Occupational Therapists in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$88,881
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$35,629
28.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$78,949
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$124,510
Kept after tax
$88,881
Worth in national money
$78,949
State rank
1
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for occupational therapists is strong here. California's middle earner gets $124,510, putting the state 1 of 51 — about 24.1% ahead of the national figure.
- Within California this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, occupational therapists ranks 81 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $124,510, tax leaves $88,881 — and because California is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $78,949 would nationally. Here the average runs under the middle, at $121,920.
- For occupational therapists, California sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $124,510, ranking 1 of 51 and running about 24.1% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Ranked against every occupation California publishes a median for, occupational therapists sits 81 of 492 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- After tax, $88,881 remains from the California median of $124,510 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $78,949 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $121,920 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Occupational Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $85,550 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $124,510 |
| Top tenth earn over | $158,560 |
| This salary | $124,510 |
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 California | $88,881 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $96,369 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$20,221 |
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 | $113,790 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$28,009 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $124,510 as a midpoint for California, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $85,550 and the ninetieth is $158,560 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind California's $88,881, worked from $124,510. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 81 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of California, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $78,949, the adjusted value of that $124,510 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 81 of 492 in the state.
- The California median of $124,510 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $85,550 to $158,560. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The California take-home of $88,881, on $124,510 for work ranking 81 of 492 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 81 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for California, so $78,949 — the adjusted value of that $124,510 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 81 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $85,550 at the bottom tenth to $158,560 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. California costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $78,949 rather than its face figure.
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; California then takes its own share, leaving $88,881.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($85,550 to $158,560) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to California rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $78,949 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 $88,881 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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.