Occupational Therapists in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$79,566
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$24,094
23.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$78,696
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$103,660
Kept after tax
$79,566
Worth in national money
$78,696
State rank
13
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Arizona is one of the better-paying states for occupational therapists. The middle earner takes $103,660, which ranks 13 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 3.32% above the national middle.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Arizona. It ranks 47 out of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $103,660, tax leaves $79,566, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $78,696 in comparable terms. Averages run higher here, $104,960, since top earners drag the number up.
- Arizona ranks 13 of 51 states publishing a median for occupational therapists, at $103,660 — about 3.32% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Within Arizona, occupational therapists ranks 47 of 491 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Because Arizona sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for occupational therapists — median $103,660 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $79,566 retained, $78,696 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $104,960 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Occupational Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $78,160 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $103,660 |
| Top tenth earn over | $131,950 |
| This salary | $103,660 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Arizona | $79,566 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $81,755 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,435 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $100,548 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,508 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of occupational therapists in Arizona earn under $103,660 and half over. The published range runs $78,160 at the tenth percentile to $131,950 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Arizona the take-home figure of $79,566, from $103,660, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 47 of 491 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Arizona, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $78,696, the adjusted value of that $103,660 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 47 of 491 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for occupational therapists in Arizona, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $78,160 to $131,950; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Arizona is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $79,566 from $103,660. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 47 of 491 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Arizona, so $78,696 — the adjusted value of that $103,660 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 47 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $78,160 and the top tenth $131,950, so most people doing this work in Arizona sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Arizona run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $78,696 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Arizona then takes its own share, leaving $79,566.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($78,160 to $131,950) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Arizona rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $78,696 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $79,566 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.