Physical Therapist Salary in 2026: National, by State, City, Specialty & Real Value

A physical therapist in the United States earns a median of $102,760 a year, about $49.40 an hour, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025). Pay runs from roughly $77,140 at the 10th percentile to $135,140 at the 90th, and it swings further once you account for state, metro, setting, specialty, cost of living, and tax. About 267,330 physical therapists work nationwide. This guide is the complete picture: national and percentile pay, all 50 states ranked by real (cost-adjusted) value, top metros, settings, specialties, take-home after tax, the path in, the return on the degree, and answers to the questions people ask most.

National pay overview

The national median for physical therapists is $102,760 a year ($49.40 an hour), with a mean of $105,280. The full wage curve, from entry to senior:

Percentile	Annual	Hourly
10th (entry)	$77,140	$37.09
25th	$86,160	$41.42
50th (median)	$102,760	$49.40
75th	$121,160	$58.25
90th (senior)	$135,140	$64.97

The gap from the 10th to the 90th percentile is about $58,000. A single national number hides that range, which is why the rest of this guide breaks pay down by every factor that moves it, and then translates the headline into cost-adjusted, after-tax dollars.

The mean of $105,280 sits above the median, which tells you the top of the field pulls the average up: a meaningful share of physical therapists earn well into the upper percentiles through specialty, setting, geography, and seniority. The practical question is what you can earn given where you work, what you specialize in, and how you structure your hours, which matters far more than the field-wide average. Each section below answers one piece of that.

Pay by experience

BLS does not publish pay by years of experience, but the percentiles map closely to a career arc:

Stage	Typical percentile	Annual
New graduate	10th to 25th	$77,140 to $86,160
Mid-career	~50th	around $102,760
Experienced	~75th	around $121,160
Senior / specialized / lead	90th+	$135,140 and up

The climb from new graduate to senior is roughly $58,000. Early raises tend to come fastest as you move off new-grad pay; by mid-career the curve flattens, and the people who keep climbing usually do so by specializing, switching to a higher-paying setting or state, taking on lead and management duties, or adding hours through PRN and overtime. Geography and setting can outweigh experience entirely: an experienced PT in a low-paying state can earn less than a new graduate in a top-paying one.

Salary by state: all 50 states ranked by real value

This is the table most physical therapist salary pages leave out. Below are every state and Washington, D.C., ranked by real value (the median adjusted for that state’s cost of living (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024)) rather than by sticker pay. A high-paying state with high costs can leave you worse off than a moderate-paying, low-cost one. Tap a linked state for the full local breakdown.

#	State	Median (nominal)	Cost level (US=100)	Real value	Employed
1	New Mexico	$106,880	92.2	$115,907	1,330
2	Mississippi	$99,990	87.0	$114,993	1,980
3	Arkansas	$99,010	86.9	$113,887	2,680
4	Alaska	$115,280	102.4	$112,623	680
5	Oklahoma	$98,590	87.8	$112,234	2,560
6	California	$124,190	110.7	$112,166	26,580
7	Louisiana	$98,530	88.2	$111,703	3,280
8	Kentucky	$100,710	90.2	$111,703	3,390
9	Nevada	$111,250	100.0	$111,273	2,030
10	Iowa	$97,560	87.8	$111,164	2,530
11	Ohio	$103,050	92.8	$111,076	10,280
12	Alabama	$97,290	88.8	$109,532	3,040
13	Missouri	$99,310	90.8	$109,352	4,900
14	Kansas	$98,290	90.1	$109,129	2,660
15	Texas	$105,810	97.1	$109,018	21,870
16	Tennessee	$100,140	91.9	$109,002	4,800
17	Indiana	$101,560	93.3	$108,819	6,130
18	Wyoming	$100,400	92.7	$108,317	560
19	Wisconsin	$101,840	94.1	$108,231	5,580
20	South Carolina	$101,330	93.7	$108,086	3,930
21	West Virginia	$96,600	89.5	$107,937	1,310
22	Nebraska	$97,090	90.1	$107,754	2,140
23	Georgia	$102,700	96.3	$106,654	6,780
24	North Carolina	$99,910	94.3	$105,920	7,350
25	Illinois	$105,250	100.0	$105,294	9,800
26	Michigan	$100,900	96.2	$104,867	8,630
27	South Dakota	$92,660	88.6	$104,599	1,060
28	Pennsylvania	$101,380	97.6	$103,903	11,710
29	Idaho	$99,000	95.5	$103,671	1,030
30	Minnesota	$102,010	98.6	$103,436	5,180
31	New Jersey	$112,140	108.8	$103,065	9,750
32	Maine	$99,720	97.0	$102,751	1,860
33	Arizona	$103,220	100.7	$102,526	5,170
34	Delaware	$102,050	99.8	$102,246	1,260
35	Maryland	$106,890	105.0	$101,840	3,940
36	Utah	$99,880	98.9	$101,028	2,300
37	Connecticut	$104,360	103.6	$100,724	4,060
38	Virginia	$101,450	101.1	$100,342	7,630
39	Oregon	$103,510	103.4	$100,144	3,210
40	Vermont	$97,970	98.0	$100,012	760
41	Colorado	$102,030	103.1	$99,008	5,630
42	Washington	$105,950	107.0	$99,007	5,370
43	Massachusetts	$103,790	105.8	$98,140	6,850
44	Florida	$101,040	103.4	$97,704	16,290
45	Rhode Island	$99,400	102.3	$97,184	1,020
46	Montana	$91,450	94.6	$96,624	1,180
47	North Dakota	$85,330	89.0	$95,921	830
48	New Hampshire	$99,850	104.2	$95,858	1,960
49	New York	$100,660	107.9	$93,272	20,940
50	Hawaii	$101,700	110.0	$92,496	950
51	District of Columbia	$101,640	109.9	$92,483	610

