Where occupational therapists actually earn the most
California pays occupational therapists the most on paper, at $124,510. After state income tax and cost of living, Arkansas goes furthest at $117,815, and California drops to #7 of 51.
After-tax pay adjusted for cost of living. Stacks state tax and local prices.
Shading is scaled within occupational therapists only. US median for occupational therapists: $100,330.
Arkansas
#1 of 51 · Real value- BLS reported median
- $106,360
- State income tax
- −$3,935
- After-tax
- $102,425
- Cost of living (US = 100)
- 86.9
- Real value
- $117,815
Pay varies inside Arkansas too.
These are state medians
Your local number depends on your experience and practice setting.
See what you should be getting paidAll 51 states, ranked
Median occupational therapist pay by state, ranked by what it is worth after state income tax and cost of living.
| # | State | Nominal | Take-home | Real value | Reports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arkansas | $106,360 | $102,425 | $117,815 | 19 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | $104,300 | $100,152 | $114,013 | 16 |
| 3 | Nevada | $110,520 | $110,520 | $110,543 | 16 |
| 4 | Texas | $106,140 | $106,140 | $109,358 | 154 |
| 5 | Louisiana | $98,490 | $95,922 | $108,746 | 15 |
| 6 | Tennessee | $97,700 | $97,700 | $106,346 | 33 |
| 7 | California | $124,510 | $117,160 | $105,817 | 204 |
| 8 | Mississippi | $94,930 | $91,865 | $105,649 | 6 |
| 9 | Ohio | $99,390 | $97,439 | $105,029 | 72 |
| 10 | Kansas | $99,170 | $94,436 | $104,850 | 16 |
| 11 | Kentucky | $97,650 | $94,350 | $104,648 | 33 |
| 12 | New Mexico | $99,170 | $95,642 | $103,719 | 10 |
| 13 | West Virginia | $96,190 | $92,489 | $103,343 | 10 |
| 14 | Missouri | $97,290 | $93,655 | $103,125 | 36 |
| 15 | Georgia | $104,010 | $99,235 | $103,055 | 43 |
| 16 | South Carolina | $101,130 | $96,219 | $102,635 | 32 |
| 17 | Alaska | $103,680 | $103,680 | $101,291 | 4 |
| 18 | Indiana | $97,020 | $94,187 | $100,920 | 34 |
| 19 | Alabama | $94,050 | $89,613 | $100,889 | 11 |
| 20 | Washington | $107,670 | $107,670 | $100,614 | 53 |
| 21 | Arizona | $103,660 | $101,277 | $100,596 | 38 |
| 22 | Nebraska | $93,740 | $90,354 | $100,279 | 16 |
| 23 | Oregon | $112,310 | $103,313 | $99,953 | 13 |
| 24 | Colorado | $106,720 | $102,733 | $99,690 | 44 |
| 25 | Iowa | $89,910 | $87,145 | $99,297 | 19 |
| 26 | Idaho | $97,760 | $93,687 | $98,108 | 9 |
| 27 | Pennsylvania | $98,440 | $95,418 | $97,792 | 113 |
| 28 | Maryland | $106,980 | $102,261 | $97,429 | 25 |
| 29 | Delaware | $102,130 | $96,730 | $96,917 | 7 |
| 30 | Florida | $99,360 | $99,360 | $96,080 | 103 |
| 31 | South Dakota | $85,050 | $85,050 | $96,008 | 4 |
| 32 | North Carolina | $92,940 | $89,740 | $95,139 | 72 |
| 33 | Illinois | $99,700 | $94,910 | $94,950 | 79 |
| 34 | Rhode Island | $100,040 | $96,890 | $94,730 | 14 |
| 35 | Virginia | $100,710 | $95,733 | $94,688 | 75 |
| 36 | Wisconsin | $92,390 | $88,874 | $94,451 | 43 |
| 37 | Connecticut | $102,440 | $97,544 | $94,145 | 44 |
| 38 | Utah | $97,150 | $92,778 | $93,844 | 16 |
| 39 | District of Columbia | $109,170 | $102,859 | $93,592 | 2 |
| 40 | North Dakota | $83,200 | $82,837 | $93,118 | 17 |
| 41 | Wyoming | $86,170 | $86,170 | $92,965 | 7 |
| 42 | Vermont | $93,340 | $89,640 | $91,508 | 6 |
| 43 | New Jersey | $103,410 | $99,011 | $90,999 | 89 |
| 44 | Massachusetts | $100,930 | $96,104 | $90,872 | 41 |
| 45 | Montana | $88,990 | $85,323 | $90,151 | 3 |
| 46 | Michigan | $89,910 | $86,340 | $89,734 | 56 |
| 47 | Minnesota | $93,050 | $88,246 | $89,480 | 51 |
| 48 | Hawaii | $102,870 | $96,582 | $87,841 | 4 |
| 49 | New York | $96,390 | $91,743 | $85,010 | 110 |
| 50 | Maine | $84,310 | $79,778 | $82,202 | 20 |
| 51 | New Hampshire | $83,900 | $83,900 | $80,545 | 12 |
Ranked by real value (take-home pay adjusted for cost of living). Nominal = BLS median annual wage. Reports counts what clinicians in that state have contributed to this project, across every setting and pay type.
