On this page our team presents information and insights on the most complete and accurate occupational therapy assistant salary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can see how much an OTA salary is by state, city metropolitan area, and also by the type of industry or workplace setting. Page updated: March 30th, 2019

If you are interested in a career as a COTA you certainly would like to know how much a certified occupational therapy assistant salary is. The good news is that COTA salaries are very competitive, and typically higher than many other similar healthcare careers’ salaries, at a mean annual salary of: $60,410.

OTA Salaries by State

OTAs are earning a wide range of salaries in different states. An annual OT assistant salary may range from $38,440 to $78,080 according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Click a state to see the median OTA salaries in it’s major cities. Click here to download our 2018 OTA Salary Guide PDF.

Salary by City and Major Metropolitan Area

In the table below you can see over 150 major cities and metropolitan areas across the U.S. with corresponding occupational therapy assistant pay (both hourly and annual salaries). Bear in mind that a number of factors such as the specific industry, years of experience, local economy, cost of living and more can impact how much an occupational therapist assistant makes.

State City / Metro Hourly Pay Annual Salary Total Employed AL Birmingham-Hoover, AL $26.17 $54,430 110 AL Gadsden, AL $26.97 $56,100 ** AL Huntsville, AL $29.24 $60,820 40 AR Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO $30.17 $62,760 40 AR Jonesboro, AR $30.94 $64,350 30 AR Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR $25.73 $53,510 60 AZ Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ $30.49 $63,420 420 AZ Tucson, AZ $26.46 $55,030 100 CA Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division $27.70 $57,610 340 CA Fresno, CA $35.31 $73,440 40 CA Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division $31.85 $66,250 520 CA Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA $32.89 $68,410 ** CA Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA $32.94 $68,510 220 CA Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA $33.12 $68,890 90 CA San Diego-Carlsbad, CA $27.80 $57,830 240 CA San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA $23.64 $49,170 100 CO Boulder, CO $23.54 $48,960 40 CO Colorado Springs, CO $28.22 $58,690 120 CO Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO $26.25 $54,600 240 CO Pueblo, CO $28.20 $58,660 80 CT Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT $31.41 $65,330 120 CT Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT $30.34 $63,100 220 CT New Haven, CT $31.07 $64,630 ** CT Norwich-New London-Westerly, CT-RI $32.62 $67,850 50 DC Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division $30.41 $63,250 280 DE Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ Metropolitan Division $30.28 $62,970 220 FL Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL $31.98 $66,530 100 FL Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL $30.05 $62,510 80 FL Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, FL Metropolitan Division $30.95 $64,370 170 FL Homosassa Springs, FL $28.67 $59,640 ** FL Jacksonville, FL $30.07 $62,540 140 FL Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL $29.76 $61,900 70 FL Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL Metropolitan Division $28.91 $60,130 180 FL North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL $31.18 $64,850 230 FL Ocala, FL $33.14 $68,940 70 FL Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL $29.47 $61,290 190 FL Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL $32.87 $68,370 180 FL Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL $26.13 $54,360 40 FL Tallahassee, FL $29.96 $62,310 70 FL Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL $27.11 $56,380 420 FL The Villages, FL $33.60 $69,890 30 FL West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Delray Beach, FL Metropolitan Division $28.96 $60,230 150 GA Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA $31.83 $66,210 510 GA Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC $21.92 $45,590 30 HI Urban Honolulu, HI $26.87 $55,880 50 IA Cedar Rapids, IA $25.06 $52,130 50 IA Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA $29.34 $61,030 60 ID Boise City, ID $28.28 $58,820 50 IL Champaign-Urbana, IL $29.26 $60,860 40 IL Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division $31.17 $64,830 1,590 IL Lake County-Kenosha County, IL-WI Metropolitan Division $28.34 $58,940 60 IL Peoria, IL $29.94 $62,280 ** IL Rockford, IL $24.46 $50,880 ** IL Springfield, IL $25.27 $52,550 40 IN Evansville, IN-KY $24.66 $51,300 100 IN Fort Wayne, IN $27.98 $58,200 50 IN Gary, IN Metropolitan Division $29.51 $61,380 150 IN Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN $30.32 $63,070 630 IN Kokomo, IN $28.60 $59,500 ** IN Terre Haute, IN $28.22 $58,700 ** KS Topeka, KS $28.32 $58,910 110 KS Wichita, KS $28.64 $59,580 120 KY Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN $27.95 $58,130 240 KY Owensboro, KY $21.87 $45,490 40 LA Baton Rouge, LA * * 130 LA Lake Charles, LA $27.46 $57,110 80 LA Monroe, LA $24.83 $51,640 ** LA New Orleans-Metairie, LA $22.13 $46,030 110 LA Shreveport-Bossier City, LA $23.18 $48,210 70 MA Barnstable Town, MA $29.12 $60,570 50 MA Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA NECTA Division $28.41 $59,090 470 MA Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, MA NECTA Division $29.04 $60,400 ** MA Haverhill-Newburyport-Amesbury Town, MA-NH NECTA Division $25.61 $53,260 30 MA Lawrence-Methuen Town-Salem, MA-NH NECTA Division $30.87 $64,210 70 MA Leominster-Gardner, MA $26.60 $55,330 40 MA New Bedford, MA $31.85 $66,260 50 