Best degree programs for Recreational Therapists, ranked by enrollment
1 college programs and 49 schools train Recreational Therapists. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $61,960 median wage, 14,930 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
1 college programs at 49 schools train recreational therapists, graduating 640 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy. The job pays a median of $61,960 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About recreational therapists
Plan, direct, or coordinate medically-approved recreation programs for patients in hospitals, nursing homes, or other institutions. Activities include sports, trips, dramatics, social activities, and crafts. May assess a patient condition and recommend appropriate recreational activity.
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.
1 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 51.2309 | 640 | 100.0% | 49 | $35,966 | $26,323 |
Top 49 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What recreational therapists 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | $51,030 | 440 | 0.93× | 6 | 108 |
| Michiganmoderate | $61,700 | 590 | 1.39× | 4 | 68 |
| Pennsylvaniamoderate | $58,940 | 720 | 1.24× | 3 | 68 |
| New York | $65,520 | 1,230 | 1.33× | 7 | 64 |
| Idaholimited | $49,720 | 90 | 1.13× | 1 | 45 |
| Iowalimited | $56,140 | 230 | 1.55× | 1 | 35 |
| Wisconsinlimited | $59,350 | 350 | 1.24× | 2 | 32 |
| Louisianalimited | $51,150 | 190 | 1.02× | 1 | 29 |
| Utahlimited | $56,640 | 210 | 1.26× | 1 | 22 |
| Virginialimited | $61,270 | 570 | 1.43× | 2 | 20 |
| Alabamalimited | $57,360 | 160 | 0.77× | 1 | 19 |
| Illinoislimited | $54,910 | 440 | 0.75× | 2 | 18 |
| Arizonamoderate | $62,610 | 170 | 0.53× | 3 | 16 |
| Ohiolimited | $60,770 | 310 | 0.58× | 1 | 15 |
| Mississippilimited | $39,560 | 140 | 1.26× | 1 | 13 |
| Indianalimited | $53,770 | 190 | 0.62× | 2 | 11 |
| Missourilimited | $58,620 | 140 | 0.49× | 1 | 11 |
| New Jerseylimited | $60,400 | 430 | 1.03× | 1 | 10 |
| Connecticutlimited | $63,240 | 380 | 2.30× | 1 | 8 |
| Texaslimited | $62,490 | 800 | 0.59× | 1 | 7 |
| Californialimited | $98,170 | 1,920 | 1.10× | 1 | 6 |
| Minnesotalimited | $76,360 | 250 | 0.89× | 1 | 5 |
| Oklahomalimited | $50,480 | 120 | 0.72× | 1 | 5 |
| Massachusettslimited | $62,820 | 210 | 0.61× | 1 | 2 |
| Mainelimited | $57,560 | 40 | 0.58× | 2 | 2 |
| Washingtonlimited | $77,860 | 240 | 0.69× | 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
- Instruct patient in activities and techniques, such as sports, dance, music, art, or relaxation techniques, designed to meet their specific physical or psychological needs.
- Conduct therapy sessions to improve patients' mental and physical well-being.
- Plan, organize, direct, and participate in treatment programs and activities to facilitate patients' rehabilitation, help them integrate into the community, and prevent further medical problems.
- Observe, analyze, and record patients' participation, reactions, and progress during treatment sessions, modifying treatment programs as needed.
- Develop treatment plan to meet needs of patient, based on needs assessment, patient interests, and objectives of therapy.
- Obtain information from medical records, medical staff, family members and the patients, themselves, to assess patients' capabilities, needs and interests.
- Confer with members of treatment team to plan and evaluate therapy programs.
- Counsel and encourage patients to develop leisure activities.
Skills
- Speaking4.0
- Active Listening4.0
- Critical Thinking3.9
- Reading Comprehension3.9
- Writing3.9
- Monitoring3.4
- Learning Strategies3.4
- Active Learning3.4
Knowledge areas
- Psychology4.5
- Therapy and Counseling4.5
- Customer and Personal Service4.4
- Education and Training4.2
- English Language4.1
- Sociology and Anthropology3.5
Abilities
- Oral Expression4.0
- Speech Clarity4.0
- Oral Comprehension4.0
- Problem Sensitivity3.9
- Deductive Reasoning3.9
- Written Comprehension3.9
Core activities
- Assisting and Caring for Others4.9
- Thinking Creatively4.5
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships4.5
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.4
- Documenting/Recording Information4.3
- Getting Information4.3
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Recreational Therapist
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 1 majors mapped to Recreational Therapists1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 51.2309Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy
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 a Recreational Therapist?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy, which awarded 640 degrees in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Recreational Therapist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. Together they graduate about 640 people a year.
How much do recreational therapists earn?+
The median is $61,960 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $40,990 at the 10th percentile to $100,420 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 recreational therapists growing?+
BLS projects a +3.3% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 1,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
49 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 1 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 recreational therapists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Recreation Therapist, Recreational Therapist, Rehabilitation Therapist, Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 29-1125.
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
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