Physician Assistant Pay in the Southwestern U.S.

The latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data on physician assistant (PA) employment put the number of PAs employed at just over 125,000 as of May 2020.  The four-state Southwestern U.S. was home to about 13,700 of those physician assistants according to the BLS.  BLS data revealed a mixed story about PA pay levels in the region.  Two Southwestern states, New Mexico and Oklahoma, ranked among the fifteen best states in the country in terms of physician assistant annual mean wages.  However, more than 80% of the region's physician assistants worked in Arizona or Texas, two states with PA annual mean wage levels that were below the national average.  A further examination of BLS data from May 2020 revealed the following about physician assistant pay in the Southwestern U.S.:

Physician Assistant Pay in the Southwestern U.S.

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
AZ	2,510	$113,850	25th
NM	720	$123,620	11th
OK	1,510	$118,130	15th
TX	8,990	$112,200	30th
U.S.	125,280	$116,080	-------

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

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on April 24, 2021