MA Springfield, MA-CT $27.94 $58,120 160 MA Worcester, MA-CT $26.01 $54,100 200 MD Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD $30.67 $63,790 300 MD Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV $26.69 $55,500 30 MD Silver Spring-Frederick-Rockville, MD Metropolitan Division $28.96 $60,230 120 ME Portland-South Portland, ME $23.89 $49,690 ** MI Detroit-Dearborn-Livonia, MI Metropolitan Division $26.02 $54,120 130 MI Flint, MI $28.21 $58,680 ** MI Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI $22.40 $46,590 200 MI Kalamazoo-Portage, MI $25.86 $53,800 50 MI Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI Metropolitan Division $27.10 $56,360 490 MN Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI $23.01 $47,870 420 MO Cape Girardeau, MO-IL $26.25 $54,610 40 MO Kansas City, MO-KS $28.54 $59,360 400 MO St. Louis, MO-IL $25.63 $53,320 540 MO Springfield, MO $30.32 $63,060 100 MS Jackson, MS $23.93 $49,770 80 NC Asheville, NC $34.53 $71,830 ** NC Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC $27.84 $57,910 240 NC Durham-Chapel Hill, NC $31.03 $64,550 70 NC Fayetteville, NC $27.06 $56,290 30 NC Greensboro-High Point, NC $31.74 $66,020 60 NC Greenville, NC $26.49 $55,100 30 NC Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC $29.42 $61,190 80 NC New Bern, NC $32.19 $66,960 70 NC Raleigh, NC $28.17 $58,600 200 NC Wilmington, NC $28.13 $58,510 30 NC Winston-Salem, NC $27.00 $56,150 100 NE Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA $29.57 $61,510 ** NJ Camden, NJ Metropolitan Division $33.76 $70,220 50 NJ Newark, NJ-PA Metropolitan Division $31.24 $64,980 90 NM Albuquerque, NM $27.51 $57,220 50 NV Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV $32.88 $68,380 80 NY Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY $23.79 $49,480 140 NY Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY $22.16 $46,090 300 NY Kingston, NY $23.07 $47,990 40 NY Nassau County-Suffolk County, NY Metropolitan Division $30.23 $62,880 300 NY New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division $32.19 $66,960 1,710 NY Rochester, NY $24.06 $50,030 90 NY Syracuse, NY $22.06 $45,880 40 OH Akron, OH $27.15 $56,470 230 OH Canton-Massillon, OH $25.73 $53,520 240 OH Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN $28.83 $59,970 660 OH Cleveland-Elyria, OH $30.18 $62,770 640 OH Columbus, OH $28.78 $59,870 300 OH Dayton, OH $33.54 $69,770 240 OH Lima, OH $29.12 $60,570 ** OH Mansfield, OH $29.35 $61,050 ** OH Toledo, OH $25.94 $53,950 320 OH Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA $26.50 $55,110 280 OK Oklahoma City, OK $29.74 $61,850 230 OK Tulsa, OK $30.92 $64,300 180 OR Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA $29.81 $62,000 240 OR Salem, OR $28.49 $59,260 30 PA Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ $26.72 $55,580 160 PA Altoona, PA $22.12 $46,020 ** PA Bloomsburg-Berwick, PA $24.85 $51,700 30 PA Chambersburg-Waynesboro, PA $26.94 $56,040 40 PA Erie, PA $24.71 $51,400 140 PA Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA $21.44 $44,600 170 PA Lancaster, PA $26.43 $54,970 110 PA Montgomery County-Bucks County-Chester County, PA Metropolitan Division $24.73 $51,430 440 PA Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division $25.98 $54,040 250 PA Pittsburgh, PA $22.79 $47,400 570 PA Reading, PA $27.20 $56,590 50 PA Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, PA $21.89 $45,520 110 PA Williamsport, PA $25.24 $52,490 70 PA York-Hanover, PA $25.14 $52,290 120 PR San Juan-Carolina-Caguas, PR $11.05 $22,990 30 RI Providence-Warwick, RI-MA $28.94 $60,190 290 SC Charleston-North Charleston, SC $26.55 $55,220 50 SC Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC $29.27 $60,890 80 SC Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC $30.89 $64,260 40 SD Sioux Falls, SD $16.80 $34,950 50 TN Chattanooga, TN-GA $29.09 $60,510 100 TN Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA $29.32 $60,980 50 TN Knoxville, TN $28.43 $59,130 170 TN Memphis, TN-MS-AR $28.31 $58,880 140 TN Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN $29.04 $60,410 230 TX Amarillo, TX $30.27 $62,970 50 TX Austin-Round Rock, TX $37.17 $77,320 140 TX Brownsville-Harlingen, TX $42.20 $87,770 40 TX Corpus Christi, TX $35.19 $73,200 60 TX Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division $33.88 $70,470 1,610 TX El Paso, TX $38.01 $79,060 140 TX Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metropolitan Division $34.92 $72,630 70 TX Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX $30.85 $64,170 550 TX Laredo, TX $34.58 $71,930 30 TX McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX $36.34 $75,590 100 TX San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX $39.30 $81,730 480 TX Tyler, TX $39.79 $82,750 50 UT Ogden-Clearfield, UT $28.51 $59,310 100 UT Provo-Orem, UT $19.11 $39,740 ** UT Salt Lake City, UT $26.39 $54,890 110 VA Lynchburg, VA $35.73 $74,330 70 VA Richmond, VA $31.01 $64,510 100 VA Roanoke, VA $29.48 $61,310 90 VA Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC $30.65 $63,750 160 WA Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division $28.99 $60,300 220 WA Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA $26.64 $55,400 60 WA Tacoma-Lakewood, WA Metropolitan Division $28.37 $59,020 70 WI Appleton, WI $24.63 $51,220 50 WI Eau Claire, WI $21.43 $44,570 60 WI Green Bay, WI $12.34 $25,670 330 WI Janesville-Beloit, WI $19.44 $40,440 60 WI La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN $21.99 $45,730 40 WI Madison, WI $18.98 $39,480 250 WI Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI $16.51 $34,340 510 WI Oshkosh-Neenah, WI $22.35 $46,490 50 WV Beckley, WV $27.00 $56,150 ** WV Charleston, WV $29.01 $60,340 90 WV Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH $26.03 $54,150 90 WY Casper, WY $23.62 $49,140 30

COTA Salary Factors

An OTA Salary will be influenced by a number of factors. Factors can include the state and city you live in, the type of health care facility you work in, your employer, your experience and more. That said, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), OTA Jobs are growing rapidly and they pay a competitive salary to other 2 year health care degrees. Occupational Therapy is one of the fastest growing fields in health care and is not projected to slow down.

Download 2018 OTA Salary Guide The BLS did a survey in May of 2014 and found that the average annual COTA Salary is $58,340 while the lowest 10% of all OTAs earned just under $38,440 while the top 10% earned over $78,080.

Highest OTA Salaries by Job Type

The BLS survey was broken down by industry, or type of OTA job. When analyzing each industry the BLS looked at employment rate, % of entire OTA industry, and mean wages. Home health care came out on top and consists of jobs where OTAs perform their duties at the patient’s home. The second highest OTA salaries came from jobs at Nursing Care Facilities.

Here is a list of the top paying industries for OTAs to work in:

Industry Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Home Health Care Services $32.03 $66,630 Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) $30.50 $63,450 Other Ambulatory Health Care Services $29.63 $61,630 Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly $28.78 $59,870 Management of Companies and Enterprises $28.71 $59,720

Click here to get the OTA Salary Data in a PDF to go



Highest OTA Salaries by City

If you are considering moving then you may want to know the highest paying cities for OTAs. Below is a table of the top paying cities for occupational therapy assistant salaries and to the right is an infographic containing the data.

Metropolitan area Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV $50.48 $105,000 El Paso, TX $39.75 $82,670 Tyler, TX $38.38 $79,820 Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metropolitan Division $37.77 $78,560 Corpus Christi, TX $36.98 $76,930 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL $36.24 $75,370 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX $34.92 $72,640 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX $34.91 $72,600

Occupational therapist assistants also have the ability to earn even more income if they have experience in specialty areas such as pediatric OTAs that work with children. In specializing you can impact your desired demographic with your career by improving specific groups’ overall health.

OTA Salary Averages by State

The BLS also broke down the survey results by location to see which regions offered the highest and lowest average occupational therapy assistant salaries. Here is a list of states that offer an OTA salary of over $60,000 per year as well as under $40,000 per year.

OTA Salary Over $60K California

Texas

Nevada

OTA Salary Under $40K Colorado

Minnesota

Montana

South Dakota

Keep in mind that when looking at an entire region the salary data is aggregated across industries and types of OTA jobs. So, you may still be interested in a few jobs in the lower paying states, that still pay well but are brought down by other lower paying jobs in the same state. Also, employment rate is something to consider for job security, here are the states with the highest OTA employment rates:

State Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Texas $34.18 $71,100 Ohio $27.68 $57,570 New York $26.99 $56,130 Pennsylvania $22.68 $47,170 Illinois $28.65 $59,590

Close behind occupational therapy assistants, in terms of compensation, are OT Aides. The range for an occupational therapy aide salary is about $26,550 to $44,220. Although an occupational therapist aide salary is lower, they don’t require as much schooling or requirements to gain license for employment.



Ready to start or advance your OTA Career?

From the data you can see that Occupational Therapist Assistants are paid extremely well for their 2 year investment in higher education. Now that you know the salary for occupational therapist assistants, you can learn more about a career as an OTA on these pages:

All of the data presented here was researched online from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Employment Statistics, Occupational Therapy Assistants. View source