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Recreational Therapist: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

Maid DizdarevicCareer coach · 8x LinkedIn Top Voice
Updated Nov 2, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of recreational therapists earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$61,960
Hourly
$29.79
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Recreational Therapists plan, direct, or coordinate medically-approved recreation programs for patients in hospitals, nursing homes, or other institutions. The median pay is $61,960 a year ($29.79 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a bachelor's degree (92% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$61,960
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
14,930
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 4 of 5
considerable preparation
Most common education
Bachelor's Degree
92% of workers
Key facts

Recreational Therapists at a glance

  • Recreational therapists in the United States earned a median annual wage of $61,960 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for recreational therapists in the United States.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS projects employment of recreational therapists in the United States to grow 4.8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,400 openings a year on average, including replacement openings.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS estimated that 14,930 people were employed as recreational therapists in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

Explore the role

Every page for Recreational Therapists

SalaryRecreational Therapist salary

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The work

What recreational therapists do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Instruct patient in activities and techniques, such as sports, dance, music, art, or relaxation techniques, designed to meet their specific physical or psychological needs.
  2. Conduct therapy sessions to improve patients' mental and physical well-being.
  3. Plan, organize, direct, and participate in treatment programs and activities to facilitate patients' rehabilitation, help them integrate into the community, and prevent further medical problems.
  4. Observe, analyze, and record patients' participation, reactions, and progress during treatment sessions, modifying treatment programs as needed.
  5. Develop treatment plan to meet needs of patient, based on needs assessment, patient interests, and objectives of therapy.
  6. Obtain information from medical records, medical staff, family members and the patients, themselves, to assess patients' capabilities, needs and interests.
  7. Confer with members of treatment team to plan and evaluate therapy programs.
  8. Counsel and encourage patients to develop leisure activities.
Where this career works

Industries that employ it

Data Share of all recreational therapist jobs in each industry, 2025 (BLS Employment Matrix).

  1. Hospitals; state, local, and private41.7% of all jobs in this occupation · +6.9% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $68,210
  2. Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals21.4% of all jobs in this occupation · -0.2% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $77,980
  3. Nursing and residential care facilities19.6% of all jobs in this occupation · -1.0% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $53,100
  4. Ambulatory healthcare services7.4% of all jobs in this occupation · +21.2% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $80,210
  5. Social assistance4.8% of all jobs in this occupation · +11.2% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $56,780
  6. Educational services; state, local, and private2.9% of all jobs in this occupation · +1.0% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $70,860

Sources: BLS 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (share of the occupation's jobs, projected change) and BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates (mean wage). Different industry estimates are not a pay forecast for any person.

Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

Service OrientationcoreSocial PerceptivenesscoreCoordinationcoreActive ListeningSpeakingInstructingReading ComprehensionWritingCritical Thinking

Knowledge areas: Psychology, Therapy and Counseling, Customer and Personal Service, Education and Training, English Language, Sociology and Anthropology.

Tools and technology

Software recreational therapists use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Avid Technology SibeliusMusic or sound editing software
  • HyperscoreMusic or sound editing software
  • MakeMusic FinaleMusic or sound editing software
  • Musical instrument digital interface MIDI softwareMusic or sound editing software
  • Patient electronic medical record EMR softwareMedical software
  • Speech recognition softwareVoice recognition software
  • Steinberg Cubase ProMusic or sound editing software
  • Microsoft Office softwareOffice suite softwareIn demand
  • Microsoft ExcelSpreadsheet softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft OutlookElectronic mail softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft PowerPointPresentation softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft WordWord processing softwareHot technology

Also called: Activities Coordinator, Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS), General Activities Therapist, Recreation Therapist, Recreational Therapy Program Coordinator.

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).

How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.