Kinesiology Degree Programs

Salary · SOC 29-1125

Recreational Therapist Salary

Recreational Therapists earn a median of $61,960 a year, according to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for May 2025. Here is the full distribution, every state BLS publishes, and how that recreational therapist salary compares with the other careers a kinesiology degree leads to.

Taylor Rupe, Founder & Editor

Edited by Taylor Rupe B.A. Psychology (UW-Seattle), B.S. Computer Science (Oregon State)

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How Much Do Recreational Therapists Make?

The figure normally quoted for an occupation is its median, which is the midpoint of a distribution rather than an offer. Both published tails are below.

Annual wages, U.S.

BLS OEWS · May 2025

$40,990 $100,420
10th pct
$40,990
25th pct
$50,240
Median
$61,960
75th pct
$79,930
90th pct
$100,420

14,930 people were employed in this occupation nationally, and the median hourly wage was $29.79.

What the spread actually tells you

Half of recreational therapists earn more than $61,960 and half earn less. The bottom tenth are under $40,990 and the top tenth clear $100,420, so the published range is about $59,430 wide. Put another way, the top tenth earn about 2.4x what the bottom tenth do. That is a relatively tight spread, so the median is a reasonable planning figure for this occupation.

The middle half of the workforce sits between $50,240 and $79,930. If you want one number to plan against, that band is more honest than the median alone, because it shows where most people actually land rather than where the exact midpoint falls.

BLS counts 14,930 people employed in this occupation nationally. Size matters when you read wage data: a high median in a small occupation can mean fewer openings and less room to negotiate, not a better market.

Recreational Therapist Salary by State

All 48 states with published data, alphabetically. 17 of them pay above the national median. States are absent when BLS withheld the estimate because the sample was too small.

State 10th pct Median 90th pct Employed
Alabama $43,840 $57,360 $87,110 160
Arizona $49,710 $62,610 $90,230 170
Arkansas $31,130 $42,670 $82,960 70
California $60,940 $98,170 $115,370 1,920
Colorado $44,530 $66,580 $88,120 200
Connecticut $46,350 $63,240 $101,650 380
Delaware $42,640 $51,110 $76,290 70
District of Columbia $50,840 $95,640 $118,340 50
Florida $41,400 $57,980 $86,610 640
Georgia $29,330 $52,010 $92,500 530
Hawaii $45,920 $64,500 $95,040 40
Idaho $39,920 $49,720 $72,360 90
Illinois $40,560 $54,910 $86,190 440
Indiana $38,550 $53,770 $76,750 190
Iowa $43,580 $56,140 $81,970 230
Kansas $29,720 $40,010 $60,720 710
Kentucky $37,850 $59,240 $77,590 100
Louisiana $36,590 $51,150 $67,220 190
Maine $39,480 $57,560 $77,130 40
Maryland $39,220 $64,300 $95,490 290
Massachusetts $49,090 $62,820 $94,890 210
Michigan $42,270 $61,700 $73,690 590
Minnesota $55,210 $76,360 $97,570 250
Mississippi $30,570 $39,560 $65,170 140
Missouri $43,000 $58,620 $93,500 140
Montana $38,210 $51,110 $86,260 40
Nebraska $40,370 $62,980 $79,080 150
Nevada $46,380 $78,730 $98,630 400
New Hampshire $53,060 $82,280 $98,310 70
New Jersey $49,810 $60,400 $85,580 430
New Mexico $41,600 $49,210 $110,470 100
New York $49,940 $65,520 $91,370 1,230
North Carolina $41,490 $51,030 $78,340 440
North Dakota $40,100 $58,370 $70,570 80
Ohio $46,440 $60,770 $84,910 310
Oklahoma $32,920 $50,480 $77,910 120
Oregon $51,210 $66,530 $83,780 250
Pennsylvania $39,690 $58,940 $80,340 720
South Carolina $38,290 $48,880 $74,670 190
South Dakota $41,390 $46,850 $83,780 40
Tennessee $37,080 $51,910 $78,850 150
Texas $36,210 $62,490 $213,790 800
Utah $31,730 $56,640 $86,260 210
Vermont $49,830 $63,380 $79,170 40
Virginia $49,580 $61,270 $87,020 570
Washington $61,070 $77,860 $108,200 240
West Virginia $36,580 $49,010 $118,410 130
Wisconsin $48,650 $59,350 $81,330 350

A blank cell means BLS suppressed that value for this occupation in that state.

Highest and Lowest Paying States for Recreational Therapists

Employment sits beside each median deliberately. A high median resting on a few dozen jobs describes a thin local market rather than a strong one.

Highest median

  • California $98,170 1,920 jobs
  • District of Columbia $95,640 50 jobs
  • New Hampshire $82,280 70 jobs
  • Nevada $78,730 400 jobs
  • Washington $77,860 240 jobs

Lowest median

  • Mississippi $39,560 140 jobs
  • Kansas $40,010 710 jobs
  • Arkansas $42,670 70 jobs
  • South Dakota $46,850 40 jobs
  • South Carolina $48,880 190 jobs

How Recreational Therapist Pay Compares

Among the 8 occupations a kinesiology degree leads to, this one ranks 5 on median pay. The next step up is athletic trainers at $62,520. Below it sits exercise physiologists at $59,460.

This is one of the jobs a kinesiology degree reaches directly, so the median here is a figure you can weigh against tuition without adding a second degree to the calculation. The career profile has the education spread and the credentials employers ask for.

The full comparison across all 8 occupations, split by whether the degree reaches them directly, is on the salaries overview.

What Moves Recreational Therapist Pay Up

BLS publishes wages, not the reasons behind them, so treat this as context rather than data. Three things separate the $100,420 end of this distribution from the $40,990 end.

  • Geography, and it is the one you can verify. California pays a median of $98,170 against $61,960, and the table above shows the whole range.
  • Setting. Within any of these occupations, hospital and home-health roles generally pay above school, community and commercial settings, and the gap is often larger than the difference between states.
  • Specialization. Within this occupation, the sub-fields with the fewest qualified practitioners command the most.

Recreational Therapist Salary FAQ

How much does a recreational therapist make?
The median is $61,960 a year (BLS, May 2025). The bottom tenth earn under $40,990 and the top tenth clear $100,420. That works out at about $29.79 an hour at the median.
What is the highest paying state for recreational therapists?
California, at a median of $98,170. That is $36,210 above the national median. 17 of the 48 states with published data pay above the national figure.
Do recreational therapists earn more with experience?
The published distribution suggests so, though BLS reports percentiles rather than years of service. The 25th percentile is $50,240 and the 75th is $79,930, a gap of $29,690 across the middle half of the workforce. Setting and region account for much of that alongside experience.
Is a recreational therapist salary good compared to other kinesiology careers?
It ranks 5 of the 8 occupations this site covers. The highest is physical therapists at $102,760, though that route requires its own professional degree.
What education do you need to be a recreational therapist?
92% of O*NET respondents named bachelor's degree. A kinesiology degree can lead to this job directly.
Are these figures adjusted for cost of living?
No. Every number here is a published BLS figure for a stated area. Adjusting by a regional price index would produce values BLS never published and that you could not check against the source, so we report the survey as released.
Why is my state missing from the table?
BLS suppresses estimates where the surveyed sample is too small to publish reliably. This occupation has published medians for 48 states, so the rest were withheld rather than being zero.

Source