Occupational Therapist.
Nashville.
$94,000
median salary, 4% below the national average
$77,000 to $106,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
Nashville is 0% cheaper than the national average. For Occupational Therapists, that shakes out to a median of $94,000, with the full range spanning $77,000 to $106,000. 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 Nashville, 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 $100,630 for Occupational Therapists (SOC 29-1122) in the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN metropolitan area, based on 710 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$70,590
25th percentile
$82,110
Median
$100,630
75th percentile
$107,250
90th percentile
$121,840
Workers surveyed
710
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 Nashville 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 $85,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$61,000
to $75,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$80,000
to $99,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$103,000
to $122,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$118,000
to $146,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $25,000 to the total package.
Base
$94,000
Equity
$14,000
Bonus
$9,000
Signing
$2,000
Estimated total: $119,000
How Nashville compares.
Nashville, TN
$94,000
Cost of living: at average
National Average
$98,000
Nashville is $4,000 below
Occupational Therapist salary by city.
Salary by role in Nashville.
What you should know.
Here is what the Occupational Therapist market actually looks like in Nashville. Nashville has diversified well beyond music into healthcare, finance, and technology. The city is home to HCA Healthcare and a growing corridor of health tech startups. Nashville's moderate cost of living, combined with Tennessee's lack of state income tax on wages, makes it increasingly popular for corporate relocations and remote workers. 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 Nashville, cost of living sits near the national average, so the numbers you see are roughly what you keep.
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: tennessee has no state income tax on wages or salaries. This gives Nashville workers a meaningful take home advantage over peers in states with 5 to 10% income tax rates. When someone quotes you $94,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Use the healthcare industry concentration as leverage. Nashville healthcare employers are accustomed to national pay scales and will often match or beat coastal health sector offers. The range for Occupational Therapists in Nashville runs from $77,000 to $106,000. 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?
- An Operations Manager in Nashville earns $95,000 (1% more)
- The highest-paying role in Nashville is CTO at $306,000
Common questions.
Occupational Therapist salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Nashville.
Related salary pages
Jump to nearby roles and cities most relevant to Occupational Therapists in Nashville.
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Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"Occupational Therapist Salary in Nashville, TN." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/occupational-therapist/nashville
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