Physical Therapist Salaries by State (BLS May 2025 Data)

A physical therapist in California earns, on average, about $30,000 a year more than one in North Dakota for the same license. This guide ranks every state and the District of Columbia by what physical therapists actually earn, using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for May 2025, the newest state-level wage data the government publishes. Every figure is a BLS estimate for the physical therapist occupation; nothing here is self-reported or blended from salary sites.

National estimates for physical therapists (May 2025)

The BLS counts 267,330 physical therapists employed in the United States. The mean annual wage is $105,280 ($50.62 an hour) and the median is $102,760 ($49.40 an hour). Half of physical therapists earn between $86,160 and $121,160; the top 10% earn more than $135,140.

Which states pay physical therapists the most?

California pays physical therapists the most, with a mean annual wage of $122,580: $17,300 above the national mean. Nevada, Alaska, New Jersey and the District of Columbia round out the top five, and every state in the top ten averages more than $108,000 a year. The ten highest-paying states:

1. California: $122,580 a year ($58.93 an hour)
2. Nevada: $120,700 a year ($58.03 an hour)
3. Alaska: $115,830 a year ($55.69 an hour)
4. New Jersey: $114,550 a year ($55.07 an hour)
5. District of Columbia: $112,400 a year ($54.04 an hour)
6. Maryland: $110,700 a year ($53.22 an hour)
7. New Mexico: $110,060 a year ($52.91 an hour)
8. Texas: $109,270 a year ($52.53 an hour)
9. Illinois: $109,080 a year ($52.44 an hour)
10. Washington: $108,550 a year ($52.19 an hour)

Which states pay physical therapists the least?

At the other end, North Dakota has the lowest mean physical therapist wage at $92,480, below the national median but still above the national 25th percentile. The five lowest-paying states, all in the Midwest and Mountain West:

1. North Dakota: $92,480 a year ($44.46 an hour)
2. South Dakota: $93,200 a year ($44.81 an hour)
3. Montana: $93,440 a year ($44.92 an hour)
4. Iowa: $94,780 a year ($45.57 an hour)
5. Kansas: $95,540 a year ($45.94 an hour)

These are means, not offers. A physical therapist with ten years in a home health agency in Iowa can out-earn a new graduate in an outpatient clinic in California, and the cost of housing in the highest-paying states eats into the gap (more on that below).

Physical therapist salaries in all 50 states (and D.C.)

Ranked by mean annual wage. "Median" is the annual wage at the midpoint of the state's physical therapists, and "PTs employed" is the BLS employment estimate for the state.

In Nevada and the District of Columbia the median sits $9,000 to $11,000 below the mean, which means a few very high earners pull the average up and a typical physical therapist there earns closer to $111,000 and $102,000 respectively. In Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi and Iowa the opposite is true: the median is $2,500 to $3,200 above the mean, so pay is clustered near the top of the state's range.

Where the physical therapist jobs are

Pay and headcount rarely line up. California is the only state that is both a top-five payer and a top-five employer; Texas is the only other top-ten payer among the six largest employers. The six states with the most physical therapists:

• California: 26,580 physical therapists, mean $122,580
• Texas: 21,870 physical therapists, mean $109,270
• New York: 20,940 physical therapists, mean $102,740
• Florida: 16,290 physical therapists, mean $98,510
• Pennsylvania: 11,710 physical therapists, mean $101,650
• Ohio: 10,280 physical therapists, mean $102,740

Those six states employ about 108,000 physical therapists, two in five of the country's total. Browse the openings on our board for physical therapist jobs in California, Texas, New York and Florida, or every physical therapist job we list.

Top-paying industries for physical therapists

Setting matters as much as geography. National mean annual wages for physical therapists by industry, May 2025:

Therapy offices, the private outpatient practices where more than a third of physical therapists work, are the largest employer by far and pay the least of the major settings. Home health agencies pay about $21,000 more a year on average and employ the third-largest group; hospitals and skilled nursing facilities sit in between. Outpatient care centers pay the most but hire the fewest.

Job outlook for physical therapists

The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook counts 283,700 physical therapist jobs in 2025 and projects employment to grow 12% from 2025 to 2035, much faster than the average for all occupations, adding 33,800 jobs. Including replacements for therapists who change occupations or retire, the BLS projects about 13,400 openings a year over the decade. Demand comes largely from the growing older adult population, from chronic conditions such as diabetes, obesity and musculoskeletal disorders, and from a greater emphasis on nonopioid pain management. The typical entry-level education is a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree, a program that usually lasts three years, and every state requires a license, which includes passing a qualifying exam. By setting, the BLS reports that 36% of physical therapists work in therapy offices, 26% in hospitals, 11% in home health care, 6% in nursing and residential care facilities and 4% are self-employed.

What the numbers don't tell you

• Cost of living. BLS wages are gross pay, not adjusted for housing or taxes. California, Alaska, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, Maryland and Washington lead the pay table and are also among the most expensive places to live; Nevada, New Mexico and Texas sit in the top ten with cheaper housing. Compare what is left after rent or a mortgage, not the headline figure.
• Setting and schedule. The industry table above is national; the same spread between a home health agency and a private outpatient practice exists inside every state, and productivity bonuses, weekend coverage and contract work are inside these averages. A home health or skilled nursing physical therapist in a mid-ranked state can land well above the state mean.
• Experience and specialty. The 10th-to-90th percentile spread at the national level is $77,140 to $135,140. Where you fall in that range depends more on years in the role, setting and board specialist certification than on the state line.
• Licensure. A physical therapist license is issued state by state. Before you take an offer across a state line, check the state's physical therapy board for its endorsement requirements and processing time, and build that into your start date.
• The wider field. Physical therapy is one of the fastest-growing healthcare occupations in the BLS projections, and the same state-by-state pattern holds for nursing: see our guides to the highest-paying states for nurses and nurse practitioner salary by state.

Sources

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 national, state and industry tables, Physical Therapists (29-1123), read 9 October 2026.
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics Query System, Physical Therapists (29-1123), May 2025 state estimates, read 9 October 2026.
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Physical Therapists, 2025 pay and 2025-35 projections, read 9 October 2026.