Occupational Therapy Assistant Hourly Pay (2026 Data)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 6,754 US job postings by 1,594 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for occupational therapy assistants: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 6,754 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for occupational therapy assistants in US job postings is $35.00 an hour (1,193 postings from 311 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $31.50 to $39.50 an hour.
- The skills that most set occupational therapy assistant postings apart are compassionate, evidence-based practice, documentation writing.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 1 year of experience.
Occupational Therapy Assistant job postings in the US, October 2026
- $35.00/hr
- Median advertised pay (1,193 postings)
- $31.50–$39.50
- Middle 50% of postings
- 6,754
- US job postings from 1,594 employers
- 1 year
- Median experience asked
How much does an occupational therapy assistant make an hour?
The median advertised pay is $35.00 an hour, from 1,193 US job postings by 311 employers that state pay. That is about $73,000 a year at 2,080 hours.
Advertised pay in 1,193 US occupational therapy assistant job postings: median $73,000 a year ($35.00 an hour), middle half $65,000 to $83,000.
- Median: $73,000 ($35.00/hr)
- 25th percentile: $65,000
- 75th percentile: $83,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $30K–$40K | 0.9% |
| $40K–$50K | 1.7% |
| $50K–$60K | 8.2% |
| $60K–$70K | 28.6% |
| $70K–$80K | 28.9% |
| $80K–$90K | 15.8% |
| $90K–$100K | 5.8% |
| $100K–$110K | 6.5% |
| $110K–$120K | 0.6% |
| $120K–$130K | 1.2% |
| $130K–$140K | 0.9% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an hourly rate | $35.00 | $31.50–$39.50 | 718 |
| All pay postings, annualised | $73,000 | $65K–$83K | 1,193 |
For comparison, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median annual wage of Occupational Therapy Assistants (31-2011) at $72,000 (May 2025). Postings advertise pay; the BLS measures what people earn, across all employers and levels.
What is the starting salary for an occupational therapy assistant?
Figure withheld: fewer than 250 US postings list pay. How we decide.
Highest-paying occupational therapy assistant jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant | $35.00/hr | 1,166 | 298 |
Skills employers ask for in occupational therapy assistant job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 31% |
| Compassionate | 16% |
| Interpersonal skills | 15% |
| Organizational skills | 15% |
| Teamwork | 6% |
| Problem-solving | 6% |
| Time management | 6% |
| Work independently | 6% |
| Attention to detail | 5% |
| Basic computer skills | 3% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set occupational therapy assistants apart
- Compassionate5.6× as often as in all postings · 16%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a occupational therapy assistant job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does an occupational therapy assistant do?
Employers post these jobs as Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant, Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant, Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA), Occupational Therapist Assistant, COTA and other titles. The largest specializations are Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (98%).
The closest official occupation is Occupational Therapy Assistants (31-2011.00). Its most important tasks:
- Instruct, or assist in instructing, patients and families in home programs, basic living skills, or the care and use of adaptive equipment.
- Maintain and promote a positive attitude toward clients and their treatment programs.
- Report to supervisors, verbally or in writing, on patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior.
- Implement, or assist occupational therapists with implementing, treatment plans designed to help clients function independently.
- Monitor patients' performance in therapy activities, providing encouragement.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
How much experience do you need to be an occupational therapy assistant?
Among 674 postings that state a minimum, the median is 1 year. 7% say 0 years and 73% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 674 US occupational therapy assistant job postings: median 1 year, and 73% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | 10% |
| 1 yr | 63% |
| 2 yrs | 24% |
| 3-4 yrs | 2% |
| 5-7 yrs | under 1% |
| 8-9 yrs | under 1% |
| 10+ yrs | 0% |
Postings that state a minimum (required or preferred); at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
We do not show a degree figure: in our checks, degree requirements in posting text were found too rarely to publish one. Why.
Full-time 80%, Part-time 20% of the 883 postings that state working hours.
Other names for an occupational therapy assistant: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant | 411 (25.8%) |
| Occupational Therapy Assistant | 249 (15.6%) |
| Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant | 217 (13.6%) |
| Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) | 206 (12.9%) |
| Occupational Therapist Assistant | 167 (10.5%) |
| COTA | 84 (5.3%) |
| Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant (COTA) | 82 (5.1%) |
| Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) | 35 (2.2%) |
| Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) | 30 (1.9%) |
| Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant OTA | 29 (1.8%) |
| Occupational Therapist Assistant (COTA) | 27 (1.7%) |
| COTA Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant | 20 (1.2%) |
| COTA Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant | 17 (1.1%) |
| Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant COTA | 16 (1.0%) |
| Pediatric Occupational Therapy Assistant | 15 (0.9%) |
| Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant COTA | 14 (0.9%) |
| Occupational Therapy Asst | 14 (0.9%) |
| OT Assistant | 14 (0.9%) |
| COTA Occupational Therapy Assistant | 14 (0.9%) |
| Home Health COTA | 14 (0.9%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Occupational therapy assistant job titles compared
The titles people search for most, from the US job postings that use each exact title (October 2026).
| Job title | Open postings | Employers | Median pay | Median experience | Skills named most |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COTA | 233 | 84 | – | – | communication, compassionate, interpersonal skills |
| Occupational Therapist Assistant | 480 | 167 | – | – | communication, organizational skills, critical thinking |
Occupational Therapy Assistant compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Occupational Therapy Assistant | $35.00/hr | 1 year | 6,754 | – |
| Physical Therapist Assistant | $34.52/hr | 1 year | 12,964 | 18 |
| Occupational Therapist | $52.00/hr | 1 year | 11,924 | 17 |
| Speech-Language Pathologist | $52.50/hr | 1 year | 13,892 | 17 |
| Physical Therapist | $104K | 1 year | 29,758 | 16 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Physical Therapist Assistant | 18 | $34.52/hr |
| Occupational Therapist | 17 | $52.00/hr |
| Speech-Language Pathologist | 17 | $52.50/hr |
| Physical Therapist | 16 | $104K |
| Certified Nursing Assistant | 15 | $21.00/hr |
| Licensed Practical Nurse | 16 | $32.65/hr |
Applying for occupational therapy assistant jobs?
- Occupational therapy assistant resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find occupational therapy assistant jobs: search open postings
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 20 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 20 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.