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If you’re looking to grow in your physical therapy career, earn a higher salary, or lead salary conversations with confidence, keep reading because we created this guide for you!

How much money do physical therapists make?

The median annual pay for United States based Physical Therapists is $99,710¹, and the top 10% of physical therapists earned more than $130,870¹. However, this is not the full picture - there are a couple factors that influence pay like your specialty, location, years of experience and type of work setting.

Let’s dive into how these factors influence compensation 💰

Highest Paying Physical Therapy Settings

Physical therapy is fulfilling work, but financial wellbeing is also important! Let’s talk money.

According to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), the professional organization that supports physical therapists, physical therapy assistants (PTAs) and physical therapy students (SPTs), physical therapists typically earn between $88,000 to $101,500. If you are a new grad, Glassdoor says the average salary may be between $78,000 to $117,000.

If you’re wondering why the salary range is so wide, the type of physical therapy setting worked can affect pay.

The physical therapist industries with the highest annual salaries as of May 2023 are¹:

States with a $100k+ average salary

Another way to earn more money as a PT is to work in certain cities or states with higher average salaries. Cost of living compares costs of basic expenses like housing, transportation, food, childcare and utilities in different locations². The higher the cost of living index number, the more expensive the place is!

In states like Texas, Illinois and Delaware, physical therapists on average earn over $100k and have lower cost of living.

Source: BLS 2023 and World Population Review

👀 TLDR: consider jobs in the states in green to earn more and spend less on basic needs.

Top Paying Physical Therapy Specialties

Physical therapists can maximize their salary by choosing to specialize in a niche field. As of June 2024, over 40,000 physical therapists in the United States earned specialization certifications⁵. Here are the top 10 most popular certifications physical therapists earn and the nationwide average salaries⁶:

Source: Payscale

Top 5 States with the Most Projected Jobs 2022 - 2032

Physical therapists can boost their salaries as they increase their experience, but where should they move to maximize their earning potential?

Looking at the projected job growth¹⁷ over the next 10 years by state can highlight areas with a high demand for PTs, which often leads to more job opportunities and higher salaries. Here are the top 5 states with the greatest projected job growth:

Future Outlook

Though we can’t see the future, we can use existing data to help make informed decisions! Whether you’re a student or have experience under your belt, here are some trends in the field you can expect in the coming years:

💰 Increased Demand for Physical Therapists¹⁸

The high demand for physical therapists is driving an increase in salaries. This profession has rapidly evolved in the past decade¹ - in 2013, BLS reported there were 195,670 employed physical therapists earning a median salary of $81,030¹⁸. In 2023, the employment number rose to 259,200 with a median salary of almost $100,000¹⁸.

Percentile Growth of PT Salaries 2013 vs 2023

There was a 32% employment growth between 2013 - 2023 for physical therapists, and it is expected to grow another 14%¹ in the next ten years! It’s a good time to be a PT 😎

☀️ Need for Pelvic Floor Physical Therapists¹⁹

1 in 3 women are reported to have a pelvic floor disorder - it’s way more common than you think¹⁹. These disorders impact the pelvic floor region which includes emphasis on reproductive health, bladder, uterus, vagina and the bowel. With more awareness of pelvic health, increase of the aging population and longer life expectancies, the demand for pelvic floor PTs will only increase.

📈 Major Cities Have Higher Pay for Physical Therapists ²⁰

If you’re a new grad or experienced physical therapist interested in working in a city, check out our job posts in these metropolitan cities! They are consistently ranked²⁰ for having the highest employment and as over 2023, pay over 6 figures on average 👀

Top Paying Metropolitan Areas for Physical Therapists

Salary transparency is not always the easiest topic, we hope this guide makes the conversation less daunting.

🔍 Good luck on the job hunt, you got this! Find your match on Pickle.

_SOURCES