Best degree programs for Orthotists and Prosthetists, ranked by enrollment
2 college programs and 24 schools train Orthotists and Prosthetists. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $81,110 median wage, 9,390 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
2 college programs at 24 schools train orthotists and prosthetists, graduating 354 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Orthotist/Prosthetist. The job pays a median of $81,110 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About orthotists and prosthetists
Design, measure, fit, and adapt orthopedic braces, appliances or prostheses, such as limbs or facial parts for patients with disabling conditions.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
2 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 51.2307 | 302 | 85.3% | 17 | $35,966 | $26,323 |
| 2 | CIP 51.2312 | 52 | 14.7% | 8 | $35,966 | $26,323 |
Top 24 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What orthotists and prosthetists earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinoislimited | $89,180 | 240 | 0.66× | 2 | 77 |
| Minnesotalimited | $75,530 | 90 | 0.52× | 2 | 52 |
| Texaslimited | $77,220 | 500 | 0.59× | 2 | 39 |
| Californialimited | $91,820 | 1,050 | 0.95× | 2 | 27 |
| Ohiolimited | $64,870 | 390 | 1.16× | 1 | 27 |
| Georgialimited | $75,920 | 110 | 0.36× | 1 | 23 |
| Michiganmoderate | $75,810 | — | — | 3 | 23 |
| Connecticutlimited | $77,030 | — | — | 2 | 22 |
| Washingtonlimited | $105,240 | 250 | 1.15× | 2 | 18 |
| Pennsylvanialimited | $81,460 | 430 | 1.18× | 1 | 17 |
| New Hampshirelimited | $70,400 | 130 | 3.24× | 1 | 11 |
| Marylandlimited | $95,030 | 90 | 0.53× | 2 | 8 |
| Alabamalimited | $76,400 | 100 | 0.81× | 1 | 7 |
| Kansaslimited | $74,030 | — | — | 1 | 1 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Fit, test, and evaluate devices on patients, and make adjustments for proper fit, function, and comfort.
- Instruct patients in the use and care of orthoses and prostheses.
- Maintain patients' records.
- Examine, interview, and measure patients to determine their appliance needs and to identify factors that could affect appliance fit.
- Select materials and components to be used, based on device design.
- Design orthopedic and prosthetic devices, based on physicians' prescriptions and examination and measurement of patients.
- Repair, rebuild, and modify prosthetic and orthopedic appliances.
- Construct and fabricate appliances, or supervise others constructing the appliances.
Skills
- Reading Comprehension4.0
- Active Listening4.0
- Critical Thinking4.0
- Writing4.0
- Speaking4.0
- Active Learning3.8
- Monitoring3.4
- Learning Strategies3.1
Knowledge areas
- Customer and Personal Service4.6
- Medicine and Dentistry4.3
- Design4.0
- Therapy and Counseling4.0
- English Language3.9
- Psychology3.9
Abilities
- Near Vision4.0
- Oral Expression4.0
- Inductive Reasoning4.0
- Deductive Reasoning4.0
- Oral Comprehension4.0
- Problem Sensitivity4.0
Core activities
- Documenting/Recording Information4.5
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.5
- Assisting and Caring for Others4.5
- Performing for or Working Directly with the Public4.4
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.2
- Working with Computers4.1
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Orthotist
Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above- Typical entry education
- Master's degree
- On-the-job training
- Internship/residency
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 2 majors mapped to Orthotists and Prosthetists2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 51.2307Orthotist/Prosthetist
- 51.2312Assistive/Augmentative Technology and Rehabilitation Engineering
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become an Orthotist?+
Master's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Orthotist/Prosthetist, which awarded 302 degrees in 2024-25, 85.3% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Orthotist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. Together they graduate about 354 people a year.
How much do orthotists and prosthetists earn?+
The median is $81,110 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $46,350 at the 10th percentile to $119,810 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for orthotists and prosthetists growing?+
BLS projects a +13.3% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
24 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do orthotists and prosthetists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Orthotist, Certified Orthotist (CO), Certified Prosthetist (CP), Certified Prosthetist Orthotist (CPO) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 29-2091.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
Explore every U.S. college in one conversation
Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card