Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
31-2011 Occupational Therapy Assistants
Assist occupational therapists in providing occupational therapy treatments and procedures. May, in accordance with state laws, assist in development of treatment plans, carry out routine functions, direct activity programs, and document the progress of treatments. Generally requires formal training.
National estimates for Occupational Therapy Assistants
Industry profile for Occupational Therapy Assistants
Geographic profile for Occupational Therapy Assistants
National estimates for Occupational Therapy Assistants:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Occupational Therapy Assistants:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 41,980 |
2.6 % |
$ 30.56 |
$ 63,560 |
0.6 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Occupational Therapy Assistants:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 22.50 |
$ 24.46 |
$ 29.68 |
$ 36.90 |
$ 38.56 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 46,810 |
$ 50,880 |
$ 61,730 |
$ 76,740 |
$ 80,210 |
Industry profile for Occupational Therapy Assistants:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Occupational Therapy Assistants are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Occupational Therapy Assistants, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Occupational Therapy Assistants:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Offices of Other Health Practitioners |
18,860 |
1.94 |
$ 29.64 |
$ 61,650 |
| Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) |
6,840 |
0.49 |
$ 33.22 |
$ 69,090 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
5,020 |
0.09 |
$ 28.86 |
$ 60,030 |
| Home Health Care Services |
3,180 |
0.21 |
$ 35.50 |
$ 73,840 |
| Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals |
2,190 |
0.81 |
$ 32.98 |
$ 68,590 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Occupational Therapy Assistants:
Top paying industries for Occupational Therapy Assistants:
Geographic profile for Occupational Therapy Assistants:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Occupational Therapy Assistants are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Occupational Therapy Assistants, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Occupational Therapy Assistants:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Texas |
4,050 |
0.33 |
1.11 |
$ 34.02 |
$ 70,770 |
| Ohio |
3,410 |
0.66 |
2.20 |
$ 29.69 |
$ 61,760 |
| California |
3,200 |
0.19 |
0.65 |
$ 36.10 |
$ 75,080 |
| Pennsylvania |
2,690 |
0.48 |
1.62 |
$ 26.84 |
$ 55,820 |
| Florida |
2,550 |
0.30 |
1.00 |
$ 31.43 |
$ 65,370 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Occupational Therapy Assistants:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Ohio |
3,410 |
0.66 |
2.20 |
$ 29.69 |
$ 61,760 |
| Arizona |
1,470 |
0.51 |
1.71 |
$ 28.71 |
$ 59,710 |
| Rhode Island |
230 |
0.50 |
1.66 |
$ 29.90 |
$ 62,190 |
| Pennsylvania |
2,690 |
0.48 |
1.62 |
$ 26.84 |
$ 55,820 |
| Wisconsin |
1,280 |
0.47 |
1.56 |
$ 24.88 |
$ 51,760 |
Top paying states for Occupational Therapy Assistants:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Nevada |
240 |
0.18 |
0.62 |
$ 37.55 |
$ 78,100 |
| California |
3,200 |
0.19 |
0.65 |
$ 36.10 |
$ 75,080 |
| Hawaii |
80 |
0.15 |
0.50 |
$ 35.25 |
$ 73,330 |
| New Jersey |
640 |
0.17 |
0.56 |
$ 35.03 |
$ 72,860 |
| Delaware |
60 |
0.13 |
0.45 |
$ 34.58 |
$ 71,930 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Occupational Therapy Assistants:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
1,930 |
0.46 |
1.53 |
$ 31.11 |
$ 64,700 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
1,850 |
0.21 |
0.72 |
$ 34.99 |
$ 72,790 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
1,180 |
0.33 |
1.10 |
$ 35.86 |
$ 74,590 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
1,160 |
0.55 |
1.83 |
$ 28.64 |
$ 59,570 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
1,020 |
0.38 |
1.29 |
$ 29.22 |
$ 60,770 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
880 |
0.30 |
1.02 |
$ 34.24 |
$ 71,220 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
700 |
0.27 |
0.91 |
$ 32.09 |
$ 66,760 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI |
650 |
0.36 |
1.21 |
$ 27.00 |
$ 56,160 |
| Cleveland-Elyria, OH |
580 |
0.61 |
2.04 |
$ 30.62 |
$ 63,680 |
| Columbus, OH |
550 |
0.54 |
1.81 |
$ 31.21 |
$ 64,920 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Occupational Therapy Assistants:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Cumberland, MD-WV |
60 |
1.59 |
5.32 |
$ 25.43 |
$ 52,900 |
| Johnstown, PA |
60 |
1.34 |
4.51 |
$ 24.28 |
$ 50,510 |
| Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH |
50 |
1.31 |
4.38 |
$ 25.50 |
$ 53,040 |
| Lima, OH |
60 |
1.29 |
4.34 |
$ 28.51 |
$ 59,290 |
| Canton-Massillon, OH |
190 |
1.21 |
4.07 |
$ 27.85 |
$ 57,940 |
| Springfield, OH |
40 |
0.94 |
3.15 |
$ 28.07 |
$ 58,390 |
| Pueblo, CO |
50 |
0.88 |
2.96 |
$ 28.23 |
$ 58,720 |
| Wheeling, WV-OH |
50 |
0.88 |
2.94 |
$ 27.01 |
$ 56,170 |
| Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA |
170 |
0.87 |
2.92 |
$ 26.34 |
$ 54,790 |
| Jonesboro, AR |
50 |
0.81 |
2.72 |
$ 32.13 |
$ 66,830 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Occupational Therapy Assistants:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
200 |
0.09 |
0.30 |
$ 41.14 |
$ 85,570 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV |
170 |
0.19 |
0.63 |
$ 37.36 |
$ 77,720 |
| San Diego-Carlsbad, CA |
330 |
0.24 |
0.79 |
$ 37.33 |
$ 77,650 |
| Reno, NV |
40 |
0.18 |
0.60 |
$ 37.00 |
$ 76,970 |
| Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA |
140 |
0.15 |
0.49 |
$ 36.90 |
$ 76,750 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA |
80 |
0.27 |
0.91 |
$ 36.34 |
$ 75,590 |
| Albuquerque, NM |
(8) |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 36.14 |
$ 75,180 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
1,180 |
0.33 |
1.10 |
$ 35.86 |
$ 74,590 |
| Visalia-Porterville, CA |
40 |
0.29 |
0.96 |
$ 35.60 |
$ 74,050 |
| Raleigh, NC |
120 |
0.19 |
0.64 |
$ 35.35 |
$ 73,520 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Occupational Therapy Assistants:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Occupational Therapy Assistants:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Occupational Therapy Assistants:
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.
(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
