Compared with the local labor market
Recreation Therapist pay vs. Minnesota
Across all employers in Minnesota, the median wage for Recreational Therapists — about 250 people — is $76,360. Human Services Department pays a median base salary of $58,123 for this role, 24% below that figure — about the 14th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Human Services Department sits in the local pay range
$55,210
$65,160
$76,360
$84,200
$97,570
Human Services Department median · $58,123
The bar is the range of annual wages for Recreational Therapists across every employer in Minnesota, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Human Services Department’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Recreational Therapists — about 14,930 people — is $61,960. Human Services Department’s median base salary is 6% below that national figure, about the 42nd percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$40,990
$50,240
$61,960
$79,930
$100,420
Human Services Department median · $58,123
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Minnesota range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Human Services Department is $60,005, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare jurisdictions
Recreation Therapist beyond Minnesota
This role is reported in 5 jurisdictions. In Minnesota, the median of $62,828 ranks #4 of 5. See Recreation Therapist across all of Minnesota →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
Median total compensation for comparable Recreation Therapist roles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.