Occupational Therapist Pay in the U.S. Southwest

May 2020 employment data published earlier this year by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that over 126,600 occupational therapists (OTs) were employed in the U.S.  About 12,400 of those OT jobs were in the four-state Southwestern region of the country.  BLS data reveals the Southwest region to be an average one in terms of OT pay, despite the fact that Arizona ranked among the five best states in the nation for OT annual mean wage levels.   That said, more than 80% of the occupational therapists in the U.S. Southwest lived states where the OT annual mean wage level was within a percent or two of the national average for all occupational therapists.  Drilling down into May 2020 BLS data reveals the following about occupational therapist pay in the U.S. Southwest:

Occupational Therapist Pay in the U.S. Southwest

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
AZ	2,190	$99,950	3rd
NM	630	$86,320	20th
OK	820	$86,880	18th
TX	8,790	$89,410	13th
U.S.	126,610	$87,480	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on April 26, 2021