Insights / Therapy pay versus the U.S. median / Washington
Therapy pay in Washington
Washington's three therapy medians are interchangeable. The upper quarters are where the offers split.
One band went out labeled therapy, taken from the occupational-therapist median, and the experienced physical therapists did not answer.
Occupational therapists earn $107,670 against $100,330 nationally, 1.07 times the country, with 3,340 employed.
Physical therapists earn $105,950 against $102,760, 1.03 times the country, with 5,370 employed.
On this page, speech-language pay is $105,550 against $97,870, 1.08 times the country, with 3,570 employed.
At the upper quarter, physical therapists reach $129,390, occupational therapists reach $127,390, and speech-language pathologists reach $124,010.
The medians can share a sentence.
The experienced offers should not.
Physical therapy is also the bench you will hire from most often.
Each occupation
1Occupational Therapists
- State median
- $107,670
- 75th percentile
- $127,390
- U.S. median
- $100,330
- State vs U.S.
- 1.07
- State employment
- 3,340
2Physical Therapists
- State median
- $105,950
- 75th percentile
- $129,390
- U.S. median
- $102,760
- State vs U.S.
- 1.03
- State employment
- 5,370
3Speech-Language Pathologists
- State median
- $105,550
- 75th percentile
- $124,010
- U.S. median
- $97,870
- State vs U.S.
- 1.08
- State employment
- 3,570
Ranked table
Swipe the table sideways. The same figures are in the blocks above.
| Rank | Occupation | State median | 75th percentile | U.S. median | State vs U.S. | State employment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Occupational Therapists | $107,670 | $127,390 | $100,330 | 1.07 | 3,340 |
| 2 | Physical Therapists | $105,950 | $129,390 | $102,760 | 1.03 | 5,370 |
| 3 | Speech-Language Pathologists | $105,550 | $124,010 | $97,870 | 1.08 | 3,570 |
Takeaways
- Washington is 7 of 51 on the physical-therapist sort, even though occupational therapists post the higher median.
- A national letter is the wrong anchor for all three, and it is a smaller miss than using one upper quarter for all three.
- The physical-therapy employment of 5,370 is the largest of these benches and still a specific license.
- Candidates already in the state are comparing you with the upper quarter, not with the national median.
For recruiters
- Write three upper quarters if the reqs say experience.
- Stop the draft that says therapy and then a single median.
FAQ
- Are these posted wages or open jobs?
- No. The table is a government survey or a designation file.
- What should a recruiter do first?
- Follow the recruiter note on this page.
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Related hiring pages
Methodology
Occupations are the fixed set named in the series, kept only when both the Washington median and the U.S. median are published. A 75th percentile or an employment count that is unpublished stays blank in the table. The article is omitted when fewer than 3 occupations qualify. OEWS May 2025. A comparison of 1.00 matches the U.S. median. Sorted by the Physical Therapists state median when that occupation qualifies, otherwise by the highest median in the table. Washington is 7 of 51. A row links to the Washington metro page with the highest public market difficulty score for that occupation when one is published, and otherwise to the occupation page on the hiring grid. An unpublished percentile or employment count is shown as unpublished rather than replaced with a zero. The wages are annual OEWS figures. They are not job listings and they are not an employer's current offer. Read the comparison beside the dollar figures: a high state wage can still sit under the national median for that occupation, and a lower state wage can still sit above it. Rounded figures in the prose: $107,670 is stated as about $107.7K. $100,330 is stated as about $100.3K. a comparison of 1.07 is stated as 7 percent. $127,390 is stated as about $127.4K. $105,550 is stated as about $105.6K. a comparison of 1.08 is stated as 8 percent. $97,870 is stated as about $97.9K. Rounded figures in the prose: $105,950 is stated as about $106.0K. $129,390 is stated as about $129.4K.
Sources
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