570 |
| NJ | $29 | $61,090 |
| OR | $28 | $58,420 |
| NY | $28 | $58,010 |
| AR | $26 | $54,600 |
| NH | $26 | $54,020 |
| IA | $26 | $53,970 |
| MA | $25 | $52,390 |
Another simple way to increase your salary as a Recreational Therapist is to move to a higher paying state. However moving to a higher paying state like DC doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the expenses at DC might be much higher than where you are currently living at right now.
According to BLS, the highest paid Recreational Therapists are in the states of DC, CA, CT, NJ and OR.
Highest paying industries
| Salary by industry | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Executive Branch | $77060 | $37.05 |
| Child Day Care Services | $61450 | $29.54 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | $60880 | $29.27 |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools | $59080 | $28.41 |
| State Government | $57360 | $27.58 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools | $55450 | $26.66 |
| Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals | $54870 | $26.38 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | $54810 | $26.35 |
| Specialty Hospitals | $54720 | $26.31 |
| Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services | $54560 | $26.23 |
| Other Residential Care Facilities | $53250 | $25.60 |
| Offices of Other Health Practitioners | $53100 | $25.53 |
| Offices of Physicians | $53000 | $25.48 |
| Home Health Care Services | $52680 | $25.33 |
| Social Advocacy Organizations | $50760 | $24.41 |
| Outpatient Care Centers | $49990 | $24.03 |
| Local Government | $49910 | $24.00 |
| Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Facilities | $49320 | $23.71 |
| Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) | $45480 | $21.87 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly | $42130 | $20.26 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services | $40610 | $19.52 |
| Individual and Family Services | $39030 | $18.76 |
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