Skip to content
TryHired.
Salary · Physical Therapy Assistant · United States

Physical Therapy Assistant salary: $68,380 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
$68,380median ($32.88/hr)

Quick answer

The median annual wage for physical therapist assistants in the United States was $68,380 in May 2025 (BLS). The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $47,750 and the top 10% earned more than $89,510. That median is 1.3 times the $50,980 median for all occupations. The highest-paying state was California ($83,110).

Data Government data groups this job as Physical Therapist Assistants (O*NET-SOC 31-2021.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

10th percentile
$47,750
lowest-paid 10% earn less
25th percentile
$59,820
a quarter earn less
75th percentile
$78,680
a quarter earn more
90th percentile
$89,510
top 10% earn more
Pay by state

Physical Therapy Assistant 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$83,110
  2. Massachusetts$79,460
  3. New Jersey$78,440
  4. Texas$78,000
  5. Maryland$77,670
Most people employed
  1. Texas10,510
  2. Florida9,870
  3. California9,400
  4. Ohio7,040
  5. Illinois4,890
Median annual wage by state
State10th–90th percentile
California$83,110$59,500–$102,8009,400
Massachusetts$79,460$62,030–$88,2802,640
New Jersey$78,440$62,620–$90,0901,810
Texas$78,000$43,900–$99,64010,510
Maryland$77,670$39,260–$91,5701,430
Alaska$77,640$65,640–$87,850110
Connecticut$75,880$62,070–$82,870980
Nevada$75,520$49,140–$87,930560
Delaware$74,610$51,750–$83,510340
Virginia$73,760$54,170–$93,6003,370
Oregon$73,180$56,620–$89,480890
Georgia$72,800$43,400–$89,6002,620
Florida$72,530$58,650–$81,0809,870
Vermont$71,600$60,580–$83,250100
New Hampshire$71,440$59,540–$80,940500
South Carolina$70,500$47,510–$88,0701,870
Rhode Island$68,640$58,380–$76,990420
North Carolina$67,540$56,100–$80,8503,280
Hawaii$67,510$49,920–$74,770250
Minnesota$66,770$58,010–$77,4201,230
Washington$66,450$36,610–$93,1402,150
Maine$66,250$53,440–$80,530410
Louisiana$65,370$24,360–$81,5201,670
Indiana$65,280$46,410–$80,0602,830
Illinois$65,240$41,600–$81,8904,890
Colorado$64,810$48,580–$89,5501,350
Arizona$64,650$36,160–$79,5702,010
Arkansas$64,520$31,540–$85,2801,620
Kansas$64,500$52,520–$79,5501,300
New York$64,100$46,350–$81,0003,620
Wisconsin$64,080$51,960–$77,4401,650
Ohio$63,820$51,280–$84,1307,040
Missouri$63,770$50,460–$79,0002,490
Wyoming$63,550$48,180–$79,320240
North Dakota$63,520$30,480–$77,600120
District of Columbia$63,400$45,750–$82,25040
Montana$62,650$52,310–$77,990250
Pennsylvania$62,580$49,610–$78,0104,270
Tennessee$62,500$48,010–$80,8003,390
New Mexico$62,280$30,470–$85,040700
Utah$61,980$34,190–$84,000970
Mississippi$61,770$51,720–$78,8301,150
Michigan$61,670$35,700–$78,6004,520
Kentucky$61,480$27,870–$79,5002,580
Alabama$61,430$49,340–$79,0602,700
Nebraska$61,370$48,100–$77,690980
Iowa$61,030$45,760–$74,9501,060
Idaho$61,020$37,780–$75,050560
West Virginia$60,430$45,510–$79,160980
Oklahoma$59,480$24,960–$79,8602,380
South Dakota$49,310$40,120–$63,930300
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 Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$97,190
  2. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$95,920
  3. Spartanburg, SC$88,070
  4. Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA$85,150
  5. Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX$84,930
  6. Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA$84,290
  7. Bakersfield-Delano, CA$84,100
  8. Modesto, CA$83,450
  9. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA$82,160
  10. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA$82,140
Similar roles

How the pay compares

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

  1. Nurse Practitioner$132,300
  2. Physical Therapist$102,760
  3. Occupational Therapist$100,330
  4. Respiratory Therapist$82,280
  5. Physical Therapy Assistant$68,380
  6. LPN$64,400
  7. Medical Assistant$45,690
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.
Keep exploring

More for Physical Therapy Assistants

More careers

Similar careers to explore