Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Above-baseline growth SOC 29-1122

Occupational Therapists

Projected +14% employment change leads this card; pay sits next to Radiologists, Physicians, All Other, Physicians, Pathologists, Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Occupational Therapists: Radiologists ($421K) , Physicians, All Other ($266K) , Physicians, Pathologists ($312K) , Obstetricians and Gynecologists ($293K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Occupational Therapists publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 29-1122 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Test and evaluate patients' physical and mental abilities and analyze medical data to determine realistic rehabilitation goals for patients
  2. 2. Complete and maintain necessary records
  3. 3. Plan, organize, and conduct occupational therapy programs in hospital, institutional, or community settings to help rehabilitate persons…
  4. 4. Plan and implement programs and social activities to help patients learn work or school skills and adjust to handicaps
  5. 5. Select activities that will help individuals learn work and life-management skills within limits of their mental or physical capabilities
  6. 6. Evaluate patients' progress and prepare reports that detail progress
  7. 7. Train caregivers in providing for the needs of a patient during and after therapy
  8. 8. Lay out materials such as puzzles, scissors and eating utensils for use in therapy, and clean and repair these tools after therapy sessions
  9. 9. Consult with rehabilitation team to select activity programs or coordinate occupational therapy with other therapeutic activities
  10. 10. Design and create, or requisition, special supplies and equipment, such as splints, braces, and computer-aided adaptive equipment
  11. 11. Recommend changes in patients' work or living environments, consistent with their needs and capabilities
  12. 12. Develop and participate in health promotion programs, group activities, or discussions to promote client health, facilitate social adjust…

Occupational Therapists: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 29-1122 - lead skill Active Listening at 4.1 ; lead knowledge Therapy and Counseling. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 4.1
  2. 2. Monitoring 4.1
  3. 3. Service Orientation 4.1
  4. 4. Reading Comprehension 4.0
  5. 5. Writing 4.0
  6. 6. Speaking 4.0
  7. 7. Critical Thinking 4.0
  8. 8. Social Perceptiveness 4.0

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Therapy and Counseling 4.7
  2. 2. Psychology 4.5
  3. 3. Customer and Personal Service 4.3
  4. 4. Medicine and Dentistry 4.2
  5. 5. English Language 4.1
  6. 6. Education and Training 3.9
Projected employment change 2024-2034
↑ +14%
much faster than average (3.1%)
National median $100,330/yr
$100K
National median
10,200
Annual openings
162,450
Estimated US jobs
Radiologists
Highest-pay peer · $421K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Master's degree

Top Paying States for Occupational Therapists

1. District of Columbia $109,170
2. Oregon $112,310
3. Washington $107,670
4. Colorado $106,720
5. Nevada $110,520
6. Arkansas $106,360
7. Texas $106,140
8. Maryland $106,980
9. California $124,510
10. Oklahoma $104,300

Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations titles

  1. 1. Physicians, Pathologists $312,400
  2. 2. Obstetricians and Gynecologists $292,910
  3. 3. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons $352,220
  4. 4. Radiologists $420,860
  5. 5. Physicians, All Other $265,930
  6. 6. Surgeons, All Other $414,010

BLS projects +14% employment change for Occupational Therapists (2024-2034), much faster than average vs the all-occupations baseline of 3.1%. Published median pay is $100,330.

BLS assigns Master's degree as typical entry education. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal employer rules. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: District of Columbia at $109,170. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Radiologists at $420,860. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Occupational Therapists pay-rank #36 in Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations

Occupational Therapists sits at pay-rank #36 of 71 detailed Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 29-1122 · national median $100,330 · middle third of Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations (#36/71). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Occupational Therapists salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 29-1122

District of Columbia · top state for Occupational Therapists

$109K published median

Oregon · #2 state pay

$112K · behind District of Columbia

Radiologists

Highest-pay peer vs Occupational Therapists · $421K

Physicians, All Other

Lower-pay peer beside Occupational Therapists · $266K

Compare Occupational Therapists

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Occupational Therapists with another occupation →

Growth and outlook next reads

Fastest-Growing Rankings

National projection leaders

Highest-Paying Careers

Where growth meets pay

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Occupational Therapists mid-table among Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #36 of 71 detailed Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Genetic Counselors ($100K), Nuclear Medicine Technologists ($101K), Dental Hygienists ($98K), Physical Therapists ($103K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do occupational therapists do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Occupational Therapists. Leading ones include: Test and evaluate patients' physical and mental abilities and analyze medical data to determine realistic rehabilitation goals for patients; Complete and maintain necessary records; Plan, organize, and conduct occupational therapy programs in hospital, institutional, or community settings to help rehabilitate persons…; Plan and implement programs and social activities to help patients learn work or school skills and adjust to handicaps. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for occupational therapists? ▼
For SOC 29-1122, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (4.1), Monitoring (4.1), Service Orientation (4.1), Reading Comprehension (4.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Therapy and Counseling, Psychology, Customer and Personal Service. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Occupational Therapists? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $100,330 as the national median for Occupational Therapists. The published 10th-90th range is $71,690 to $131,950. Beside Radiologists ($420,860), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
How fast is Occupational Therapists projected to grow? ▼
BLS Employment Projections put Occupational Therapists at +14% change for 2024-2034, with about 10,200 annual openings. Versus the all-occupations baseline (3.1%): much faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Occupational Therapists? ▼
BLS assigns Master's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Occupational Therapists. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Occupational Therapists? ▼
District of Columbia ($109,170), Oregon ($112,310), Washington ($107,670) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Occupational Therapists card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 29-1122. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Occupational Therapists. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics