Recreational Therapists Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $47K, rent takes 43.5% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,356/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $900/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new recreational therapists typically earn — is $35K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,086/month.

Local pay runs 25% below the national median — $47K here vs. $62K nationally.

Eastern North Carolina nonmetropolitan area pays $47K median vs. the U.S. average of $62K — that’s -25%.

The median is $46,580 a year, that works out to about $22 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $34,760, and experienced recreational therapists can clear $59,940. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,114/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,356/month, which eats 43.5% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.

Eastern North Carolina nonmetropolitan area has a Regional Price Parity of 100 (100 is the national average). That's right at the national average. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median recreational therapists salary is worth about $46,580 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.