Occupational Therapists in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$79,291
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$27,689
25.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$76,267
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$106,980
Kept after tax
$79,291
Worth in national money
$76,267
State rank
6
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Maryland pays occupational therapists a middle wage of $106,980, ranking 6 of 51 states and sitting about 6.63% above the national middle.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Maryland. It ranks 76 out of 489 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $106,980, tax leaves $79,291 — and because Maryland is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $76,267 would nationally. Here the average runs under the middle, at $106,300.
- Maryland's median for occupational therapists is $106,980, about 6.63% above the national figure and 6 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 Maryland, occupational therapists ranks 76 of 489 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.
- After tax, $79,291 remains from the Maryland median of $106,980 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $76,267 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $106,300 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Occupational Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $76,650 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $106,980 |
| Top tenth earn over | $132,300 |
| This salary | $106,980 |
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 Maryland | $79,291 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $84,090 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$10,268 |
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 | $100,158 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$14,183 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $106,980 as a midpoint for Maryland, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $76,650 and the ninetieth is $132,300 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $79,291 take-home in Maryland comes from $106,980. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 76 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $76,267 uses one figure for the whole of Maryland. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 76.
- The Maryland median of $106,980 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $76,650 to $132,300. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $79,291, from $106,980, assumes a single Maryland filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 76 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 6 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $76,267, worked from $106,980, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Maryland address, on work sitting at 76 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $76,650 at the bottom tenth to $132,300 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Maryland run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $76,267 — 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; Maryland then takes its own share, leaving $79,291.
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 ($76,650 to $132,300) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maryland rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $76,267 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 $79,291 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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.