# Recreational Therapists

SOC 29-1125. Page: https://educationguide.com/careers/recreational-therapists

Plan, direct, or coordinate medically-approved recreation programs for patients in hospitals, nursing homes, or other institutions. Activities include sports, trips, dramatics, social activities, and crafts. May assess a patient condition and recommend appropriate recreational activity.

## Pay and outlook
- U.S. median wage $61,960 (middle half $50,240–$79,930; BLS May 2025)
- Ages 25-34: median $47,384; 82% hold a bachelor's or higher (Census ACS 2020-2024)
- Jobs 2025-35: 4.8%; ~1.4k openings a year; typical entry: Bachelor's degree

## Fields of degree of young workers (ages 25-34, bachelor's+)
- Treatment Therapy Professions: 52% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/rehabilitation-therapy-sciences)
- Physical Fitness Parks Recreation And Leisure: 10% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/kinesiology-exercise-science, https://educationguide.com/degrees/parks-recreation-and-leisure-studies)
- Psychology: 5% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/psychology)
- General Social Sciences: 4% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/social-sciences, https://educationguide.com/degrees/social-sciences-other)
- Biology: 3% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/biology)
- Elementary Education: 3%
- Accounting: 2% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/accounting)
- Clinical Psychology: 2%
- Animal Sciences: 2% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/animal-sciences)
- Drama And Theater Arts: 1% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/theatre, https://educationguide.com/degrees/arts-and-entertainment-management)

## Median wage by state
- AL: $57,360
- AR: $42,670
- AZ: $62,610
- CA: $98,170
- CO: $66,580
- CT: $63,240
- DC: $95,640
- DE: $51,110
- FL: $57,980
- GA: $52,010
- HI: $64,500
- IA: $56,140
- ID: $49,720
- IL: $54,910
- IN: $53,770
- KS: $40,010
- KY: $59,240
- LA: $51,150
- MA: $62,820
- MD: $64,300
- ME: $57,560
- MI: $61,700
- MN: $76,360
- MO: $58,620
- MS: $39,560
- MT: $51,110
- NC: $51,030
- ND: $58,370
- NE: $62,980
- NH: $82,280
- NJ: $60,400
- NM: $49,210
- NV: $78,730
- NY: $65,520
- OH: $60,770
- OK: $50,480
- OR: $66,530
- PA: $58,940
- PR: $28,140
- SC: $48,880
- SD: $46,850
- TN: $51,910
- TX: $62,490
- UT: $56,640
- VA: $61,270
- VT: $63,380
- WA: $77,860
- WI: $59,350
- WV: $49,010

Method: https://educationguide.com/how-we-score#careers

Free to reuse with attribution: cite "EducationGuide.com" with a link to the page URL. Most figures are U.S. government data (public domain); loan default rates and athletics come from the Urban Institute Education Data Portal (ODC-By 1.0, attribution required) and founding years from Wikidata (CC0). O*NET data: CC BY 4.0, O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA).