West Palm Beach, FL (population: 99,706) has four occupational therapy schools within a 100-mile radius of its city center. Florida International University, the highest ranked school in this group with an occupational therapy program, has a total student population of 39,610. It is the 197th highest ranked school in the USA and the 5th highest in the state of Florida (#1 is University of Miami).
Occupational Therapy students from West Palm Beach schools who go on to become occupational therapists, therapists, occupational therapy assistants, counseling psychologists, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 97,840 people working as occupational therapists alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $70,680. Also, Occupational therapist assistants make on average $50,830 per year and there are about 26,680 of them employed in the US today. In fact, in the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach Metropolitan area alone, there are 70 employed occupational therapist assistants earning an average salary of $57,550. Occupational therapists in this area earn $72,550/yr and there are 320 employed.
West Palm Beach lies in Palm Beach county, which is one of the 49 counties in Florida. Overall, the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach Metropolitan area has 510,440 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 1% unemployment rate, $20/hr average worker wage, and a $42,380 average annual salary. Thus, about 1 out of every 1000 jobs in West Palm Beach are held by occupational therapists, and 0/1000 are held by occupational therapist assistants.
Of the 4 occupational therapy schools with a 100-mile radius of West Palm Beach, only 3 have a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Barry University comes out as the most expensive ($22,930/yr) for occupational therapy students, with Keiser University-Ft. Lauderdale as the lowest, reported at only $11,671/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from West Palm Beach |
| Wellington | FL | 56,239 | 0 | - | 0 | 9.7 miles |
| Lake Worth | FL | - | 2 | 25.2639 | 114 | 10.3 miles |
| Jupiter | FL | 50,075 | 0 | - | 0 | 11.9 miles |
| Boynton Beach | FL | 69,913 | 1 | 0.00884495 | 0 | 15.5 miles |
| Delray Beach | FL | 64,829 | 0 | - | 0 | 20.9 miles |
| Boca Raton | FL | 86,084 | 4 | 34.4533 | 150 | 26.3 miles |
| Deerfield Beach | FL | 75,503 | 1 | 1.86135 | 0 | 30.4 miles |
| Coconut Creek | FL | 51,117 | 1 | 19.1074 | 42 | 32.7 miles |
| Coral Springs | FL | 125,980 | 0 | - | 0 | 34.2 miles |
| Pompano Beach | FL | 101,930 | 4 | 24.0374 | 34 | 35.3 miles |
| Tamarac | FL | 59,442 | 0 | - | 0 | 38.9 miles |
| Port Saint Lucie | FL | 163,859 | 0 | - | 0 | 39.1 miles |
| Fort Lauderdale | FL | 184,625 | 11 | 23.9607 | 338 | 42.2 miles |
| Sunrise | FL | 89,011 | 0 | - | 0 | 42.8 miles |
| Weston | FL | 65,215 | 2 | 37.9212 | 53 | 48.0 miles |
| Hollywood | FL | 142,105 | 5 | 37.6993 | 64 | 49.8 miles |
| Pembroke Pines | FL | 146,408 | 0 | - | 0 | 52.8 miles |
| Miami Gardens | FL | 113,813 | 3 | 37.6424 | 120 | 56.5 miles |
| North Miami Beach | FL | - | 1 | 30.306 | 3 | 56.5 miles |
| North Miami | FL | 55,954 | 1 | 20.3506 | 19 | 58.8 miles |
| Miami Lakes | FL | - | 1 | 11.3357 | 23 | 59.2 miles |
| Miami Beach | FL | 84,633 | 4 | 12.1922 | 6 | 65.0 miles |
| Miami | FL | 425,242 | 44 | 26.602 | 790 | 67.3 miles |
| Coral Gables | FL | 43,646 | 1 | 80.2467 | 177 | 73.1 miles |
| Homestead | FL | 62,540 | 0 | - | 0 | 91.4 miles |
| Melbourne | FL | 77,650 | 3 | 20.3486 | 121 | 99.1 miles |