As of April 01, 2025, the average hourly pay of Recreational Therapist in the United States is $33. While Salary.com is seeing that Recreational Therapist salary in the US can go up to $41 or down to $27, but most earn between $30 and $37. Salary.com shows the average base salary (core compensation), as well as the average total cash compensation for the job of Recreational Therapist in the United States.
| Annual Salary |
Monthly Pay |
Weekly Pay |
Hourly Wage |
|
| 75th Percentile | $37 | $3 | $1 | $0 |
| Average | $33 | $3 | $1 | $0 |
| 25th Percentile | $30 | $2 | $1 | $0 |
As of April 01, 2025, Salary.com is seeing that an entry-level Recreational Therapist with under 1 year experience makes about $65,316. With less than 2 years of experience, a mid-level Recreational Therapist makes around $65,804. After 2-4 years, the Recreational Therapist pay rises to about $68,234. Those senior Recreational Therapist with 5-8 years of experience earn roughly $72,203, and those Recreational Therapist having 8 years or more experience is expected to earn about $72,912 on average.
| Levels | Salary |
|---|---|
| Entry Level Recreational Therapist | $65,316 |
| Intermediate Level Recreational Therapist | $65,804 |
| Senior Level Recreational Therapist | $68,234 |
| Specialist Level Recreational Therapist | $72,203 |
| Expert Level Recreational Therapist | $72,912 |
| Entry Level | 4% |
| Mid Level | 3% |
| Senior Level | 0% |
| Top Level | 6% |
| Experienced | 7% |
Salaries in the United States can vary significantly from state to state due to a multitude of factors, including cost of living, local economic conditions, and industry presence.
For example, as of April 01, 2025, the average yearly salary of Recreational Therapist is $74,949 in California and in Massachusetts, the average annual salary goes to $73,950. While in New Jersey, a Recreational Therapist earns $73,651 per year.
What Am I Worth?
Salaries in the United States can vary significantly from city to city due to a multitude of factors, including cost of living, local economic conditions, and industry presence.
For example, as of April 01, 2025, the average yearly salary of Recreational Therapist in San Francisco, CA is $84,863 and in New York, NY, the average annual salary goes to $78,747. While a Recreational Therapist earns $75,785 per year in Boston, MA.
For those exploring the changing dynamics of Recreational Therapist salaries, Salary.com offers detailed insights through our Job Trending in CA Labor Market analysis. As of April 01, 2025, our research highlights a notable shift in Recreational Therapist compensation over the past six years. For instance, the median salary has moved from $112,260 in 2023 to about $113,619 in 2024 (for a comprehensive analysis of Recreational Therapist salary trends, click here). It's crucial to consider several elements, including geographical location, experience level, industry demand, and economic development, as they play a significant role in influencing salary variations.
Salary.com job board provides millions of Recreational Therapist information for you to search for. Click on search button below to see Recreational Therapist job openings or enter a new job title here.
Here are companies hiring for Recreational Therapist and their salaries, click below for more details.
| Core Compensation | ||||
| Core Compensation | Median | % of Total | ||
| Base Salary | $67,950 | 71.2% | ||
| Bonus | $0 | 0.0% | ||
| Value of Benefits | ||||
| Core Compensation | Median | % of Total | ||
| Social Security | $5,198 | 5.4% | ||
| 401K/403B | $3,330 | 3.5% | ||
| Disability | $1,087 | 1.1% | ||
| Healthcare | $6,371 | 6.7% | ||
| Pension | $2,854 | 3.0% | ||
| Time Off | $8,624 | 9.0% | ||
| Total Compensation | $95,414 | 100% | ||
| Degree Level | % of user with this level of education |
|---|---|
| High School | 6.0% |
| Associates | 3.7% |
| Bachelors | 69.8% |
| Masters | 19.5% |
| Doctorate | 0.9% |
What Am I Worth?
Plans and directs medically approved therapeutic recreational programs for patients. Organizes activities according to patients' capabilities, needs, and interests. Conducts programs including symptom management, basic conversation skills, community re-entry, sports, gardening, dramatics, music, social activities, and arts and crafts. Prepares reports for patients' physicians describing individual patient symptoms and reactions to therapeutic programs. Conducts activity therapy assessment of a patient's strengths and needs, and recommends therapeutic activity. Documents progress on each patient. Requires a license/certification to practice from the National Council of Therapeutic Recreation Specialists. Requires a bachelor's degree. Typically reports to a manager. Requires to practice from the National Council of Therapeutic Recreation Specialists. Years of experience may be unspecified. Certification and/or licensing in the position's specialty is the main requirement.
Specify the abilities and skills that a person needs in order to carry out the specified job duties. Each competency has five to ten behavioral assertions that can be observed, each with a corresponding performance level (from one to five) that is required for a particular job.
Planning: An act or process of making or carrying out plans. Establishment of goals, policies, and procedures for a social or economic unit city planning business planning.
First Aid: First aid refers to medical attention that is usually administered immediately after the injury occurs and at the location where it occurred.
Discharge Planning: Developing a personalized plan to ensure the smooth transition of a patient from a health organization to the patient's home or residential care.
