Occupational Therapy Assistants · SOC 31-2011

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Occupational Therapy Assistantss

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for occupational therapy assistants. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 217 metro areas

Occupational Therapy Assistants: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$97,860	290	0.1
2	Modesto, CA	$96,210	30	0.2
3	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$95,370	160	0.1
4	Bakersfield-Delano, CA	$95,190	40	0.1
5	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$95,180	170	0.2
6	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$88,250	420	0.1
7	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$86,440	40	0.2
8	Spartanburg, SC	$86,040	80	0.5
9	Boulder, CO	$84,860	50	0.2
10	Stockton-Lodi, CA	$84,400	60	0.2
11	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$82,680	360	0.2
12	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$82,620	310	0.2
13	Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX	$82,610	70	0.4
14	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA	$82,060	80	0.2
15	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	$81,500	1,190	0.9
16	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$81,340	900	0.3
17	Visalia, CA	$81,200	50	0.3
18	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$81,170	1,220	0.3
19	Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR	$80,910	100	0.4
20	Fort Smith, AR-OK	$80,660	40	0.4
21	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$80,070	400	0.2
22	Charlottesville, VA	$79,770	40	0.4
23	Texarkana, TX-AR	$79,720	40	0.6
24	Lubbock, TX	$79,690	70	0.4
25	Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV	$79,520	170	0.1

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Occupational Therapy Assistants overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.