Occupational Therapy Assistants Salary: $83,755 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 47,910 occupational therapy assistants nationally earn a mean of $83,755. Employment in the series shown rose about 19% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 5.9% annual growth.
Key Statistics
Occupational Therapy Assistants: what the data shows
Common questions about occupational therapy assistants careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a occupational therapy assistants?
Occupational Therapy Assistants is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 31-2011.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 47,910 workers.
What does a occupational therapy assistants do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Documenting/Recording Information, Assisting and Caring for Others, Thinking Creatively, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a occupational therapy assistants make?
BLS national median annual wage: $68,340 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $83,755 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $59,464 |
| 25th percentile | $74,458 |
| Median (50th) | $81,678 |
| 75th percentile | $96,806 |
| 90th percentile | $103,728 |
What education do you need?
For Occupational Therapy Assistants, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Time Management, and knowledge areas including Customer and Personal Service, Psychology, Education and Training, English Language. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is occupational therapy assistants in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 5.9% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 33.1%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 77.1%.
Current U.S. headcount: 47,910.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do occupational therapy assistantss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 47,910 | 16.7% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 43,620 | 15.2% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 43,050 | 15.0% |
| Ambulatory Health Care Services | 24,030 | 8.4% |
| Offices of Other Health Practitioners | 19,860 | 6.9% |
| Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists | 19,370 | 6.8% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Occupational Therapy Assistants 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 Aides | 5,000 | $37,370 |
| 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 Assistants workforce.
Employment Over Time
47,910 Workforce in 2023
The Occupational Therapy Assistants workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Occupational Therapy Assistants.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$83,755 Average Wage
In 2023, Occupational Therapy Assistants earned an average of $83,755.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Occupational Therapy Assistants.
Salary distribution for Occupational Therapy Assistants.
Employment Growth Projections
5.9% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
16,476 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 33.1%
21,927 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 77.1%
This occupation is projected to grow at 5.9% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Occupational Therapy Assistants.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Occupational Therapy Assistants and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Occupational Therapy Assistants employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Occupational Therapy Assistants.
Wage Trends by Industry
-0.5% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Occupational Therapy Assistants.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Occupational Therapy Assistants.
Metropolitan employment on this page is from the California OEWS extract. Area names omit state codes; all listed metros are in California, so the state chart shows California totals (not a multi-state ranking).
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 2,880 employees, $83,480 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Occupational Therapy Assistants.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD: 1,030 employees, $79,644 avg wage
- Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD: 470 employees, $75,600 avg wage
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA: 330 employees, $85,781 avg wage
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA: 270 employees, $86,357 avg wage
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA: 170 employees, $90,872 avg wage
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA: 150 employees, $95,582 avg wage
- San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD: 110 employees, $99,122 avg wage
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA: 70 employees, $85,391 avg wage
- Fresno MSA: 60 employees, $78,768 avg wage
- Modesto MSA: 50 employees, $98,719 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Occupational Therapy Assistants.
Diversity
Demographic information on Occupational Therapy Assistants in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Occupational Therapy Assistants in 2023 was 47,910 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Occupational Therapy Assistants.
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 Assistants.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Occupational Therapy Assistants.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Occupational Therapy Assistants in 2023 were Occupational Therapy, Health Sciences, Kinesiology.
Common majors for Occupational Therapy Assistants.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Occupational Therapy Assistants workers.
Education level distribution for Occupational Therapy Assistants.
Skills
Occupational Therapy Assistants need many skills, but most especially Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension.
Required skills for Occupational Therapy Assistants.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Occupational Therapy Assistants.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Occupational Therapy Assistants include Customer and Personal Service, Psychology, Education and Training, English Language, Therapy and Counseling.
Knowledge areas required for Occupational Therapy Assistants.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Occupational Therapy Assistants include Oral Expression, Oral Comprehension, Written Expression, Problem Sensitivity, Written Comprehension.
Required abilities for Occupational Therapy Assistants.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Occupational Therapy Assistants.
Daily Activities
Occupational Therapy Assistants spend their time on activities such as Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Documenting/Recording Information, Assisting and Caring for Others, Thinking Creatively, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships.
Most important work activities for Occupational Therapy Assistants.
About
Occupational Therapy Assistants
The average yearly wage for Occupational Therapy Assistants was $83,755 in 2023.
SOC Code
31-2011 - Occupational Therapy Assistants
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Occupational Therapy Assistants reports an average salary of $83,755.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 47,910 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 5.9%, 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.