There were nearly 145,000 occupational therapist jobs in the U.S. as of May 2023 per data available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Occupational therapists (OTs) work in varied healthcare settings, including the offices of non-physician healthcare practitioners, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and home healthcare agencies.  Many OTs also work in educational settings, mostly elementary and secondary schools.  Like many other healthcare professionals with special training and skills, OTs typically earn more money than workers in most occupations.  According to BLS estimates, as of May 2023, the national mean wage for OTs was $96,790 per year.  That said, there is considerable variation from region to region in the annual mean wages earned by OTs.  This variation is readily evident in occupational therapist pay in the top 20 metro markets in the U.S., which in May 2023 was as follows according to BLS data:

Occupational Therapist Pay in the Top 20 Metro Markets

	Metropolitan Area		# Employed	Mean Annual Wage
1	New York-Newark-Jersey City		10,420	$116,390
2	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim		4,500	$112,660
3	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin		5,840	$98,890
4	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington		2,890	$103,830
5	Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land		2,220	$102,580
6	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria		1,980	$108,150
7	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington		3,990	$99,840
8	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach		2,130	$95,020
9	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta		2,290	$102,300
10	Boston-Cambridge-Newton		4,000	$95,130
11	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler		1,980	$94,700
12	San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley		1,500	$125,850
13	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario		1,060	$106,080
14	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn		2,090	$83,930
15	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue		2,200	$104,710
16	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington		2,010	$86,470
17	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad		1,460	$108,430
18	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater		1,460	$93,710
19	Denver-Aurora-Lakewood		1,900	$107,330
20	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson		1,480	$100,140
	National		144,840	$96,790

Report Period:  May 2023
Top 20 U.S. Metro areas from the 2020 Census
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Occupational Statistics
Data extracted on August 11, 2024