Occupational Therapist.
Little Rock.
$78,000
median salary, 20% below the national average
$64,000 to $87,000. Last updated August 2026.
Get the job.
Data points to own the conversation.
Little Rock is 18% cheaper than the national average. For Occupational Therapists, that shakes out to a median of $78,000, with the full range spanning $64,000 to $87,000. Practice setting is the primary salary driver, with acute care hospitals and home health paying above outpatient and school-based roles. Know the range before you walk in. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page.
Salary range.
Where do you fall?
Orbyt estimate for Occupational Therapist in Little Rock, modelled from national occupation wages adjusted for local cost of living. The published government benchmark for this occupation is below.
Government benchmark for this occupation
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $104,680 for Occupational Therapists (SOC 29-1122) in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR metropolitan area, based on 760 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$65,160
25th percentile
$81,380
Median
$104,680
75th percentile
$128,220
90th percentile
$137,620
Workers surveyed
760
Why this differs from the estimate above. The Orbyt estimate of $78,000 is 25% lower than this published figure. That is usually not an error in either number: BLS reports by occupation code, and Occupational Therapists covers a different population than the Occupational Therapist title as it is typically advertised. Both are shown, unreconciled, so you can judge which one describes the job you mean.
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Occupational Therapists (SOC 29-1122) rather than Occupational Therapist specifically. The Little Rock range at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.
View the BLS source for SOC 29-1122Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $70,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$51,000
to $62,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$66,000
to $82,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$86,000
to $101,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$98,000
to $121,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $21,000 to the total package.
Base
$78,000
Equity
$12,000
Bonus
$7,000
Signing
$2,000
Estimated total: $99,000
How Little Rock compares.
Little Rock, AR
$78,000
Cost of living: 18% below average
National Average
$98,000
Little Rock is $20,000 below
Occupational Therapist salary by city.
Salary by role in Little Rock.
What you should know.
Here is what the Occupational Therapist market actually looks like in Little Rock. Little Rock's economy is driven by Walmart's nearby headquarters ecosystem, state government, healthcare, and logistics. The metro's extremely low cost of living means even moderate salaries deliver strong purchasing power. Tech jobs are growing as companies seek affordable alternatives to major metros. Practice setting is the primary salary driver, with acute care hospitals and home health paying above outpatient and school-based roles. Hand therapy certification commands a notable premium. States with higher Medicaid reimbursement rates and metropolitan areas with greater demand also push compensation upward.
New OTs start around $68,000 to $78,000 depending on setting. Mid-career OTs with specialty certifications reach $88,000 to $100,000. OT directors or program managers in hospital systems can earn $105,000 to $125,000 with administrative and clinical oversight responsibilities. In Little Rock, your dollars stretch further. Cost of living runs 18% below the national average, which means even a median salary buys a stronger lifestyle.
Base salary is not the full picture. OTs typically receive CEU allowances, student loan assistance programs, and comprehensive health benefits. Some employers offer productivity bonuses tied to billable units, adding $3,000 to $8,000 annually for high-performing therapists. And on the tax side: arkansas has a top income tax rate of 4.4%. Little Rock has no city income tax. The combination of low taxes and very affordable housing creates one of the best net pay environments in the country. When someone quotes you $78,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Reference the Walmart and Tyson ecosystem when negotiating. Northwest Arkansas and Little Rock employers benchmark against national corporate pay scales. The range for Occupational Therapists in Little Rock runs from $64,000 to $87,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL). COL: BEA Regional Price Parities (2025). Data verified by Justin Bartak, Founder & Chief AI Officer. Last verified July 1, 2026. Full methodology
Considering a related role?
- A Dental Hygienist in Little Rock earns $79,000 (1% more)
- The highest-paying role in Little Rock is CTO at $253,000
Common questions.
Occupational Therapist salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Little Rock.
Related salary pages
Jump to nearby roles and cities most relevant to Occupational Therapists in Little Rock.
Related tools.
Do you work as an occupational therapist in Little Rock?
Your individual figure is never published. Submissions appear only as aggregate percentiles, and nothing is shown for a role and city until at least five people have reported. It is stored against your account, which is what keeps the dataset clean.
Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"Occupational Therapist Salary in Little Rock, AR." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/occupational-therapist/little-rock
Want this data on your site? Embed the salary widget. One script tag, free forever.
Related tools