Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
29-1125 Recreational Therapists
Plan, direct, or coordinate medically-approved recreation programs for patients in hospitals, nursing homes, or other institutions. Activities include sports, trips, dramatics, social activities, and crafts. May assess a patient condition and recommend appropriate recreational activity. Excludes “Recreation Workers” (39-9032).
National estimates for Recreational Therapists
Industry profile for Recreational Therapists
Geographic profile for Recreational Therapists
National estimates for Recreational Therapists:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Recreational Therapists:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 16,980 |
2.5 % |
$ 25.91 |
$ 53,900 |
0.9 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Recreational Therapists:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 15.25 |
$ 18.20 |
$ 23.05 |
$ 29.55 |
$ 38.75 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 31,710 |
$ 37,850 |
$ 47,940 |
$ 61,470 |
$ 80,610 |
Industry profile for Recreational Therapists:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Recreational Therapists are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Recreational Therapists, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Recreational Therapists:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals |
3,310 |
1.38 |
$ 27.05 |
$ 56,260 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
2,840 |
0.05 |
$ 26.97 |
$ 56,110 |
| Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) |
2,600 |
0.18 |
$ 20.78 |
$ 43,220 |
| State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
1,590 |
0.07 |
$ 27.92 |
$ 58,080 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly |
1,160 |
0.13 |
$ 19.75 |
$ 41,080 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Recreational Therapists:
Top paying industries for Recreational Therapists:
Geographic profile for Recreational Therapists:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Recreational Therapists are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Recreational Therapists, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Recreational Therapists:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
1,950 |
0.12 |
0.98 |
$ 34.32 |
$ 71,380 |
| New York |
1,530 |
0.18 |
1.46 |
$ 28.77 |
$ 59,850 |
| Texas |
1,100 |
0.09 |
0.74 |
$ 27.83 |
$ 57,890 |
| Michigan |
860 |
0.21 |
1.76 |
$ 24.41 |
$ 50,780 |
| Florida |
790 |
0.09 |
0.76 |
$ 24.39 |
$ 50,720 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Recreational Therapists:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Kansas |
580 |
0.44 |
3.62 |
$ 16.39 |
$ 34,090 |
| Iowa |
340 |
0.23 |
1.90 |
$ 23.31 |
$ 48,480 |
| Minnesota |
580 |
0.21 |
1.77 |
$ 24.80 |
$ 51,580 |
| Michigan |
860 |
0.21 |
1.76 |
$ 24.41 |
$ 50,780 |
| Utah |
310 |
0.20 |
1.64 |
$ 21.78 |
$ 45,290 |
Top paying states for Recreational Therapists:
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Recreational Therapists:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
1,420 |
0.16 |
1.36 |
$ 30.43 |
$ 63,300 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
560 |
0.10 |
0.81 |
$ 29.38 |
$ 61,110 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
360 |
0.09 |
0.71 |
$ 27.53 |
$ 57,260 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
360 |
0.14 |
1.14 |
$ 26.12 |
$ 54,330 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
330 |
0.09 |
0.77 |
$ 28.91 |
$ 60,140 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
330 |
0.13 |
1.05 |
$ 25.03 |
$ 52,060 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI |
310 |
0.17 |
1.42 |
$ 24.16 |
$ 50,250 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
300 |
0.12 |
0.98 |
$ 26.86 |
$ 55,870 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
300 |
0.10 |
0.84 |
$ 28.00 |
$ 58,230 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
230 |
0.10 |
0.79 |
$ 23.66 |
$ 49,210 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Recreational Therapists:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA |
110 |
0.96 |
7.97 |
$ 41.69 |
$ 86,720 |
| Ann Arbor, MI |
130 |
0.65 |
5.43 |
$ 25.54 |
$ 53,120 |
| Iowa City, IA |
40 |
0.50 |
4.12 |
$ 25.44 |
$ 52,910 |
| Topeka, KS |
50 |
0.46 |
3.79 |
$ 18.83 |
$ 39,160 |
| Provo-Orem, UT |
120 |
0.45 |
3.76 |
$ 18.88 |
$ 39,280 |
| Columbus, GA-AL |
50 |
0.45 |
3.74 |
$ 15.65 |
$ 32,560 |
| Vallejo-Fairfield, CA |
50 |
0.36 |
3.02 |
$ 39.61 |
$ 82,390 |
| Kalamazoo-Portage, MI |
50 |
0.36 |
3.00 |
$ 25.40 |
$ 52,840 |
| Macon, GA |
30 |
0.35 |
2.87 |
$ 18.57 |
$ 38,630 |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI |
170 |
0.33 |
2.73 |
$ 22.98 |
$ 47,800 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Recreational Therapists:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA |
110 |
0.96 |
7.97 |
$ 41.69 |
$ 86,720 |
| Vallejo-Fairfield, CA |
50 |
0.36 |
3.02 |
$ 39.61 |
$ 82,390 |
| Fresno, CA |
110 |
0.29 |
2.40 |
$ 37.70 |
$ 78,410 |
| Stockton-Lodi, CA |
40 |
0.16 |
1.36 |
$ 37.48 |
$ 77,950 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA |
200 |
0.13 |
1.08 |
$ 36.16 |
$ 75,210 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
160 |
0.07 |
0.58 |
$ 35.87 |
$ 74,600 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
80 |
0.08 |
0.66 |
$ 35.11 |
$ 73,020 |
| Trenton, NJ |
40 |
0.16 |
1.29 |
$ 34.09 |
$ 70,910 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA |
40 |
0.04 |
0.32 |
$ 33.02 |
$ 68,680 |
| Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA |
120 |
0.12 |
0.98 |
$ 32.71 |
$ 68,040 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Recreational Therapists:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Recreational Therapists:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Recreational Therapists:
About May 2021 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.
(8) Estimate not released.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
