Occupational Therapy Aides Salary: $37,370 Median Pay (2026 stats)
Executive Summary
About 5,000 occupational therapy aides work nationally, and $37,370 is the BLS national median annual wage. Employment in the series shown fell about 30% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 1.9% annual decline.
Occupational Therapy Aides: what the data shows
Common questions about occupational therapy aides careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a occupational therapy aides?
Occupational Therapy Aides is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 31-2012.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 5,000 workers.
What does a occupational therapy aides do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Assisting and Caring for Others, Performing for or Working Directly with the Public, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Performing General Physical Activities, Getting Information, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a occupational therapy aides make?
BLS national median annual wage: $37,370 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $44,140 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $36,448 |
| 25th percentile | $36,797 |
| Median (50th) | $39,492 |
| 75th percentile | $43,081 |
| 90th percentile | $60,235 |
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Service Orientation, Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, Active Listening, Coordination, Monitoring, and knowledge areas including Therapy and Counseling, English Language, Customer and Personal Service, Psychology. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is occupational therapy aides in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 1.9% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -8.9%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -17.1%.
Current U.S. headcount: 5,000.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do occupational therapy aidess work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 5,000 | 17.0% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 4,800 | 16.3% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 4,720 | 16.0% |
| Hospitals | 2,800 | 9.5% |
| Ambulatory Health Care Services | 2,800 | 9.5% |
| Offices of Other Health Practitioners | 2,340 | 8.0% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Occupational Therapy Aides in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
What careers are related?
Other occupations linked through shared degree pathways in our mapping:
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Genetic Counselors | 3,510 | $98,910 |
| Occupational Therapy Assistants | 47,910 | $68,340 |
| Psychiatric Aides | 34,900 | $41,590 |
| Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors | — | — |
| Audiologists | 14,730 | $92,120 |
| Physical Therapist Assistants | 108,010 | $65,510 |
| Physical Therapist Aides | 44,010 | $34,520 |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Occupational Therapy Aides workforce.
Employment Over Time
5,000 U.S. workforce (OEWS)
California employment for Occupational Therapy Aides shrank from 2,320 in 2009 to 1,720 in 2025 (25.9%).
Historical employment for Occupational Therapy Aides from the California OEWS series, 2009–2025. The U.S. workforce figure is national and is not the endpoint of this line.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$37,370 Median pay (BLS national)
Occupational Therapy Aides earn $37,370 as the BLS national median annual wage.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Occupational Therapy Aides.
Salary distribution for Occupational Therapy Aides.
Employment Growth Projections
-1.9% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
1,566 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -8.9%
1,426 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -17.1%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Occupational Therapy Aides.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Occupational Therapy Aides and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Occupational Therapy Aides employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Occupational Therapy Aides.
Wage Trends by Industry
24.7% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Total, All Industry: 14.5% growth (Current: $68,874)
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Occupational Therapy Aides.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Occupational Therapy Aides.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 560 employees, $42,920 avg wage
- PA: 450 employees, $37,550 avg wage
- TX: 330 employees, $48,380 avg wage
- MA: 260 employees, $42,160 avg wage
- NY: 230 employees, $42,330 avg wage
- LA: 210 employees, $30,060 avg wage
- OH: 210 employees, $37,640 avg wage
- NC: 200 employees, $66,090 avg wage
- MO: 140 employees, $47,790 avg wage
- GA: 130 employees, $39,880 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Occupational Therapy Aides.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 230 employees, $41,550 avg wage
- Pittsburgh, PA: 180 employees, $36,440 avg wage
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 170 employees, $43,550 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 100 employees, $44,160 avg wage
- St. Louis, MO-IL: 90 employees, $49,600 avg wage
- Columbus, OH: 90 employees, $29,130 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 90 employees, $39,710 avg wage
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: 80 employees, $44,890 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 60 employees, $63,240 avg wage
- Oklahoma City, OK: 50 employees, $32,880 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Occupational Therapy Aides.
Diversity
Demographic information on Occupational Therapy Aides in the US.
Gender and Age
The U.S. workforce for Occupational Therapy Aides is about 5,000 people in our OEWS extract.
Gender and age distribution for Occupational Therapy Aides.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Occupational Therapy Aides.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Occupational Therapy Aides.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Occupational Therapy Aides in 2023 were Business Administration, Occupational Therapy, Health Sciences.
Common majors for Occupational Therapy Aides.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Occupational Therapy Aides workers.
Education level distribution for Occupational Therapy Aides.
Skills
Occupational Therapy Aides need many skills, but most especially Service Orientation, Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, Active Listening, Coordination.
Required skills for Occupational Therapy Aides.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Occupational Therapy Aides.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Occupational Therapy Aides include Therapy and Counseling, English Language, Customer and Personal Service, Psychology, Computers and Electronics.
Knowledge areas required for Occupational Therapy Aides.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Occupational Therapy Aides include Problem Sensitivity, Oral Comprehension, Oral Expression, Deductive Reasoning, Speech Recognition.
Required abilities for Occupational Therapy Aides.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Occupational Therapy Aides.
Daily Activities
Occupational Therapy Aides spend their time on activities such as Assisting and Caring for Others, Performing for or Working Directly with the Public, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Performing General Physical Activities, Getting Information.
Most important work activities for Occupational Therapy Aides.
About
Occupational Therapy Aides
Occupational Therapy Aides earn $37,370 as the BLS national median annual wage.
SOC Code
31-2012 - Occupational Therapy Aides
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Occupational Therapy Aides reports an average salary of $44,140.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 5,000 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -1.9%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.