Occupational Therapists in Delaware
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$75,169
after federal, FICA and Delaware tax
Tax takes
$26,961
26.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$75,735
Delaware costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Delaware — 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
$102,130
Kept after tax
$75,169
Worth in national money
$75,735
State rank
17
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Delaware pays occupational therapists a middle wage of $102,130, ranking 17 of 51 states and sitting about 1.79% above the national middle.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Delaware. It ranks 65 out of 445 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $102,130, tax leaves $75,169, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $75,735 in comparable terms. Averages run higher here, $105,190, since top earners drag the number up.
- Delaware's median for occupational therapists is $102,130, about 1.79% above the national figure and 17 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Within Delaware, occupational therapists ranks 65 of 445 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 Delaware sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for occupational therapists — median $102,130 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $75,169 retained, $75,735 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $105,190 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Occupational Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $71,280 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $102,130 |
| Top tenth earn over | $138,640 |
| This salary | $102,130 |
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 Delaware | $75,169 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $80,678 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$7,289 |
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 | $94,298 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$10,069 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Delaware earn less than $102,130. The published range is $71,280 up to $138,640, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Delaware the take-home figure of $75,169, from $102,130, 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 65 of 445 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Delaware, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $75,735, the adjusted value of that $102,130 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 65 of 445 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for occupational therapists in Delaware the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $71,280 to $138,640. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Delaware is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $75,169 from $102,130. 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 65 of 445 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Delaware, so $75,735 — the adjusted value of that $102,130 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 65 of 445 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $71,280 at the tenth percentile, $138,640 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $75,735.
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; Delaware then takes its own share, leaving $75,169.
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 ($71,280 to $138,640) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Delaware rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Delaware's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $75,735 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $75,169 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Delaware 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.