On real, cost-adjusted value, New Mexico leads at $115,907, while District of Columbia trails at $92,483. By raw sticker pay the order is different: California ($124,190), Alaska ($115,280), and New Jersey ($112,140) pay the most nominally, but several of them slide down the list once high housing and prices are counted. That reordering is the single most useful thing this page does, and it is why national averages and sticker rankings can steer you wrong.

Concrete example of the flip: Washington ranks #7 by sticker pay ($105,950) but only #42 once its cost level of 107 is applied, because high prices eat the higher salary. Meanwhile Arkansas looks middling on sticker (#39) yet climbs to #3 on real value, since a 99,010-dollar median goes much further at a cost level of 87. If you are willing to relocate, the real-value column, not the sticker column, is the one that should guide the decision.

The geographic pattern: the highest sticker pay clusters on the West Coast and in the Northeast, while the best real value often shows up in lower-cost states in the South, Midwest, and Mountain West where a strong salary meets cheap housing. There is no single best state, only the best fit for where you want to live and what your money will buy there.

Highest-paying metros

Within states, metros drive pay further. The largest PT job markets by employment, with median pay:

Metro	Median	Employed
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY	$107,650	21,240
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$108,170	9,750
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL	$105,720	7,880
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA	$105,790	6,250
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$107,780	6,100
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA	$103,550	5,330
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$100,870	4,950
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$107,700	4,680
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC	$102,980	4,540
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$103,440	4,250

The same cost-of-living rule applies inside a state: a higher-paying big metro can lose to a cheaper mid-size city once housing is counted. Big metros also hold the deepest job markets, so they pair the most pay with the most openings, while rural and smaller markets sometimes pay premiums to attract candidates. The state pages work the metro and cost math out city by city.

Salary by work setting

Where physical therapists work changes pay as much as geography. National medians by employer type:

Setting	Employed (U.S.)	Median
Offices of Other Health Practitioners	103,680	$97,290
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	61,520	$106,890
Home Health Care Services	30,920	$114,740
Offices of Physicians	17,150	$102,010
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities)	13,390	$111,740
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals	10,120	$105,300
Elementary and Secondary Schools	6,650	$96,080

The gap between the highest- and lowest-paying settings is real money over a career, and it usually comes with trade-offs in pace, caseload, autonomy, and schedule rather than in difficulty alone. The largest employer is not always the best payer, so it is worth weighing where the volume of jobs is against where the pay is when you choose a setting.

How it compares to related careers

It helps to see a physical therapist beside the roles people weigh against it, with pay set next to the education each requires:

Role	National median	Education
Physical Therapist Assistant	$68,380	Associate degree
Occupational Therapist	$100,330	Master’s or doctorate
Physical Therapist (this role)	$102,760	Doctorate (DPT)
Speech-Language Pathologist	$97,870	Master’s degree

Against speech-language pathologist at $97,870, this role pays about $4,890 more for the added schooling. The right comparison is always pay set against the time, cost, and debt of the credential, not pay alone.

Scope of practice and licensing

PTs are licensed independent practitioners who evaluate and treat movement and pain problems, and most states now allow some form of direct access, meaning patients can be seen without a physician referral. Every state requires a license through the NPTE. Setting drives the work: outpatient orthopedic, hospital, home health, skilled nursing, and sports or pediatric clinics each differ in pace, caseload, and pay.

Licensing is not just a hurdle, it shapes pay. Where a role can practice more independently or bill for more services, it tends to command more, and license portability between states affects how easily you can chase a higher-paying market. Always confirm the current rules with the relevant state board, since scope and requirements change and vary widely.

Specialties and where the pay is

Board specialization (orthopedics, sports, neurology, geriatrics, and others through the ABPTS) and credentials like a manual-therapy certification lift PT pay and referrals. Setting matters too: home health and skilled nursing typically pay above outpatient clinics, and travel and PRN PTs earn higher hourly rates. Clinic ownership and management are the higher-ceiling paths.

