Physical therapist salary by state
The US median physical therapist wage was $102,760 a year, or $49.40 an hour, in May 2025.
At a glance
The US median physical therapist wage was $102,760 a year, or $49.40 an hour, in May 2025. Physical therapist wages in this table cover employee jobs. An independent practice owner has a different mix of business income and expenses, which these wage estimates do not measure. These are gross wages before deductions, not take-home pay.
- The national median was $102,760 a year in May 2025.
- Compare base wages separately from overtime, benefits and travel stipends.
- Use local written offers to test whether a move makes financial sense.
Physical therapist salary by state
California had the highest published state median at $124,190; North Dakota had the lowest at $85,330.[1]
Subtracting those published medians gives a $38,860 annual gap. That difference does not adjust for living costs or identify the cause.[1]
Median annual pay ($)
- $85,330 to $98,530
- $98,590 to $99,990
- $100,140 to $101,560
- $101,640 to $103,510
- $103,790 to $124,190
US state tiles colored by median annual wage in May 2025. The table gives the published amounts.
| State | Median hourly pay ($) | Median annual pay ($) | Employment | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $49.40 | $102,760 | 267,330 | — |
| Alabama | $46.77 | $97,290 | 3,040 | — |
| Alaska | $55.43 | $115,280 | 680 | — |
| Arizona | $49.62 | $103,220 | 5,170 | — |
| Arkansas | $47.60 | $99,010 | 2,680 | — |
| California | $59.71 | $124,190 | 26,580 | — |
| Colorado | $49.05 | $102,030 | 5,630 | — |
| Connecticut | $50.17 | $104,360 | 4,060 | — |
| Delaware | $49.06 | $102,050 | 1,260 | — |
| District of Columbia | $48.87 | $101,640 | 610 | — |
| Florida | $48.58 | $101,040 | 16,290 | — |
| Georgia | $49.38 | $102,700 | 6,780 | — |
| Hawaii | $48.90 | $101,700 | 950 | — |
| Idaho | $47.60 | $99,000 | 1,030 | — |
| Illinois | $50.60 | $105,250 | 9,800 | — |
| Indiana | $48.83 | $101,560 | 6,130 | — |
| Iowa | $46.90 | $97,560 | 2,530 | — |
| Kansas | $47.25 | $98,290 | 2,660 | — |
| Kentucky | $48.42 | $100,710 | 3,390 | — |
| Louisiana | $47.37 | $98,530 | 3,280 | — |
| Maine | $47.94 | $99,720 | 1,860 | — |
| Maryland | $51.39 | $106,890 | 3,940 | — |
| Massachusetts | $49.90 | $103,790 | 6,850 | — |
| Michigan | $48.51 | $100,900 | 8,630 | — |
| Minnesota | $49.04 | $102,010 | 5,180 | — |
| Mississippi | $48.07 | $99,990 | 1,980 | — |
| Missouri | $47.75 | $99,310 | 4,900 | — |
| Montana | $43.97 | $91,450 | 1,180 | — |
| Nebraska | $46.68 | $97,090 | 2,140 | — |
| Nevada | $53.48 | $111,250 | 2,030 | — |
| New Hampshire | $48.01 | $99,850 | 1,960 | — |
| New Jersey | $53.91 | $112,140 | 9,750 | — |
| New Mexico | $51.38 | $106,880 | 1,330 | — |
| New York | $48.39 | $100,660 | 20,940 | — |
| North Carolina | $48.03 | $99,910 | 7,350 | — |
| North Dakota | $41.02 | $85,330 | 830 | — |
| Ohio | $49.54 | $103,050 | 10,280 | — |
| Oklahoma | $47.40 | $98,590 | 2,560 | — |
| Oregon | $49.77 | $103,510 | 3,210 | — |
| Pennsylvania | $48.74 | $101,380 | 11,710 | — |
| Rhode Island | $47.79 | $99,400 | 1,020 | — |
| South Carolina | $48.72 | $101,330 | 3,930 | — |
| South Dakota | $44.55 | $92,660 | 1,060 | — |
| Tennessee | $48.15 | $100,140 | 4,800 | — |
| Texas | $50.87 | $105,810 | 21,870 | — |
| Utah | $48.02 | $99,880 | 2,300 | — |
| Vermont | $47.10 | $97,970 | 760 | — |
| Virginia | $48.78 | $101,450 | 7,630 | — |
| Washington | $50.94 | $105,950 | 5,370 | — |
| West Virginia | $46.44 | $96,600 | 1,310 | — |
| Wisconsin | $48.96 | $101,840 | 5,580 | — |
| Wyoming | $48.27 | $100,400 | 560 | — |
| Puerto Rico | $28.97 | $60,250 | 570 | — |
Can a physical therapist make $100,000 a year?
The national median already exceeds that amount, but a median is not an entry salary or a guarantee for an individual offer.[1]
How does physical therapist pay compare with registered nurse pay?
The US median for registered nurses was $97,550 in May 2025. Compare that with the $102,760 median for physical therapists.[1]
How to read these wage estimates
The annual wage is a standardized full-time equivalent for occupations reported hourly. A shorter schedule can produce lower annual earnings even when the hourly rate matches the median.[1]
The figures describe the May 2025 wage period, published a year later. They lag the offers available today and should not be treated as current advertised rates.[1]
What these figures leave out
These are straight-time gross wages. They exclude overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and employer-paid benefits, and cannot separate travel contracts or stipends.[1]
The survey covers wage and salary jobs and leaves out self-employed workers. Empty cells mean no usable published estimate, not unpaid work or no jobs.[1]
What this means for your next offer
Ask about paid documentation time, productivity expectations, visit cancellations and benefits alongside the hourly or annual rate.
Use the state figure as a starting reference, then compare the employer, setting and paid hours. A higher state median alone does not mean a move improves your budget.
Prepare your questions with the salary negotiation guide. Use the paycheck calculator to estimate deductions from a concrete offer.
Data and method
Physical therapists: pay by state, May 2025
Employment and annual pay percentiles for physical therapists (SOC 29-1123) in each state, the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories BLS publishes, with the United States first. All industries, May 2025 estimates.
- Source
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Release
- May 2025 estimates, released May 15, 2026
- Period
- May 2025
- Method
- Rows are BLS's cross-industry estimates (NAICS 000000, detailed occupation 29-1123) from the May 2025 state file (states, the District of Columbia and territories) and national file (the United States row). Figures are copied as published. Cells BLS marks "*" or "**" (estimate not available) or "#" (at or above $115.00 an hour or $239,200 a year) are left empty, and the note column says which. BLS computes annual pay as hourly pay times 2,080 hours where it publishes hourly figures.
- License
- Public domain
- Retrieved
Limits
- Wages are straight-time gross pay. They exclude overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and employer-paid benefits, so they understate total pay for many clinicians; travel and agency pay and stipends cannot be separated.
- Each estimate blends six semiannual survey panels, November 2022 to May 2025, adjusted to May 2025. OEWS is not a time series: BLS advises against comparing years to measure growth.
- Employment counts wage and salary jobs and excludes the self-employed.
- BLS withholds estimates that do not meet its publication standards; those cells are empty, and a state with no estimate at all has a row with every figure empty. Wages at or above $239,200 a year are published only as that floor and are also empty here.
- The figures describe May 2025 and were published May 15, 2026; BLS publishes new estimates once a year.
Sources & approach
Scope: US wage and salary estimates for the stated period, not a quote for an individual job or a promise of earnings. Check the written offer and the applicable employer terms before deciding.
Based on the public sources linked below. Job.com selected and organized the data; no internal company data is used.
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Accessed October 23, 2026
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