5.8% higher than the US national median ($100,339)
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Is this a competitive Occupational Therapists salary in Texas in 2026?
Based on BLS OEWS wage percentiles, JOLTS August 2026 demand signals, and ECI Q2 2026 wage growth.
$Competitive · ~P50
P10$76K
P25$86K
P50$106K
P75$128K
P90$135K
Drag the dot or type an amount above.
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Demand: HOT. Demand is hot -- health care job openings are running at 5.4% (JOLTS, August 2026), a tight market. Candidates have leverage, so a competitive offer sits at or above the median; below-median offers often will not close.
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Merit budget: Wages in health care are rising about 3.6% a year (BLS ECI, Q2 2026). Budget a 3.2-3.7% merit increase to hold this role at market.
Our read
For a competitive 2026 offer, target $106,142 to $127,837 (market median to the 75th percentile). Lean toward the top of the range for senior or hard-to-fill roles.
Figures are market benchmarks from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; apply professional judgment before making pay decisions.
How Occupational Therapists pay is moving in 2026
Trend, demand, and spread context from BLS OEWS, JOLTS, and ECI
Pay trend
Median pay for this role rose 2.0% between the May 2024 and May 2025 BLS surveys, trailing the 3.6% wage growth of Health Care & Social Assistance (BLS ECI).
Hiring demand · HOT
Health Care & Social Assistance is running a 5.4% job-openings rate with quits at 2.0% (BLS JOLTS). The openings rate has drifted down from 5.9% to 5.4% over the past quarter.
Pay spread
Top earners (P90) make about 1.8 times what entry-level (P10) workers make in this role. That spread is narrower than typical, so pay is fairly standardized; small differences move a candidate across the market.
What changed recently
Sep 29, 2026JOLTS August 2026: sector openings fell to 5.4% (down 115K; July revised up to 5.8%), still the tightest major sector. Quits held at 2.0%.
Sep 1, 2026JOLTS July 2026: sector openings rose to 5.7% (up 54K; June revised to 5.5%), retaking the tightest-market spot. Quits steady at 1.9%.
Aug 4, 2026JOLTS June 2026: sector openings fell from 5.9% to 5.3% (down 147K), the sharpest monthly cooling this year, though still the second-tightest market.
Commentary is generated from published BLS figures (OEWS May 2025 vs May 2024, JOLTS August 2026, ECI Q2 2026) and refreshed each release. It is interpretation, not a BLS product.
Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026
Next refresh: May 2027
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The median salary for Occupational Therapists in Texas is $106,142 per year ($51.03/hr). This is 5.8% higher than the national median of $100,339.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Assess, plan, and organize rehabilitative programs that help build or restore vocational, homemaking, and daily living skills, as well as general independence, to persons with disabilities or developmental delays. Use therapeutic techniques, adapt the individual’s environment, teach skills, and modify specific tasks that present barriers to the individual.
Wage Percentiles: Texas
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours) · National adjusted
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
vs National
P10Entry level
$36.71
$76,357
+6.5%
P25
$41.26
$85,821
+4.0%
P50MEDIAN
$51.03
$106,142
+5.8%
P75
$61.46
$127,837
+9.6%
P90Top earners
$65.00
$135,200
+2.5%
How Texas compares for Occupational Therapists
Computed from this state's own BLS distribution against national
Pay for Occupational Therapists in Texas is above national (+6.5%) at entry, above national (+5.8%) at the median and in line with national (+2.5%) at the top.
An offer at the national median of $100,339 would sit at about the 43rd percentile in Texas.
The top of the range earns 1.77 times the bottom here, close to the 1.84 times seen nationally.
Texas employs 13,400 people in this role, 8.2% of the national total.
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P10–P90 breakdown, career outlook, industry wages, and JOLTS market signal for Occupational Therapists
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Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+13.8%
Much faster than average
Annual openings
10K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
160K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
22% from new growth78% from people leaving the role
Mixed: openings come from both new growth and people exiting the role.
Typical entry requirements
Education
Master's degree
Experience
None
On-the-job training
None
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 2 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Offices of Other Health Practitioners
NAICS 621300
48K
$97,600
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
NAICS 622100
34K
$102,920
See the complete picture
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median occupational therapists salary in Texas?
The median (P50) annual salary for Occupational Therapists in Texas is approximately $106,142, based on BLS OEWS May 2025 data. This is 5.8% higher than the national median of $100,339. For the full P10–P90 breakdown and market context, open CompSignal.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.
