Prevailing Wage for Recreational Therapists
Prevailing wage floors for Recreational Therapists are set by the DOL across four experience levels, and the floor your employer must meet depends on both your seniority and your work location. Whether your offer letter says Activities Coordinator, Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS), or Recreation Therapist, the same SOC 29-1125 benchmark applies, and city-level variation is significant.
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Level 1 covers entry-level recreational therapists with limited experience, typically recent graduates or newly certified professionals. Duties are routine and closely supervised. Employers filing at this level should document that the position involves basic, structured programming with direct oversight.
Level 2 applies to qualified professionals with moderate experience who carry out independently assigned caseloads and design individualized treatment plans. This is the most common filing level for Recreational Therapists, reflecting the autonomous nature of standard clinical and facility-based roles.
Level 3 is for experienced therapists who handle complex cases, may supervise junior staff, and contribute to program development. Roles requiring the CTRS credential plus several years of specialty experience in rehabilitation or psychiatric settings typically land here.
Level 4 applies to fully competent senior professionals in program coordinator or lead therapist roles, setting departmental direction and managing staff. Recreational Therapy Program Coordinators overseeing facility-wide services or multi-site programs are the most common Level 4 filings in this occupation.
Prevailing Wage for Recreational Therapists by OES area
Each shape is a DOL OES area, the unit prevailing wage is published for.
What’s an OES area?
The Department of Labor publishes prevailing wages for geographic zones called OES areas. Every U.S. county belongs to exactly one, and the wage floor applies across the whole area. A worker in Oakland gets the San Francisco metro wage, not a separate Oakland wage.
Top 10 cities · Level 1
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See which U.S. employers are actively hiring for Recreational Therapists and sponsoring H-1B, OPT, and green card visas at or above the prevailing wage.
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Watch for misclassified CTRS job titles
Some employers post Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist roles under social work or activities aide SOC codes, which carry lower prevailing wage floors. Verify your LCA lists SOC 29-1125 before signing an offer, since a misclassified filing sets the wrong wage floor for your entire sponsorship period.
Treat California metros as your floor benchmark
Northern California metros, including the San Francisco Bay Area and Central Valley markets like Stockton and Fresno, consistently post the highest prevailing wages for this occupation. If your offer is in a lower-cost region, compare it against those California floors to gauge how competitive your package actually is.
Confirm your worksite address before LCA filing
Recreational therapists often rotate between hospital campuses, outpatient clinics, or community sites. DOL requires the LCA to list every worksite, and each location pulls its own regional OES wage. A secondary site in a higher-wage metro can trigger a higher prevailing wage obligation your employer may not have budgeted for.
Search Migrate Mate for employers with CTRS sponsorship history
Migrate Mate shows which employers have sponsored Recreational Therapists and related roles in the past, so you can focus applications on facilities with a documented track record rather than spending time on employers who have never filed for this occupation.
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Find Jobs for Recreational TherapistsPrevailing Wage by Reported Job Title
DOL classifies these titles under SOC 29-1125.00 alongside Recreational Therapists, so the same four-tier wage schedule applies to each. Tap a title to see the full breakdown.
Activities Coordinator Prevailing Wage
Activities Coordinator Prevailing Wage
Activities Coordinator positions fall under SOC 29-1125.00 (Recreational Therapists). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) Prevailing Wage
Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 29-1125.00 (Recreational Therapists). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
General Activities Therapist Prevailing Wage
General Activities Therapist Prevailing Wage
General Activities Therapist is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 29-1125.00 (Recreational Therapists). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Recreation Therapist Prevailing Wage
Recreation Therapist Prevailing Wage
Recreation Therapist positions fall under SOC 29-1125.00 (Recreational Therapists). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Recreational Therapy Program Coordinator Prevailing Wage
Recreational Therapy Program Coordinator Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Recreational Therapy Program Coordinator for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 29-1125.00 (Recreational Therapists). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Rehabilitation Therapist Prevailing Wage
Rehabilitation Therapist Prevailing Wage
Rehabilitation Therapist is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 29-1125.00 (Recreational Therapists). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Therapeutic Recreation Specialist Prevailing Wage
Therapeutic Recreation Specialist Prevailing Wage
Therapeutic Recreation Specialist positions fall under SOC 29-1125.00 (Recreational Therapists). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Therapeutic Specialist Prevailing Wage
Therapeutic Specialist Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Therapeutic Specialist for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 29-1125.00 (Recreational Therapists). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Therapist Prevailing Wage
Therapist Prevailing Wage
Therapist is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 29-1125.00 (Recreational Therapists). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does DOL set the prevailing wage for Recreational Therapists?
DOL calculates prevailing wages using Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For each metropolitan area, BLS reports wage distributions by experience level. DOL's OFLC uses those distributions to set four wage levels for SOC 29-1125. Employers must pay at least the level corresponding to the position's actual duties and required experience before filing an H-1B or PERM application.
What do the four wage levels mean and how do I know which one applies to my offer?
The four levels reflect experience and autonomy. Level 1 is entry-level with close supervision; Level 2 is independent practice, which covers most standard clinical and facility-based positions; Level 3 involves complex caseloads or supervisory duties; Level 4 is senior or program-director scope. Review your job description against those definitions. If your duties match Level 2 but your employer filed at Level 1, the LCA may understate the required wage, which USCIS can flag during adjudication.
Why does the prevailing wage for the same role vary so much from city to city?
DOL derives each metro's wage floors from regional BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics surveys, so wages reflect local labor market conditions rather than a single national figure. The LCA must list the actual worksite address, and the prevailing wage obligation attaches to that location. Dense healthcare markets with high living costs, such as the San Francisco Bay Area, produce significantly higher floors than lower-cost metros. OFLC publishes metro-level wage data through its OFLC Wage Search tool.
What happens if a sponsored offer is below the prevailing wage floor?
An employer cannot certify an LCA with a wage below the DOL prevailing wage for the worksite and experience level. If they attempt to do so, OFLC will reject or invalidate the certification. Without a valid LCA, USCIS will deny the H-1B petition. For PERM cases, a below-floor offered wage disqualifies the application outright. Accepting an offer that appears below floor warrants review of the LCA before you rely on that job for your immigration status.
How do I find and verify the prevailing wage for a specific U.S. location?
Use the OFLC Wage Search tool to look up SOC 29-1125 by metropolitan area. Select the metro that matches your actual worksite address and review all four wage levels. You can also check O*NET for occupation-level context. To identify which employers have actually sponsored Recreational Therapists, Migrate Mate lets you filter by role and location to see companies with documented sponsorship histories, giving you a practical starting point for targeting your job search.
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