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Occupational therapists work with patients who are recovering from accidents, illnesses, or disabilities and help these patients improve their independence and ability to perform daily tasks. Occupational therapists earn a healthy annual salary, and a growing elderly population should translate into growing job opportunities for therapists. In fact, occupational therapy was listed as one of the 30 fastest growing occupations covered in the 2008-2009 Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Occupational Therapist Salary

The median hourly wage for an occupational therapist in 2009 was $33.48 for a median annual occupational therapist salary of $69,630, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The lowest 10 percent of occupational therapists earned less than $45,340 in 2009 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $100,430.

The BLS reports that registered occupational therapists (OTRs) held just under 98,000 jobs in 2009 with the largest employers being general medical and surgical hospitals and offices of health care practitioners. Aside from a handful of OTRs working in educational settings, those employed in home health care settings earned the highest annual mean occupational therapist salary of $81,360 in 2009, according to BLS data.

Although a small percentage of OTRs work as independent contractors, the majority are salaried employees working at least 40 hours per week, which often entitles them to the valuable addition of health benefits.

The states paying the top salaries to occupational therapist are: California, Nevada, New Jersey, Maryland, and Texas. Nationwide, the highest occupational therapist salary was in El Paso, Texas, where these professionals had a mean annual wage of $96,470.

Occupational Therapist Education and Licensure

A master's degree or higher in occupational therapy from an academic program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE), is a necessary requirement for this field. All states require occupational therapists to be licensed. To obtain a license after graduating, the candidate must also pass the national certification examination.