Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
31-2021 Physical Therapist Assistants
Assist physical therapists in providing physical therapy treatments and procedures. May, in accordance with state laws, assist in the development of treatment plans, carry out routine functions, document the progress of treatment, and modify specific treatments in accordance with patient status and within the scope of treatment plans established by a physical therapist. Generally requires formal training.
National estimates for Physical Therapist Assistants
Industry profile for Physical Therapist Assistants
Geographic profile for Physical Therapist Assistants
National estimates for Physical Therapist Assistants:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Physical Therapist Assistants:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 93,660 |
1.7 % |
$ 29.20 |
$ 60,740 |
0.7 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Physical Therapist Assistants:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 17.92 |
$ 23.40 |
$ 29.42 |
$ 36.48 |
$ 38.54 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 37,280 |
$ 48,670 |
$ 61,180 |
$ 75,870 |
$ 80,170 |
Industry profile for Physical Therapist Assistants:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Physical Therapist Assistants are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Physical Therapist Assistants, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Physical Therapist Assistants:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Offices of Other Health Practitioners |
41,730 |
4.29 |
$ 27.06 |
$ 56,290 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
18,710 |
0.33 |
$ 28.71 |
$ 59,710 |
| Home Health Care Services |
10,190 |
0.67 |
$ 36.12 |
$ 75,130 |
| Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) |
8,350 |
0.59 |
$ 33.60 |
$ 69,890 |
| Offices of Physicians |
4,650 |
0.17 |
$ 26.51 |
$ 55,150 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Physical Therapist Assistants:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Offices of Other Health Practitioners |
41,730 |
4.29 |
$ 27.06 |
$ 56,290 |
| Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals |
3,830 |
1.42 |
$ 31.57 |
$ 65,660 |
| Home Health Care Services |
10,190 |
0.67 |
$ 36.12 |
$ 75,130 |
| Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) |
8,350 |
0.59 |
$ 33.60 |
$ 69,890 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
18,710 |
0.33 |
$ 28.71 |
$ 59,710 |
Top paying industries for Physical Therapist Assistants:
Geographic profile for Physical Therapist Assistants:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Physical Therapist Assistants are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Physical Therapist Assistants, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Physical Therapist Assistants:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Texas |
7,690 |
0.63 |
0.95 |
$ 33.40 |
$ 69,470 |
| Florida |
6,910 |
0.80 |
1.21 |
$ 31.22 |
$ 64,940 |
| California |
6,780 |
0.41 |
0.62 |
$ 35.17 |
$ 73,150 |
| Ohio |
6,150 |
1.18 |
1.78 |
$ 29.54 |
$ 61,450 |
| Pennsylvania |
5,540 |
0.99 |
1.49 |
$ 26.64 |
$ 55,410 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Physical Therapist Assistants:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Arkansas |
1,550 |
1.30 |
1.95 |
$ 27.89 |
$ 58,020 |
| Kentucky |
2,220 |
1.21 |
1.82 |
$ 25.55 |
$ 53,150 |
| Ohio |
6,150 |
1.18 |
1.78 |
$ 29.54 |
$ 61,450 |
| West Virginia |
750 |
1.14 |
1.72 |
$ 26.52 |
$ 55,160 |
| Pennsylvania |
5,540 |
0.99 |
1.49 |
$ 26.64 |
$ 55,410 |
Top paying states for Physical Therapist Assistants:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
6,780 |
0.41 |
0.62 |
$ 35.17 |
$ 73,150 |
| Rhode Island |
270 |
0.60 |
0.90 |
$ 33.98 |
$ 70,690 |
| New Jersey |
1,530 |
0.40 |
0.60 |
$ 33.87 |
$ 70,450 |
| Texas |
7,690 |
0.63 |
0.95 |
$ 33.40 |
$ 69,470 |
| Connecticut |
730 |
0.46 |
0.70 |
$ 32.88 |
$ 68,390 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Physical Therapist 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 |
3,260 |
0.38 |
0.56 |
$ 32.88 |
$ 68,380 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
3,220 |
0.76 |
1.14 |
$ 29.55 |
$ 61,470 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
2,190 |
0.38 |
0.58 |
$ 36.12 |
$ 75,120 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
1,940 |
0.73 |
1.10 |
$ 29.42 |
$ 61,180 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
1,840 |
0.51 |
0.77 |
$ 35.16 |
$ 73,130 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
1,730 |
0.82 |
1.23 |
$ 24.73 |
$ 51,430 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
1,690 |
0.69 |
1.04 |
$ 32.32 |
$ 67,220 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
1,580 |
0.55 |
0.82 |
$ 33.80 |
$ 70,310 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI |
1,460 |
0.81 |
1.22 |
$ 24.11 |
$ 50,150 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
1,390 |
0.54 |
0.81 |
$ 33.01 |
$ 68,660 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Physical Therapist Assistants:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Gadsden, AL |
90 |
2.79 |
4.19 |
$ 27.86 |
$ 57,950 |
| Victoria, TX |
80 |
2.23 |
3.35 |
$ 30.96 |
$ 64,390 |
| Lima, OH |
100 |
2.11 |
3.18 |
$ 29.66 |
$ 61,690 |
| Bowling Green, KY |
150 |
2.10 |
3.16 |
$ 23.83 |
$ 49,570 |
| Jonesboro, AR |
120 |
2.04 |
3.07 |
$ 25.66 |
$ 53,380 |
| Cumberland, MD-WV |
70 |
2.04 |
3.06 |
$ 25.58 |
$ 53,210 |
| Pocatello, ID |
70 |
2.03 |
3.06 |
$ 19.08 |
$ 39,690 |
| Hot Springs, AR |
70 |
2.03 |
3.05 |
$ 26.38 |
$ 54,880 |
| Bay City, MI |
60 |
1.76 |
2.64 |
$ 25.12 |
$ 52,240 |
| Springfield, OH |
80 |
1.73 |
2.60 |
$ 28.39 |
$ 59,060 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Physical Therapist Assistants:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
210 |
0.20 |
0.30 |
$ 41.33 |
$ 85,960 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
800 |
0.36 |
0.54 |
$ 37.86 |
$ 78,740 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA |
70 |
0.37 |
0.56 |
$ 36.73 |
$ 76,390 |
| Midland, TX |
50 |
0.49 |
0.74 |
$ 36.32 |
$ 75,550 |
| Salinas, CA |
70 |
0.40 |
0.61 |
$ 36.13 |
$ 75,150 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
2,190 |
0.38 |
0.58 |
$ 36.12 |
$ 75,120 |
| Santa Rosa, CA |
70 |
0.36 |
0.54 |
$ 35.92 |
$ 74,720 |
| Bakersfield, CA |
100 |
0.33 |
0.50 |
$ 35.69 |
$ 74,240 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
1,840 |
0.51 |
0.77 |
$ 35.16 |
$ 73,130 |
| Vallejo-Fairfield, CA |
50 |
0.37 |
0.55 |
$ 34.94 |
$ 72,670 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Physical Therapist Assistants:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Physical Therapist Assistants:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Physical Therapist 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.
(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
