Recreational Therapist Pay in the Great Plains Region

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) most recent occupational employment data put the number of recreational therapists employed in the United States at more than 20,000 as of May 2020.  At that time, just under 1,900 recreational therapists were employed in the seven-state Great Plains region according to BLS figures.  Although Iowa ranked as a top ten state for recreational therapist annual mean wages according to BLS data, the Great Plains region was a rather weak one for recreational therapist pay.  Other states in the region registered recreational therapist annual mean wage levels that were below the national average for the profession, with Kansas ranked amongst the ten worst states in the nation for that pay metric.  A closer look at May 2020 BLS data provides the following details about recreational therapist pay in the Great Plains region:

Recreational Therapist Pay in the Great Plains Region

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
IA	180	$53,970	9th
KS	390	$38,710	45th
MN	720	$49,630	17th
MO	440	$50,720	14th
NE	100	$46,980	32nd
ND	40	$49,390	19th
SD	-------	-------	NR
U.S.	20,080	$51,260	-------

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

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on May 29, 2021