Minnesota / Recreation Therapist
Role across Minnesota
Recreation Therapist
Assess client needs, develop service plans, and connect people with support resources.
29 people hold the Recreation Therapist role across 4 departments in Minnesota, with a median total compensation of $62,828. Among 5 jurisdictions where this role is reported, Minnesota ranks #4 by median pay.
- Employees
- 29
- Median pay
- $62,828
- Departments
- 4
- Cross-jurisdiction
- #4 of 5
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. Minnesota pays a median base salary of $61,740 for this role, 19% below that figure — about the 20th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Minnesota sits in the local pay range
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 Minnesota’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. Minnesota’s median base salary is in line withthat national figure, about the 50th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
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.
Computed over the 28 of 29 people in this role paid at least $25,000 in base salary. The rest are part-year or part-time records, whose actual pay isn’t comparable to a full-time annual wage.
Median total compensation for this role at Minnesota is $62,828, 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 pay in other jurisdictions
Where Recreation Therapists are paid most
Median total compensation for comparable Recreation Therapist roles in other jurisdictions (highest first). Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not by identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for this role.
Within Minnesota
Departments with this role
Largest Minnesota departments for this role
Departments in Minnesotaemploying the most people in this role. Each bar links to that department’s page for the role.