An official website of Washington State government
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.
What a recreational therapist does
Become a recreational therapist
If you enjoy doing these activities, you might make a good recreational therapist
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Talking to others.
- Looking for ways to help people.
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Discover what you could earn in Washington
- Typical hourly rate is $36 per hour with a typical salary of $58,700 per year.
- Half of workers earn between $24 and $41 per hour.
- Half of workers earn an annual salary between $10,700 and $61,400 per year.
- 52% of individuals in this occupation have been employed in every quarter of the past year.
Part-time
- The typical hourly rate for part-time workers is $41 per hour with a typical salary of $32,900 per year.
- 65.1% of individuals in this occupation worked part-time during the past year.
Recreational Therapist job outlook
- There are 233 workers in this occupation in Washington.
- There are 216 openings per year in this occupation in Washington.
Multiple Jobs
- 7% of individuals in this occupation worked for more than one employer.
- 30% of individuals in this occupation held a position in another.