Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
29-1071 Physician Assistants
Provide healthcare services typically performed by a physician, under the supervision of a physician. Conduct complete physicals, provide treatment, and counsel patients. May, in some cases, prescribe medication. Must graduate from an accredited educational program for physician assistants. Excludes “Registered Nurses” (29-1141), “Nurse Anesthetists” (29-1151), “Nurse Midwives” (29-1161), “Nurse Practitioners” (29-1171), “Emergency Medical Technicians” (29-2042), “Paramedics” (29-2043), “Surgical Assistants” (29-9093), and “Medical Assistants” (31-9092).
National estimates for Physician Assistants
Industry profile for Physician Assistants
Geographic profile for Physician Assistants
National estimates for Physician Assistants:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Physician Assistants:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 132,940 |
1.6 % |
$ 57.43 |
$ 119,460 |
0.6 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Physician Assistants:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 37.47 |
$ 48.02 |
$ 58.43 |
$ 63.34 |
$ 79.14 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 77,940 |
$ 99,880 |
$ 121,530 |
$ 131,740 |
$ 164,620 |
Industry profile for Physician Assistants:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Physician Assistants are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Physician Assistants, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Physician Assistants:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Offices of Physicians |
70,000 |
2.60 |
$ 56.43 |
$ 117,370 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
30,020 |
0.54 |
$ 59.07 |
$ 122,870 |
| Outpatient Care Centers |
13,450 |
1.36 |
$ 62.46 |
$ 129,910 |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools |
4,130 |
0.14 |
$ 48.49 |
$ 100,850 |
| Offices of Other Health Practitioners |
1,610 |
0.17 |
$ 54.80 |
$ 113,980 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Physician Assistants:
Top paying industries for Physician Assistants:
Geographic profile for Physician Assistants:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Physician Assistants are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Physician Assistants, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Physician Assistants:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
14,600 |
0.88 |
0.94 |
$ 65.83 |
$ 136,920 |
| New York |
13,670 |
1.58 |
1.67 |
$ 63.37 |
$ 131,810 |
| Texas |
8,900 |
0.73 |
0.77 |
$ 55.81 |
$ 116,070 |
| Pennsylvania |
7,340 |
1.31 |
1.39 |
$ 52.66 |
$ 109,530 |
| Florida |
7,210 |
0.84 |
0.89 |
$ 50.39 |
$ 104,810 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Physician Assistants:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Connecticut |
2,670 |
1.69 |
1.80 |
$ 68.17 |
$ 141,790 |
| Maryland |
4,120 |
1.62 |
1.71 |
$ 47.85 |
$ 99,530 |
| New York |
13,670 |
1.58 |
1.67 |
$ 63.37 |
$ 131,810 |
| Alaska |
440 |
1.48 |
1.57 |
$ 70.11 |
$ 145,830 |
| North Carolina |
5,860 |
1.33 |
1.41 |
$ 55.82 |
$ 116,110 |
Top paying states for Physician Assistants:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Rhode Island |
300 |
0.65 |
0.69 |
$ 70.62 |
$ 146,880 |
| Alaska |
440 |
1.48 |
1.57 |
$ 70.11 |
$ 145,830 |
| Connecticut |
2,670 |
1.69 |
1.80 |
$ 68.17 |
$ 141,790 |
| New Jersey |
3,710 |
0.96 |
1.02 |
$ 67.34 |
$ 140,080 |
| New Hampshire |
800 |
1.26 |
1.34 |
$ 66.02 |
$ 137,330 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Physician Assistants:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
12,550 |
1.45 |
1.53 |
$ 66.58 |
$ 138,490 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
5,320 |
0.93 |
0.99 |
$ 62.12 |
$ 129,210 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
3,630 |
1.24 |
1.31 |
$ 54.48 |
$ 113,320 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
3,510 |
1.36 |
1.44 |
$ 56.51 |
$ 117,540 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
2,840 |
1.07 |
1.13 |
$ 58.97 |
$ 122,670 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
2,830 |
0.79 |
0.84 |
$ 50.73 |
$ 105,510 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
2,510 |
0.97 |
1.03 |
$ 63.27 |
$ 131,600 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
2,380 |
1.12 |
1.19 |
$ 58.14 |
$ 120,930 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD |
2,140 |
1.71 |
1.81 |
$ 49.16 |
$ 102,260 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
1,930 |
0.79 |
0.83 |
$ 55.49 |
$ 115,420 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Physician Assistants:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Rochester, MN |
750 |
6.50 |
6.89 |
$ 59.29 |
$ 123,320 |
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC |
840 |
3.75 |
3.97 |
$ 37.43 |
$ 77,860 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA |
710 |
3.65 |
3.87 |
$ 59.34 |
$ 123,420 |
| Ann Arbor, MI |
600 |
2.99 |
3.16 |
$ 55.14 |
$ 114,700 |
| Iowa City, IA |
220 |
2.51 |
2.66 |
$ 58.56 |
$ 121,800 |
| Midland, MI |
90 |
2.48 |
2.63 |
$ 52.55 |
$ 109,300 |
| Gainesville, GA |
220 |
2.47 |
2.62 |
$ 58.14 |
$ 120,930 |
| Bend-Redmond, OR |
190 |
2.30 |
2.44 |
$ 59.16 |
$ 123,050 |
| Durham-Chapel Hill, NC |
710 |
2.28 |
2.41 |
$ 53.51 |
$ 111,300 |
| Muskegon, MI |
130 |
2.28 |
2.41 |
$ 52.78 |
$ 109,780 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Physician Assistants:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Portsmouth, NH-ME |
140 |
1.62 |
1.72 |
$ 80.40 |
$ 167,240 |
| Panama City, FL |
60 |
0.82 |
0.87 |
$ 79.33 |
$ 165,000 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
1,760 |
0.79 |
0.83 |
$ 78.92 |
$ 164,150 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
710 |
0.67 |
0.71 |
$ 78.71 |
$ 163,720 |
| Vallejo-Fairfield, CA |
70 |
0.58 |
0.61 |
$ 77.90 |
$ 162,030 |
| Santa Rosa, CA |
100 |
0.53 |
0.57 |
$ 75.83 |
$ 157,720 |
| Albany, OR |
30 |
0.67 |
0.71 |
$ 75.59 |
$ 157,230 |
| Corvallis, OR |
60 |
1.83 |
1.94 |
$ 75.48 |
$ 157,000 |
| Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA |
610 |
0.62 |
0.66 |
$ 73.75 |
$ 153,400 |
| Modesto, CA |
220 |
1.22 |
1.29 |
$ 73.22 |
$ 152,300 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Physician Assistants:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Physician Assistants:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Physician Assistants:
About May 2021 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
