Healthcare Support Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Above-baseline growth SOC 31-2011

Occupational Therapy Assistants

Projected +19% employment change leads this card; pay sits next to Healthcare Support Workers, All Other, Physical Therapist Aides, Orderlies, Medical Assistants.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Occupational Therapy Assistants: Healthcare Support Workers, All Other ($48K) , Physical Therapist Aides ($35K) , Orderlies ($38K) , Medical Assistants ($46K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Occupational Therapy Assistants publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 31-2011 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Instruct, or assist in instructing, patients and families in home programs, basic living skills, or the care and use of adaptive equipment
  2. 2. Maintain and promote a positive attitude toward clients and their treatment programs
  3. 3. Report to supervisors, verbally or in writing, on patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior
  4. 4. Implement, or assist occupational therapists with implementing, treatment plans designed to help clients function independently
  5. 5. Monitor patients' performance in therapy activities, providing encouragement
  6. 6. Observe and record patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior and maintain this information in client records
  7. 7. Select therapy activities to fit patients' needs and capabilities
  8. 8. Attend continuing education classes
  9. 9. Aid patients in dressing and grooming themselves
  10. 10. Evaluate the daily living skills or capacities of clients with physical, developmental, or mental health disabilities
  11. 11. Communicate and collaborate with other healthcare professionals involved with the care of a patient
  12. 12. Work under the direction of occupational therapists to plan, implement, or administer educational, vocational, or recreational programs t…

Occupational Therapy Assistants: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 31-2011 - lead skill Active Listening at 3.9 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 3.9
  2. 2. Speaking 3.9
  3. 3. Social Perceptiveness 3.9
  4. 4. Service Orientation 3.9
  5. 5. Reading Comprehension 3.6
  6. 6. Time Management 3.5
  7. 7. Critical Thinking 3.4
  8. 8. Monitoring 3.4

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 4.7
  2. 2. Psychology 4.3
  3. 3. Education and Training 3.9
  4. 4. English Language 3.7
  5. 5. Therapy and Counseling 3.7
  6. 6. Public Safety and Security 3.4
Projected employment change 2024-2034
↑ +19%
much faster than average (3.1%)
National median $72,300/yr
$72K
National median
7,200
Annual openings
51,290
Estimated US jobs
Healthcare Support Workers, All Other
Highest-pay peer · $48K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Associate's degree

Top Paying States for Occupational Therapy Assistants

1. Oregon $76,850
2. Delaware $78,640
3. California $81,770
4. New Mexico $77,020
5. Maryland $82,010
6. Nevada $79,510
7. Washington $77,590
8. Arkansas $78,940
9. Texas $81,500
10. Georgia $75,920

Other Healthcare Support Occupations titles

  1. 1. Orderlies $38,290
  2. 2. Physical Therapist Aides $35,240
  3. 3. Healthcare Support Workers, All Other $48,430
  4. 4. Medical Assistants $45,690
  5. 5. Pharmacy Aides $37,680
  6. 6. Nursing Assistants $42,260

BLS projects +19% employment change for Occupational Therapy Assistants (2024-2034), much faster than average vs the all-occupations baseline of 3.1%. Published median pay is $72,300.

BLS assigns Associate'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: Oregon at $76,850. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Healthcare Support Workers, All Other at $48,430. 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 Assistants pay-rank #1 in Healthcare Support Occupations

Among 17 detailed Healthcare Support Occupations with a published OEWS median, Occupational Therapy Assistants is pay-rank #1, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third 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 31-2011 · national median $72,300 · upper third of Healthcare Support Occupations (#1/17). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Occupational Therapy Assistants salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 31-2011

Oregon · top state for Occupational Therapy Assistants

$77K published median

Delaware · #2 state pay

$79K · behind Oregon

Healthcare Support Workers, All Other

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

Physical Therapist Aides

Lower-pay peer beside Occupational Therapy Assistants · $35K

Compare Occupational Therapy Assistants

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

Growth and outlook next reads

Fastest-Growing Rankings

National projection leaders

Highest-Paying Careers

Where growth meets pay

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Healthcare Support Occupations titles sit near Occupational Therapy Assistants at the top of the pay table? ▼
Occupational Therapy Assistants is pay-rank #1 of 17 detailed Healthcare Support Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Physical Therapist Assistants ($68K), Massage Therapists ($58K), Healthcare Support Workers, All Other ($48K), Dental Assistants ($48K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do occupational therapy assistants do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Occupational Therapy Assistants. Leading ones include: Instruct, or assist in instructing, patients and families in home programs, basic living skills, or the care and use of adaptive equipment; Maintain and promote a positive attitude toward clients and their treatment programs; Report to supervisors, verbally or in writing, on patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior; Implement, or assist occupational therapists with implementing, treatment plans designed to help clients function independently. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for occupational therapy assistants? ▼
For SOC 31-2011, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (3.9), Speaking (3.9), Social Perceptiveness (3.9), Service Orientation (3.9). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, Psychology, Education and Training. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Occupational Therapy Assistants? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $72,300 as the national median for Occupational Therapy Assistants. The published 10th-90th range is $51,490 to $89,780. Beside Healthcare Support Workers, All Other ($48,430), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
How fast is Occupational Therapy Assistants projected to grow? ▼
BLS Employment Projections put Occupational Therapy Assistants at +19% change for 2024-2034, with about 7,200 annual openings. Versus the all-occupations baseline (3.1%): much faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Occupational Therapy Assistants? ▼
BLS assigns Associate's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Occupational Therapy Assistants. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Occupational Therapy Assistants? ▼
Oregon ($76,850), Delaware ($78,640), California ($81,770) 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 Assistants card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 31-2011. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Occupational Therapy Assistants. 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