Monday, August 1, 2022

The Best and Worst States for Physician Assistant Pay

There were about 133,000 physician assistant jobs in the U.S. as of May 2021 according to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  Physician assistants mostly work in physician offices and hospital facilities, with smaller numbers of PAs working in outpatient care centers, academic institutions, and offices of other types of healthcare practitioners. Because of their training and the range of supervised physician services they can provide, physician assistants generally earn more than most healthcare occupations, excluding certain high-skill clinical occupations in medicine and dentistry.  The BLS estimated that, as of May 2021, the national mean wage for physician assistants was $119,460 per year.  There is, however, wide variation in the average annual wages earned by physician assistants from state to state.  According to BLS data, here are the ten best and worst states for physician assistant pay as of May 2021:

The Best and Worst States for Physician Assistant Pay

State # Employed Annual Mean Wages Wage Rank*
RI 300 $146,880 1st
AK 440 $145,830 2nd
CT 2,670 $141,790 3rd
NJ 3,710 $140,080 4th
NH 800 $137,330 5th
CA 14,600 $136,920 6th
WA 2,490 $136,130 7th
NM 690 $132,370 8th
NY 13,670 $131,810 9th
OR 1,290 $130,000 10th
U.S. 132,940 $119,460 -------
FL 7,210 $104,810 42nd
TN 2,460 $103,850 43rd
MD 4,120 $99,530 44th
SC 1,630 $97,370 45th
KY 1,250 $96,010 46th
AL 440 $95,470 47th
HI 360 $95,280 48th
MO 1,540 $95,280 49th
MS 350 $74,570 50th
AR 760 $71,640 51st

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on August 1, 2022