Highest-paying Cities for Recreational Therapists

The top 100 highest paying cities for recreational therapists (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of recreational therapists in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $97,220, Stockton, California is the highest paying city for recreational therapists. It is followed by Vallejo-Fairfield, California (average annual salary $97,170). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of recreational therapists in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Recreational Therapists

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Stockton, California	$97,220	$86,300	50
2	Vallejo-Fairfield, California	$97,170	$49,420	50
3	Salinas, California	$92,830	$50,840	30
4	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, California	$91,820	$77,070	70
5	Fresno, California	$85,770	$70,620	80
6	Napa, California	$85,570	$68,440	90
7	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$83,510	$54,380	140
8	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California	$81,120	$47,470	160
9	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$81,040	$48,710	100
10	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$80,290	$64,200	40
11	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$79,870	$40,330	100
12	San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California	$79,490	$66,570	40
13	Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey	$73,520	$57,570	50
14	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, California	$70,350	$52,040	30
15	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$69,730	$39,090	150
16	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$69,310	$52,410	130
17	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California	$68,630	$52,720	300
18	Altoona, Pennsylvania	$68,050	$31,290	30
19	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$66,770	$45,810	360
20	West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, Florida	$65,870	$36,710	30
21	Duluth, Wisconsin	$65,190	$47,880	40
22	Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Maryland	$64,820	$37,660	110
23	Buffalo-Niagara Falls, New York	$64,740	$44,660	40
24	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$64,670	$46,170	1,480
25	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington	$64,300	$45,370	90
26	New Haven, Connecticut	$63,090	$35,070	50
27	Ann Arbor, Michigan	$62,560	$47,740	80
28	Urban Honolulu, Hawaii	$62,440	$45,850	30
29	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New York	$61,240	$38,450	30
30	Rochester, New York	$60,740	$38,560	70
31	Bloomsburg-Berwick, Pennsylvania	$59,600	$44,120	30
32	Utica-Rome, New York	$59,450	$34,580	30
33	Spokane, Washington	$59,430	$50,060	50
34	Lansing-East Lansing, Michigan	$59,400	$38,630	30
35	Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area, Michigan	$58,890	$47,530	50
36	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$58,440	$42,070	40
37	Atlantic City-Hammonton, New Jersey	$58,380	$42,990	30
38	Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio	$58,230	$36,380	70
39	Tucson, Arizona	$58,130	$42,270	30
40	Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California	$58,020	$35,550	80
41	Newark-Union, Pennsylvania	$57,890	$41,180	160
42	Far Western Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area, Pennsylvania	$57,510	$49,250	40
43	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$57,440	$38,830	250
44	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida	$56,590	$30,520	250
45	Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, Arkansas	$56,510	$37,030	60
46	Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, New York	$56,230	$34,800	60
47	Salem, Oregon	$55,900	$46,280	90
48	Northeastern Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area, Pennsylvania	$55,690	$30,520	30
49	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$55,690	$39,520	360
50	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania	$55,050	$38,290	370
51	Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona	$54,620	$37,590	140
52	Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Florida	$54,590	$31,300	70
53	New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York	$54,260	$33,230	960
54	Other New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area, New Hampshire	$54,090	$47,510	30
55	Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania	$54,090	$32,990	50
56	San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas	$53,700	$39,380	80
57	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	$53,560	$33,890	140
58	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California	$53,340	$29,490	470
59	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut	$53,220	$37,510	130
60	Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan	$53,000	$39,780	260
61	Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Michigan	$52,840	$32,230	100
62	Camden, New Jersey	$52,570	$39,780	80
63	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$52,430	$28,640	160
64	Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Michigan	$51,900	$34,840	260
65	Kalamazoo-Portage, Michigan	$51,670	$45,820	40
66	Reading, Pennsylvania	$51,580	$34,120	50
67	Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, Ohio	$51,420	$37,610	110
68	Johnstown, Pennsylvania	$51,370	$29,780	40
69	Columbus, Ohio	$51,330	$36,800	90
70	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$51,320	$35,760	370
71	Ithaca, New York	$51,280	$35,790	n/a
72	Richmond, Virginia	$51,170	$40,320	140
73	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$51,100	$32,010	180
74	Syracuse, New York	$50,790	$46,780	70
75	Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky	$50,790	$26,400	30
76	Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, South Carolina	$50,770	$32,220	100
77	Boise City-Nampa, Idaho	$50,750	$45,760	40
78	Iowa City, Iowa	$50,590	$36,940	50
79	Edison-New Brunswick, New Jersey	$50,340	$39,800	120
80	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL Metropolitan Division), Illinois	$50,200	$35,130	590
81	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas	$50,200	$39,030	100
82	Omaha-Council Bluffs, Nebraska	$50,030	$38,270	50
83	Hagerstown-Martinsburg, West Virginia	$50,020	$27,880	40
84	Colorado Springs, Colorado	$50,010	$30,150	40
85	Columbia, Missouri	$49,970	$30,970	40
86	Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky	$49,770	$27,090	70
87	Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida	$49,690	$33,600	130
88	North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida	$49,620	$34,500	30
89	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$49,610	$38,830	240
90	Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Michigan	$49,580	$34,430	120
91	Other Ohio nonmetropolitan area, Ohio	$49,500	$33,630	40
92	Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas	$49,310	$38,270	170
93	Rochester, Minnesota	$49,310	$40,840	60
94	Southeast Iowa nonmetropolitan area, Iowa	$49,250	$36,320	60
95	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$49,180	$36,160	380
96	Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin	$49,080	$39,520	110
97	Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$49,010	$29,210	40
98	Nassau-Suffolk, New York	$48,930	$34,180	310
99	Salt Lake City, Utah	$48,820	$33,230	150
100	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, West Virginia	$48,810	$32,070	290

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for recreational therapists.