Salary data · North Carolina

Occupational therapist salary in North Carolina

Occupational therapists in North Carolina earn a mean of $91,360 a year and a median of $92,940, 9.8% below the national mean of $101,280. That ranks 43rd of the 51 states with a published estimate.

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$91,360

Mean annual wage

about $44 an hour

$92,940

Median annual wage

43rd of 51

State rank

by mean wage

4,490

OTs employed

BLS estimate

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025 estimates. These are estimates for occupational therapists already employed in North Carolina, not offers; the hourly figure divides the annual mean by 2,080 hours. Setting, specialty and caseload move an individual offer well above or below them. Updated October 22, 2026.

By metro

Occupational therapist pay by metro in North Carolina

Metro estimates from the same survey, highest mean first. Each city links to its full therapy workforce page.

Metro	Mean	Median	Employed
Charlotte	$95,960	$98,450	1,140
Greensboro	$91,600	$96,820	270
Raleigh	$90,850	$84,080	680
Durham	$90,030	$83,160	390
Asheville	$86,560	$83,660	210

Source: BLS OEWS metropolitan estimates. Suppressed cells show n/a.

The market

How many occupational therapists work in North Carolina

4,695 occupational therapists hold an active individual NPI with a practice address in North Carolina, 41.9 per 100,000 residents, and 362 new ones enrolled in the last twelve months. A high wage with few clinicians per capita usually means employers are competing for people; a low one in a crowded market means the opposite.

Source: NPPES monthly file, October 2026 (CMS, public domain), as of October 2026.

Licensed in another state?

North Carolina has enacted the OT Compact but is not yet issuing compact privileges, so occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants licensed elsewhere still need a North Carolina license for now.

How the OT Compact works →

Open roles

OT openings in North Carolina

No public OT listing in North Carolina right now. Most of our searches are confidential and never posted, so tell us what you want and we will match you quietly.

Other roles in North Carolina

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