Recreational Therapists in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,154
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$13,146
20.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$49,204
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
$64,300
Kept after tax
$51,154
Worth in national money
$49,204
State rank
11
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Maryland pays recreational therapists a middle wage of $64,300, ranking 11 of 48 states and sitting about 3.78% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations Maryland reports figures for, this is number 231.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $64,300, tax leaves $51,154 — and because Maryland is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $49,204 would nationally. Here the average runs under the middle, at $63,340.
- Maryland's median for recreational therapists is $64,300, about 3.78% above the national figure and 11 of 48 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- In Maryland's occupational distribution, recreational therapists sits at 231 of 489 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After tax, $51,154 remains from the Maryland median of $64,300 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $49,204 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $63,340 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Recreational Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,220 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $64,300 |
| Top tenth earn over | $95,490 |
| This salary | $64,300 |
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 | $51,154 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,845 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,207 |
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 | $60,951 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,507 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $64,300 as a midpoint for Maryland, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $39,220 and the ninetieth is $95,490 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $51,154 take-home in Maryland comes from $64,300. 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 231 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $49,204 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 231.
- The Maryland median of $64,300 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $39,220 to $95,490. 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 $51,154, from $64,300, 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 231 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 11 of 48 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $49,204, worked from $64,300, 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 231 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $39,220 at the bottom tenth to $95,490 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $49,204 — 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 $51,154.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 48 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($39,220) and the ninetieth ($95,490) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $49,204 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 $51,154 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.