State market profile
Alaska OT job market
Compare Alaska using BLS occupational therapist wage, employment, density, and concentration data from the May 2025 OEWS release, then review metro, school, and employer context.
State rank #17$108,000 mean wage410 OT jobs1.20 location quotient
Market snapshot
How Alaska compares for occupational therapists
The state score balances pay, role depth, role density, and occupational concentration. BLS wage and job-market measures stay visible so readers can understand the rank.
Our take
Alaska OT market assessment
Why it stands out
- The 1.20 location quotient puts OT employment near the national concentration, so pay and employer quality matter more than occupational density alone.
Tradeoffs that matter
- BLS estimates 410 OT jobs statewide. That thinner base reduces leverage when changing employers or searching for a narrow specialty.
- The mean wage is $108,000, but the median is $103,680. That gap suggests high earners lift the average, so a typical offer may land closer to the median.
What to compare next
- Compare the highest- and lowest-paying Alaska metros before using the statewide $103,680 median in an offer decision.
- Put Alaska beside New Jersey on job count and OT concentration; nearby ranks can be built from very different kinds of opportunity.
- Compare settings separately inside the state. A strong hospital market does not automatically mean equally strong school, outpatient, or home-health options.
How to read the numbers
What the state data means in practice
Statewide averages are a useful first comparison, but your decision still depends on the metro area, employer, clinical setting, and cost of living.
Pay shape
The mean wage is noticeably higher than the median. A smaller group of high-paying jobs may be pulling up the average, so the median is the safer number for a typical offer.
Market depth
BLS estimates 410 OT jobs statewide. That thinner base makes individual employers, local referral networks, and travel radius unusually important.
Role concentration
The 1.20 location quotient puts OT employment near the national concentration, so pay and employer quality matter more than occupational density alone.
Metro markets
Best Alaska metro markets for OTs
Metro rows help separate statewide strength from the cities where jobs, wages, and OT concentration are actually concentrated.
| Metro | Rank | Mean wage | Employment | Concentration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage, AK Score 55.5 | #29 | $107,140 | 300 | 1.62 LQ; 1.69 per 1,000 jobs |
| Fairbanks-College, AK Score 37.9 | #208 | $114,490 | 30 | 0.83 LQ; 0.86 per 1,000 jobs |
Programs
OT and OTA programs in Alaska
Program supply matters for applicants, fieldwork access, and local clinical networks. These rows point to school profiles where available.
No program profiles available yet
The labor-market profile is available, but school profiles are not available for this state.
Compare states
Other strong OT state markets
Use peer states to check whether a relocation, school decision, or salary negotiation is anchored in the right labor-market comparison.
Rank #1
New Jersey
$110,150 mean wage; 6,290 OT jobs; 1.41 location quotient.
Open state profile Rank #2California
$121,920 mean wage; 13,810 OT jobs; 0.73 location quotient.
Open state profile Rank #3Massachusetts
$99,730 mean wage; 6,510 OT jobs; 1.71 location quotient.
Open state profile Rank #4Connecticut
$102,140 mean wage; 3,150 OT jobs; 1.77 location quotient.
Open state profile Rank #5Arkansas
$104,940 mean wage; 2,160 OT jobs; 1.59 location quotient.
Open state profile Rank #6Colorado
$111,620 mean wage; 3,390 OT jobs; 1.13 location quotient.
Open state profile
Alaska is a credible middle-tier OT market, not a destination that wins on labor data alone. This is a smaller but OT-heavy market, so the profession has a meaningful local presence even without a huge number of jobs. The $103,680 median is the better anchor for a typical offer than the higher or lower mean. Because the page includes 2 metros, the statewide result should be used to choose a region, not to value a specific offer.