Recreational Therapists in Washington
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$63,605
after federal, FICA and Washington tax
Tax takes
$14,255
18.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$58,588
Washington costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Washington — 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
$77,860
Kept after tax
$63,605
Worth in national money
$58,588
State rank
5
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Washington pays recreational therapists a middle wage of $77,860, ranking 5 of 48 states and sitting about 25.66% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Recreational therapists ranks 216 among 493 occupations Washington publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $77,860 the take-home is $63,605. But Washington costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $58,588 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $81,020, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Washington's median for recreational therapists is $77,860, about 25.66% above the national figure and 5 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.
- Position 216 of 493 in Washington places recreational therapists in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Washington income tax is $63,605 for recreational therapists, from $77,860. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $58,588. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $81,020 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Recreational Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $61,070 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $77,860 |
| Top tenth earn over | $108,200 |
| This salary | $77,860 |
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 Washington | $63,605 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $63,605 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,865 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $77,860 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$9,483 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
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 recreational therapists in Washington earn under $77,860 and half over. The published range runs $61,070 at the tenth percentile to $108,200 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $63,605 take-home in Washington comes from $77,860. 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 216 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $58,588 uses one figure for the whole of Washington. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 216.
- Figures are distribution medians for recreational therapists in Washington, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $61,070 to $108,200; 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.
- Retained pay of $63,605, from $77,860, assumes a single Washington 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 216 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 5 of 48 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $58,588, worked from $77,860, 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 Washington address, on work sitting at 216 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $81,020 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $61,070 and the top tenth $108,200, so most people doing this work in Washington sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Washington costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $58,588 rather than its face figure.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $63,605 lands after tax, since there is no state income tax on wages here — though the federal floor is identical in every state.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Washington is $81,020. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($61,070 to $108,200) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Washington rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Washington's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $58,588 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Washington levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $63,605 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
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.