Careers / Occupational Therapists
Occupational Therapists — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$100,330
United States, 2025
Employment
162,450
United States, 2025
Typical education
Master's Degree
Job Zone 5
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
Assess, plan, and organize rehabilitative programs that help build or restore vocational, homemaking, and daily living skills, as well as general independence, to persons with disabilities or developmental delays. Use therapeutic techniques, adapt the individual's environment, teach skills, and modify specific tasks that present barriers to the individual.
- O*NET code
- 29-1122.00
- Job zone
- 5
- Experience required
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year
Typical tasks
- Test and evaluate patients' physical and mental abilities and analyze medical data to determine realistic rehabilitation goals for patients.
- Complete and maintain necessary records.
- Plan, organize, and conduct occupational therapy programs in hospital, institutional, or community settings to help rehabilitate persons with disabilities because of illness, injury or psychological or developmental problems.
- Plan and implement programs and social activities to help patients learn work or school skills and adjust to handicaps.
- Select activities that will help individuals learn work and life-management skills within limits of their mental or physical capabilities.
- Evaluate patients' progress and prepare reports that detail progress.
- Train caregivers in providing for the needs of a patient during and after therapy.
- Lay out materials such as puzzles, scissors and eating utensils for use in therapy, and clean and repair these tools after therapy sessions.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$71,690
25th percentile
$82,510
75th percentile
$116,670
90th percentile
$131,950
Most important skills
- Active Listening4.1
- Service Orientation4.1
- Monitoring4.1
- Judgment and Decision Making4.0
- Critical Thinking4.0
- Instructing4.0
- Writing4.0
- Speaking4.0
- Social Perceptiveness4.0
- Reading Comprehension4.0
- Learning Strategies3.9
- Active Learning3.9
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 21 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
21
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active Listening | 4.1 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Service Orientation | 4.1 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Monitoring | 4.1 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Critical Thinking | 4.0 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Instructing | 4.0 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Writing | 4.0 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Speaking | 4.0 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 4.0 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Reading Comprehension | 4.0 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 4.0 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Learning Strategies | 3.9 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Active Learning | 3.9 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Coordination | 3.8 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Time Management | 3.8 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.3 | 3.8 | Not selected | 3.8 |
| Systems Analysis | 3.1 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Systems Evaluation | 3.1 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Operations Analysis | 3.1 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Persuasion | 3.0 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Negotiation | 3.0 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
Related careers
Supplemental
National median not published
Compare with Occupational TherapistsSupplemental
National median $60,280
Compare with Occupational TherapistsSupplemental
National median $97,550
Compare with Occupational TherapistsHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | $136,870 | 840 | 2025 |
| San Francisco, CA | $136,770 | 1,560 | 2025 |
| Vallejo, CA | $135,000 | 100 | 2025 |
| Santa Cruz, CA | $130,420 | 100 | 2025 |
| Chico, CA | $129,260 | 70 | 2025 |
| Santa Rosa, CA | $128,010 | 130 | 2025 |
| Santa Maria, CA | $125,890 | 170 | 2025 |
| CA | $124,510 | 13,810 | 2025 |
| Napa, CA | $124,490 | 40 | 2025 |
| Boulder, CO | $123,490 | 260 | 2025 |
| Bakersfield, CA | $123,200 | 170 | 2025 |
| Salinas, CA | $123,180 | 110 | 2025 |
| Stockton, CA | $122,990 | 230 | 2025 |
| Sacramento, CA | $122,780 | 810 | 2025 |
| Visalia, CA | $122,690 | 140 | 2025 |
| Austin, TX | $122,050 | 1,600 | 2025 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $122,040 | 4,950 | 2025 |
| San Diego, CA | $121,680 | 1,620 | 2025 |
| Modesto, CA | $121,110 | 170 | 2025 |
| Oxnard, CA | $120,570 | 300 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Occupational Therapists to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.