Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of physical therapist salary by state for the United States:
-
California has the highest physical therapist salary of $106,493
-
Arkansas has the lowest physical therapist salary of $64,149
-
The national average salary for physical therapists is $73,070
-
The national hourly pay for physical therapists is $35.13
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do physical therapists get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for physical therapist by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for physical therapists after this adjustment? That would be California.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for physical therapist salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Physical Therapists By State
| Rank | State | Average Physical Therapist Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $106,493 | $80,000 | $140,000 |
| 2 | Alaska | $95,954 | $77,000 | $118,000 |
| 3 | Washington | $88,437 | $69,000 | $113,000 |
| 4 | Nevada | $85,244 | $64,000 | $111,000 |
| 5 | Hawaii | $81,840 | $66,000 | $101,000 |
| 6 | Massachusetts | $79,796 | $62,000 | $101,000 |
| 7 | Oregon | $78,937 | $61,000 | $101,000 |
| 8 | New Jersey | $78,760 | $62,000 | $98,000 |
| 9 | Minnesota | $77,587 | $62,000 | $96,000 |
| 10 | Arizona | $77,008 | $58,000 | $100,000 |
| 11 | Connecticut | $76,988 | $61,000 | $96,000 |
| 12 | Delaware | $76,926 | $61,000 | $96,000 |
| 13 | Rhode Island | $76,918 | $60,000 | $97,000 |
| 14 | Maryland | $76,765 | $61,000 | $95,000 |
| 15 | Wyoming | $76,240 | $60,000 | $95,000 |
| 16 | New Hampshire | $76,203 | $59,000 | $97,000 |
| 17 | Virginia | $75,627 | $60,000 | $94,000 |
| 18 | Illinois | $75,232 | $60,000 | $93,000 |
| 19 | Mississippi | $75,221 | $60,000 | $93,000 |
| 20 | Idaho | $74,891 | $58,000 | $95,000 |
| 21 | New York | $74,295 | $59,000 | $93,000 |
| 22 | New Mexico | $74,292 | $58,000 | $94,000 |
| 23 | Nebraska | $74,016 | $59,000 | $92,000 |
| 24 | Alabama | $73,562 | $59,000 | $91,000 |
| 25 | Louisiana | $73,531 | $58,000 | $92,000 |
| 26 | Texas | $72,675 | $57,000 | $91,000 |
| 27 | Colorado | $72,634 | $57,000 | $91,000 |
| 28 | Oklahoma | $71,849 | $57,000 | $90,000 |
| 29 | Wisconsin | $71,769 | $57,000 | $89,000 |
| 30 | South Carolina | $71,724 | $57,000 | $89,000 |
| 31 | Michigan | $71,589 | $57,000 | $89,000 |
| 32 | Pennsylvania | $71,255 | $56,000 | $89,000 |
| 33 | North Carolina | $70,975 | $56,000 | $88,000 |
| 34 | Indiana | $70,909 | $56,000 | $88,000 |
| 35 | Georgia | $70,314 | $56,000 | $87,000 |
| 36 | North Dakota | $70,298 | $56,000 | $87,000 |
| 37 | Maine | $70,091 | $53,000 | $91,000 |
| 38 | Kansas | $69,896 | $55,000 | $87,000 |
| 39 | Kentucky | $69,892 | $56,000 | $87,000 |
| 40 | Utah | $69,855 | $54,000 | $89,000 |
| 41 | Ohio | $69,275 | $55,000 | $86,000 |
| 42 | Montana | $69,053 | $54,000 | $86,000 |
| 43 | Tennessee | $68,632 | $54,000 | $85,000 |
| 44 | Missouri | $68,447 | $54,000 | $85,000 |
| 45 | West Virginia | $67,957 | $54,000 | $84,000 |
| 46 | Iowa | $67,671 | $54,000 | $84,000 |
| 47 | Florida | $67,478 | $54,000 | $83,000 |
| 48 | South Dakota | $66,170 | $53,000 | $82,000 |
| 49 | Vermont | $65,309 | $50,000 | $83,000 |
| 50 | Arkansas | $64,149 | $51,000 | $80,000 |
Methodology: Physical Therapist Salary By State
To better understand physical therapist pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for physical therapists by state.
We took the average annual salary data for physical therapists from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for physical therapists.
Physical Therapist Salary By State FAQs
-
What is the highest-paid state for physical therapists?
The highest-paid state for physical therapists is California with an average salary of $106,493 per year.
-
What city pays physical therapists the most?
San Francisco, CA pays physical therapists the most with an average salary of $109,793 per year.
-
What is the worst state for physical therapists?
The worst state for physical therapists is Arkansas with an average salary of $64,149 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
