Physical Therapist Assistants
Carry out the treatment plans physical therapists design.
At a glance
BLS's 2035 projection for Physical Therapist Assistants is +23%, 19 points above typical growth across the occupations we cover. Works-with-AI scores 21/100 against very low displacement risk, tilting toward AI as a helper, with modeled exposure at the 16th percentile. Hiring volume is roughly 18,500 openings a year. Getting in usually takes an associate's degree. The $68,380 median for Physical Therapist Assistants runs within 5% of the typical occupation we cover (50% above the Healthcare Support median). Where the projection for Massage Therapists is +15%, the figure here is +23%.
Similar pay in Healthcare Support
Key skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
Pay and jobs by state
BLS OEWS May 2025, 50 states and DC. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's.
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 10,510 | 0.7 | 1.0× | $78k |
| Florida | 9,870 | 1.0 | 1.4× | $73k |
| California | 9,400 | 0.5 | 0.7× | $83k |
| Ohio | 7,040 | 1.3 | 1.8× | $64k |
| Illinois | 4,890 | 0.8 | 1.1× | $65k |
| Michigan | 4,520 | 1.0 | 1.4× | $62k |
| Pennsylvania | 4,270 | 0.7 | 1.0× | $63k |
| New York | 3,620 | 0.4 | 0.5× | $64k |
| Tennessee | 3,390 | 1.0 | 1.4× | $63k |
| Virginia | 3,370 | 0.8 | 1.1× | $74k |
All 50 states and DC
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 3,280 | 0.7 | 0.9× | $68k |
| Indiana | 2,830 | 0.9 | 1.2× | $65k |
| Alabama | 2,700 | 1.3 | 1.8× | $61k |
| Massachusetts | 2,640 | 0.7 | 1.0× | $79k |
| Georgia | 2,620 | 0.5 | 0.7× | $73k |
| Kentucky | 2,580 | 1.3 | 1.8× | $61k |
| Missouri | 2,490 | 0.8 | 1.2× | $64k |
| Oklahoma | 2,380 | 1.4 | 1.9× | $59k |
| Washington | 2,150 | 0.6 | 0.8× | $66k |
| Arizona | 2,010 | 0.6 | 0.9× | $65k |
| South Carolina | 1,870 | 0.8 | 1.1× | $71k |
| New Jersey | 1,810 | 0.4 | 0.6× | $78k |
| Louisiana | 1,670 | 0.9 | 1.2× | $65k |
| Wisconsin | 1,650 | 0.6 | 0.8× | $64k |
| Arkansas | 1,620 | 1.2 | 1.7× | $65k |
| Maryland | 1,430 | 0.5 | 0.7× | $78k |
| Colorado | 1,350 | 0.5 | 0.7× | $65k |
| Kansas | 1,300 | 0.9 | 1.3× | $65k |
| Minnesota | 1,230 | 0.4 | 0.6× | $67k |
| Mississippi | 1,150 | 1.0 | 1.4× | $62k |
| Iowa | 1,060 | 0.7 | 0.9× | $61k |
| Connecticut | 980 | 0.6 | 0.8× | $76k |
| Nebraska | 980 | 1.0 | 1.3× | $61k |
| West Virginia | 980 | 1.4 | 1.9× | $60k |
| Utah | 970 | 0.6 | 0.8× | $62k |
| Oregon | 890 | 0.5 | 0.6× | $73k |
| New Mexico | 700 | 0.8 | 1.1× | $62k |
| Idaho | 560 | 0.7 | 0.9× | $61k |
| Nevada | 560 | 0.4 | 0.5× | $76k |
| New Hampshire | 500 | 0.7 | 1.0× | $71k |
| Rhode Island | 420 | 0.8 | 1.2× | $69k |
| Maine | 410 | 0.6 | 0.9× | $66k |
| Delaware | 340 | 0.7 | 1.0× | $75k |
| South Dakota | 300 | 0.7 | 0.9× | $49k |
| Hawaii | 250 | 0.4 | 0.6× | $68k |
| Montana | 250 | 0.5 | 0.7× | $63k |
| Wyoming | 240 | 0.9 | 1.2× | $64k |
| North Dakota | 120 | 0.3 | 0.4× | $64k |
| Alaska | 110 | 0.3 | 0.5× | $78k |
| Vermont | 100 | 0.3 | 0.5× | $72k |
| Washington DC | 40 | 0.1 | 0.1× | $63k |
Top metro areas
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA3,730 jobs · $82k median
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN3,520 jobs · $72k median
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL3,420 jobs · $73k median
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ3,220 jobs · $76k median
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX2,210 jobs · $77k median
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX2,110 jobs · $80k median
- Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI1,880 jobs · $62k median
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH1,860 jobs · $80k median
Where this ranks
Explore Physical Therapist Assistants interactively →Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.