There were nearly 241,000 physical therapists (PTs) working in the U.S. as of May 2023 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  Physical therapists work in various settings, including offices of non-physician practitioners, skilled nursing facilities, hospitals, physician offices, and home health care agencies.  Like many other healthcare professionals with advanced skills and training, physical therapists generally earn more money than workers in most occupations.  Per BLS estimates as of May 2023, the national mean wage for PTs was $100,440 per year.  That said, there is significant disparity from region-to-region in the average annual wages of PTs.  According to BLS data, as of May 2023 physical therapist pay in the top 20 metro areas looked as follows:

Physical Therapist Pay in the Top 20 Metro Areas

	Metropolitan Area		# Employed	Mean Annual Wage
1	New York-Newark-Jersey City		16,160	$108,790
2	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim		9,120	$106,930
3	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin		8,870	$105,620
4	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington		4,290	$109,560
5	Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land		3,650	$113,180
6	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria		4,490	$108,880
7	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington		5,940	$104,600
8	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach		5,430	$87,770
9	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta		3,420	$100,170
10	Boston-Cambridge-Newton		5,270	$100,700
11	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler		3,160	$100,340
12	San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley		2,920	$129,720
13	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario		1,980	$112,210
14	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn		2,960	$96,970
15	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue		3,190	$104,700
16	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington		2,630	$97,590
17	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad		2,340	$111,500
18	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater		2,290	$98,890
19	Denver-Aurora-Lakewood		2,650	$99,070
20	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson		2,110	$102,560
	National		240,820	$100,440

Report Period:  May 2023
Top 20 U.S. Metro areas from the 2020 Census
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Occupational Statistics
Data extracted on August 24, 2024