What OTs report, by state and setting
The ranking above uses federal wage data, which publishes one median per state covering every setting and experience level together. Below is what occupational therapists reported themselves. Federal data has no state-by-setting figure for any state, because the samples get too small to publish, so these are the only numbers of their kind.
| Where | Setting | Pay | Median | Middle half | Reports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | Schools (K-12) | Salary | $109,000/yr | $100,250/yr – $124,158/yr | 46 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | Schools (K-12) | Salary | $89,000/yr | $85,000/yr – $102,000/yr | 30 |
| California | Outpatient / private clinic | Salary | $100,000/yr | $89,000/yr – $111,000/yr | 29 |
| New Jersey | Schools (K-12) | Salary | $87,000/yr | $78,500/yr – $100,500/yr | 27 |
| Ohio | Schools (K-12) | Salary | $77,800/yr | $70,125/yr – $81,090/yr | 26 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | Outpatient / private clinic | Salary | $89,250/yr | $82,250/yr – $101,750/yr | 24 |
| Texas | Acute care | Salary | $94,000/yr | $83,150/yr – $109,500/yr | 23 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | Schools (K-12) | Salary | $85,500/yr | $78,500/yr – $95,500/yr | 22 |
| Texas | Schools (K-12) | Salary | $78,250/yr | $74,853/yr – $83,000/yr | 22 |
| Texas | Outpatient / private clinic | Salary | $78,250/yr | $75,000/yr – $89,500/yr | 22 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | Schools (K-12) | Salary | $85,000/yr | $76,000/yr – $98,335/yr | 21 |
| California | Acute care | Hourly | $64.50/hr | $60.43/hr – $69.33/hr | 18 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | Outpatient / private clinic | Salary | $79,000/yr | $73,625/yr – $88,160/yr | 18 |
| California | Outpatient / private clinic | Hourly | $73.00/hr | $51.00/hr – $78.00/hr | 17 |
| Pennsylvania | Skilled nursing (SNF) | Hourly | $46.50/hr | $45.00/hr – $55.00/hr | 17 |
| Florida | Outpatient / private clinic | Salary | $80,000/yr | $76,750/yr – $86,960/yr | 16 |
| Georgia | Outpatient / private clinic | Salary | $82,000/yr | $73,930/yr – $87,000/yr | 16 |
| New Jersey | Outpatient / private clinic | Salary | $85,400/yr | $80,000/yr – $99,125/yr | 16 |
| Michigan | Outpatient / private clinic | Salary | $84,000/yr | $76,500/yr – $98,918/yr | 15 |
| North Carolina | Acute care | Salary | $83,000/yr | $75,000/yr – $100,500/yr | 15 |
| Pennsylvania | Acute care | Salary | $90,000/yr | $75,000/yr – $95,315/yr | 15 |
| Texas | Acute care | Hourly | $48.50/hr | $38.25/hr – $50.75/hr | 15 |
| Virginia | Acute care | Salary | $92,000/yr | $86,500/yr – $102,127/yr | 15 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | Outpatient / private clinic | Salary | $84,000/yr | $75,000/yr – $102,500/yr | 14 |
| California | Skilled nursing (SNF) | Hourly | $60.00/hr | $55.00/hr – $61.00/hr | 13 |
| California | Schools (K-12) | Hourly | $60.00/hr | $53.00/hr – $88.00/hr | 13 |
| Florida | Acute care | Salary | $85,000/yr | $80,000/yr – $87,000/yr | 13 |
| North Carolina | Outpatient / private clinic | Salary | $75,000/yr | $66,000/yr – $84,000/yr | 13 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | Acute care | Salary | $109,000/yr | $95,713/yr – $125,000/yr | 13 |
| Texas | Outpatient / private clinic | Hourly | $45.00/hr | $38.28/hr – $53.00/hr | 13 |
Shown where at least 5 clinicians reported, largest 30 of 129 cells. A row named as a metro rather than a state is one where most of that state's reports came from that metro, so the figure describes the metro. Never compare across pay types: an hourly rate and a salary are different numbers.
A median hides what decides an offer. Each report also carries years of experience, contract length, W2 or 1099, and for school jobs whether it is a district or an agency. Those individual reports are open to clinicians who have added their own.
Add your numbers and see the reports →
Anonymous and self-reported by clinicians using this tool. A convenience sample, not a probability sample. One report per clinician, most recent within three years.
The same map for the other four professions
Each profession ranks states differently. Assistant pay sits in a narrower band, so cost of living moves it more.
How this is calculated
Nominal pay is the median annual wage from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program (May 2025 release) for occupational therapists, SOC 29-1122, in each state. Where BLS suppresses an estimate for confidentiality, that state is left out rather than filled in, and there is no gap for this profession.
Take-homesubtracts modeled state income tax for a single filer taking the standard deduction, at that state's median wage, using Tax Foundation brackets as of January 1, 2026. It does not include federal income tax or FICA (those don't vary by state, so they don't change the ranking), and it excludes local (city or county) income taxes.
Real valuedivides take-home by each state's cost of living, using the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities (2024), where the US average is 100. Cost of living already captures sales tax and, through rents, some property tax; income tax is separate, which is why it is applied on its own.
Limits: single filer only; local income taxes (Maryland, New York, Ohio) are averaged out at the state grain; and cost of living is statewide, so a specific metro can run higher or lower. Typical pay, not personalized tax advice.
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