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Salary · Physical Therapist · United States

Physical Therapist salary: $102,760 median, and how to negotiate yours.

The full pay range by percentile, every state, the top-paying metro areas and similar roles, from the latest BLS survey. Place your own offer on the range.

Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025
Annual wage range · U.S. · BLS May 2025
$102,760median ($49.40/hr)

Quick answer

The median annual wage for physical therapists in the United States was $102,760 in May 2025 (BLS). The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $77,140 and the top 10% earned more than $135,140. That median is 2.0 times the $50,980 median for all occupations. The highest-paying state was California ($124,190).

10th percentile
$77,140
lowest-paid 10% earn less
25th percentile
$86,160
a quarter earn less
75th percentile
$121,160
a quarter earn more
90th percentile
$135,140
top 10% earn more
Pay by state

Physical Therapist salary in every state

Data BLS state estimates, May 2025. 51 states and DC published a median for this occupation. Sort by pay or by number employed.

Highest median pay
  1. California$124,190
  2. Alaska$115,280
  3. New Jersey$112,140
  4. Nevada$111,250
  5. Maryland$106,890
Most people employed
  1. California26,580
  2. Texas21,870
  3. New York20,940
  4. Florida16,290
  5. Pennsylvania11,710
Median annual wage by state
State10th–90th percentile
California$124,190$85,580–$163,96026,580
Alaska$115,280$97,950–$133,690680
New Jersey$112,140$84,640–$140,0409,750
Nevada$111,250$86,260–$190,6202,030
Maryland$106,890$79,990–$138,6303,940
New Mexico$106,880$77,260–$146,4001,330
Washington$105,950$78,300–$137,5605,370
Texas$105,810$76,600–$139,05021,870
Illinois$105,250$83,000–$140,4109,800
Connecticut$104,360$82,110–$127,1504,060
Massachusetts$103,790$82,760–$130,2206,850
Oregon$103,510$79,440–$133,9503,210
Arizona$103,220$81,560–$134,0505,170
Ohio$103,050$79,070–$126,06010,280
Georgia$102,700$78,580–$130,6306,780
Delaware$102,050$79,930–$136,3501,260
Colorado$102,030$76,460–$132,0105,630
Minnesota$102,010$83,570–$121,3405,180
Wisconsin$101,840$80,740–$124,6405,580
Hawaii$101,700$78,630–$123,280950
District of Columbia$101,640$85,620–$129,470610
Indiana$101,560$76,960–$125,3906,130
Virginia$101,450$75,720–$132,8607,630
Pennsylvania$101,380$76,960–$127,06011,710
South Carolina$101,330$72,810–$123,4803,930
Florida$101,040$73,630–$122,88016,290
Michigan$100,900$79,600–$123,9808,630
Kentucky$100,710$73,900–$126,9203,390
New York$100,660$73,580–$136,12020,940
Wyoming$100,400$75,900–$125,930560
Tennessee$100,140$67,280–$127,5004,800
Mississippi$99,990$73,700–$121,7401,980
North Carolina$99,910$78,020–$125,9407,350
Utah$99,880$66,160–$136,9702,300
New Hampshire$99,850$76,180–$122,5601,960
Maine$99,720$78,020–$121,0301,860
Rhode Island$99,400$80,770–$125,3901,020
Missouri$99,310$76,110–$124,5304,900
Arkansas$99,010$73,050–$127,2102,680
Idaho$99,000$74,570–$122,1001,030
Oklahoma$98,590$68,330–$128,0002,560
Louisiana$98,530$60,150–$127,6403,280
Kansas$98,290$72,290–$122,1302,660
Vermont$97,970$75,040–$115,860760
Iowa$97,560$73,780–$120,7302,530
Alabama$97,290$74,770–$133,7103,040
Nebraska$97,090$77,540–$120,1902,140
West Virginia$96,600$73,130–$126,3801,310
South Dakota$92,660$77,890–$107,8701,060
Montana$91,450$78,490–$115,5401,180
North Dakota$85,330$75,290–$113,600830
Top-paying metro areas

Where the median is highest

Data Metropolitan areas with at least 100 people employed in the occupation, BLS May 2025.

  1. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$141,980
  2. Vallejo, CA$141,530
  3. Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA$140,100
  4. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$139,000
  5. Chico, CA$134,970
  6. Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA$131,430
  7. Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA$128,680
  8. Salinas, CA$127,120
  9. Modesto, CA$126,600
  10. Bakersfield-Delano, CA$125,490
Similar roles

How the pay compares

Data National medians for related occupations (O*NET related roles, BLS pay).

  1. Pediatrician$210,040
  2. Nurse Practitioner$132,300
  3. Physical Therapist$102,760
  4. Occupational Therapist$100,330
  5. Registered Nurse$97,550
  6. Respiratory Therapist$82,280
  7. Physical Therapy Assistant$68,380
Negotiation script builder

Ask for more, calmly and in writing

Advice Uses only what you type. Replace anything in brackets with something true.

Our view If you cite market data, cite this page's source: the BLS median for your state and the percentile your offer sits at. A specific, sourced number is easier to agree to than a feeling.

Method

How this page is built

Wages are BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates for May 2025 (national, state and metropolitan area), for the occupation shown. OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay: they include base pay, commissions, production bonuses and tips, and exclude overtime, shift differentials, non-production bonuses and benefits. Percentiles describe all workers in the occupation, not entry or senior levels.

What this page can't tell you
  • Pay at a specific employer, or for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Experience level: percentiles are not seniority bands.
  • Equity, bonuses outside OEWS's definition, and benefits.
Sources
  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
  2. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
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