Healthcare Support Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages O*NET task lead SOC 31-2012

Occupational Therapy Aides

O*NET task statements lead this Occupational Therapy Aides card before OEWS pay; neighboring titles include Medical Equipment Preparers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Medical Transcriptionists, Orderlies.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Occupational Therapy Aides: Medical Equipment Preparers ($48K) , Home Health and Personal Care Aides ($36K) , Medical Transcriptionists ($40K) , Orderlies ($38K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Occupational Therapy Aides publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 31-2012 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Encourage patients and attend to their physical needs to facilitate the attainment of therapeutic goals
  2. 2. Report to supervisors or therapists, verbally or in writing, on patients' progress, attitudes, attendance, and accomplishments
  3. 3. Evaluate the living skills and capacities of clients with physical, developmental, or mental health disabilities
  4. 4. Observe patients' attendance, progress, attitudes, and accomplishments and record and maintain information in client records
  5. 5. Prepare and maintain work area, materials, and equipment and maintain inventory of treatment and educational supplies
  6. 6. Transport patients to and from the occupational therapy work area
  7. 7. Instruct patients and families in work, social, and living skills, the care and use of adaptive equipment, and other skills to facilitate…
  8. 8. Assist occupational therapists in planning, implementing, and administering therapy programs to restore, reinforce, and enhance performan…
  9. 9. Demonstrate therapy techniques, such as manual and creative arts and games
  10. 10. Manage intradepartmental infection control and equipment security
  11. 11. Perform clerical, administrative, and secretarial duties, such as answering phones, restocking and ordering supplies, filling out paperwo…
  12. 12. Supervise patients in choosing and completing work assignments or arts and crafts projects

Occupational Therapy Aides: O*NET ranks Service Orientation first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 31-2012 - lead skill Service Orientation at 3.8 ; lead knowledge Therapy and Counseling. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Service Orientation 3.8
  2. 2. Speaking 3.6
  3. 3. Social Perceptiveness 3.6
  4. 4. Active Listening 3.5
  5. 5. Coordination 3.4
  6. 6. Critical Thinking 3.3
  7. 7. Monitoring 3.3
  8. 8. Reading Comprehension 3.1

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Therapy and Counseling 4.4
  2. 2. English Language 4.2
  3. 3. Customer and Personal Service 4.1
  4. 4. Psychology 3.8
  5. 5. Computers and Electronics 3.7
  6. 6. Education and Training 3.6
National median after O*NET task lead
$39,160
/year · 12 published task lines above
Lead task: Encourage patients and attend to their physical needs to facilitate the attainment of therapeutic goals
$39K
National median
↑ +3%
Growth 2024-2034
600
Annual openings
4,310
Estimated US jobs
Medical Equipment Preparers
Highest-pay peer · $48K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Top Paying States for Occupational Therapy Aides

1. Washington $45,890
2. North Carolina $66,190
3. New York $46,220
4. New Jersey $44,470
5. Nebraska $44,980
6. Colorado $40,110
7. Connecticut $44,840
8. New Mexico $43,170
9. California $43,480
10. Massachusetts $40,160

Other Healthcare Support Occupations titles

  1. 1. Medical Transcriptionists $40,410
  2. 2. Orderlies $38,290
  3. 3. Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers $38,150
  4. 4. Medical Assistants $45,690
  5. 5. Medical Equipment Preparers $47,700
  6. 6. Home Health and Personal Care Aides $35,800

O*NET publishes 12 leading task statements for Occupational Therapy Aides (SOC 31-2012). The national OEWS median is $39,160 inside Healthcare Support Occupations. Same-group neighbors: Medical Equipment Preparers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Medical Transcriptionists, Orderlies. Lead published task: Encourage patients and attend to their physical needs to facilitate the attainment of therapeutic goals.

Employment Projections expect +3% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 600 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. 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: Washington at $45,890. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Medical Equipment Preparers at $47,700. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Occupational Therapy Aides pay-rank #12 in Healthcare Support Occupations

Occupational Therapy Aides sits at pay-rank #12 of 17 detailed Healthcare Support 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 31-2012 · national median $39,160 · middle third of Healthcare Support Occupations (#12/17). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Occupational Therapy Aides salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 31-2012

Washington · top state for Occupational Therapy Aides

$46K published median

North Carolina · #2 state pay

$66K · behind Washington

Medical Equipment Preparers

Highest-pay peer vs Occupational Therapy Aides · $48K

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

Lower-pay peer beside Occupational Therapy Aides · $36K

Compare Occupational Therapy Aides

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
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Role and task next reads

Occupational Therapy Aides full salary map

State and metro OEWS after the task lead

Compare tasks and pay

Side-by-side with another occupation

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Occupational Therapy Aides mid-table among Healthcare Support Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #12 of 17 detailed Healthcare Support Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Medical Transcriptionists ($40K), Nursing Assistants ($42K), Psychiatric Aides ($45K), Phlebotomists ($45K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do occupational therapy aides do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Occupational Therapy Aides. Leading ones include: Encourage patients and attend to their physical needs to facilitate the attainment of therapeutic goals; Report to supervisors or therapists, verbally or in writing, on patients' progress, attitudes, attendance, and accomplishments; Evaluate the living skills and capacities of clients with physical, developmental, or mental health disabilities; Observe patients' attendance, progress, attitudes, and accomplishments and record and maintain information in client records. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for occupational therapy aides? ▼
For SOC 31-2012, O*NET importance scores lead with Service Orientation (3.8), Speaking (3.6), Social Perceptiveness (3.6), Active Listening (3.5). Knowledge areas emphasize Therapy and Counseling, English Language, Customer and Personal Service. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Occupational Therapy Aides? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $39,160 as the national median for Occupational Therapy Aides. The published 10th-90th range is $29,430 to $70,200. Beside Medical Equipment Preparers ($47,700), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Occupational Therapy Aides? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Occupational Therapy Aides is +3%. Projected annual openings: about 600. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Occupational Therapy Aides? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Occupational Therapy Aides. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Occupational Therapy Aides? ▼
Washington ($45,890), North Carolina ($66,190), New York ($46,220) 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 Therapy Aides card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 31-2012. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Occupational Therapy Aides. 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