The practical takeaway: within physical therapists, specialty and setting usually move pay more than another year of general experience. The top earners are rarely just the most tenured, they are the ones in the higher-paying focus areas, settings, or leadership and ownership roles.

If you are early in the field, the decisions with the biggest long-run payoff are which specialty to pursue and which setting to enter, because both compound over a career and are easier to choose early than to switch later. A credential that takes a year to earn can pay for itself many times over through higher pay and more job options, which is the same logic the ROI section applies to the degree itself.

What moves the pay

• State and metro, and crucially the cost of living that goes with them, which the real-value table reorders.
• Experience, which lifts pay steadily and then plateaus without a specialty or a step up.
• Work setting, with home health, hospital, and specialty roles often paying above clinic or school settings.
• Specialty and board certification, a clear premium in most of these fields.
• Hours and structure, since overtime, PRN, and travel work can push total pay well above base.

Salary, hourly, and total compensation

The $102,760 median is base pay. Real total compensation often runs higher: at an hourly equivalent of $49.40, overtime runs about $74.10, so one extra eight-hour shift a week adds on the order of $30,826 a year in gross. PRN and travel roles trade benefits for higher hourly rates, and many employers add signing bonuses, productivity bonuses, and strong benefits. When comparing offers, weigh the whole package: base, bonus structure, shift and call differentials, retirement match, paid time off, and continuing-education support. Two offers with the same base can differ by thousands once the rest is counted.

Take-home pay after tax

Two physical therapists on the same $102,760 salary keep very different amounts depending on the state. Worked examples on the national median, single filer, 2026 federal plus FICA plus state:

State	Gross	Est. take-home	Effective rate
Texas (no state income tax)	$102,760	$80,678	21.5%
New York	$102,760	$75,560	26.5%
California	$102,760	$75,094	26.9%

That is roughly $5,584 a year more in take-home in no-tax Texas than in California on an identical salary, before cost of living is even counted. Nine states levy no income tax.

Take-home also scales with where you sit on the pay curve. In Texas, an entry-level PT earning $86,160 nets about $69,000, while a senior one at $135,140 keeps about $103,121, since higher pay pushes more income into higher federal brackets. The effective rate climbs with income, so a raise is worth somewhat less on take-home than on the headline. Every state page includes a full breakdown and a paycheck calculator to run your own number.

How to maximize earnings

• Target a high-real-value state or metro using the table above, not the highest sticker.
• Move into the higher-paying setting and specialty for your field.
• Add board certification or a specialty credential, which pays a clear premium.
• Use PRN, travel, or overtime to lift total pay, and negotiate the full package.
• Consider leadership or ownership for the higher ceiling.

How pay is changing

Wages for physical therapists have broadly risen with healthcare demand and inflation, but the real story is in the mix: pay grows fastest where labor is scarce and where the role takes on more responsibility. Watch three things if you are planning a career here, the spread between settings (which keeps widening as specialized and hospital roles pull ahead), the value of cost-of-living arbitrage (a strong salary in a cheap state has rarely been worth more relative to expensive coastal markets), and the premium on specialty credentials. The figures on this page are the May 2025 BLS estimates, the most recent national data, and the state pages carry the same detail locally.

Job outlook

Employment of physical therapists is projected to grow about 11% from 2024 to 2034, much faster than the average for all occupations, with roughly 13,200 openings a year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. An aging population, rising chronic disease, and the shift toward non-opioid pain management all drive demand, and growth is strongest in home health and outpatient orthopedic settings.

For context, the average growth rate across all U.S. occupations through 2034 is about 3%. A large share of yearly openings also comes from replacing workers who retire or move on, so real hiring tends to run ahead of the net-growth figure, and shortage and rural areas often pay the most to attract candidates.

How to become a physical therapist

PT is a doctoral path (the DPT) with strong pay and autonomy:

1. Earn a bachelor’s degree with PT prerequisites.
2. Complete a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), a roughly three-year program accredited by CAPTE, including clinical rotations.
3. Pass the NPTE (National Physical Therapy Examination).
4. Get state licensure; optional residency and board specialization raise pay and options.

Is it worth it? The return on the degree

A DPT commonly leaves $100,000 to $160,000 in student debt against a median income near $102,760. The career clears it over time, but new graduates often feel the squeeze early, so program cost and the starting setting and state make a real difference. Weigh program cost, your starting state and setting, and the specialties you can reach against the debt. The pay tables above, set next to the education column in the comparison section, are the honest way to run that math before committing.

Two levers change the answer most: the price of the program you choose, since cost varies enormously between public and private schools, and the state and setting you start in, since the same degree pays very differently across the by-state and settings tables above. A graduate who controls program cost and starts in a high-real-value state can clear the debt years faster than one who does neither, on the identical credential.

Frequently asked questions

State guides and tools

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 and Occupational Outlook Handbook (SOC 29-1123 and related codes); national, state, and metro estimates. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024. Take-home figures are 2026 estimates (federal, FICA, and state) for a single filer and will vary with deductions and filing status. See our methodology.