How much do physician assistants make?

Physician Assistant salary 2026 · BLS occupation: Physician Assistants (SOC 29-1071) · Updated October 28, 2026

Answer

Physician assistants in the US earned a median of $135,880 a year ($65.33 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned $120,670 to $163,980.

Median annual pay: $135,880; Mean $141,280
Median hourly pay: $65.33; Mean $67.92
Typical range (10th–90th): $99.4K–$190K; $99,380 to $190,280
US jobs: 162,150; +21.1% projected, 2025–35

BLS OEWS, May 2025, released April 30, 2026. Wages include tips, commissions and production bonuses but not overtime premiums, shift differentials, other bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers are not included. Methodology

How to become a physician assistant: steps, years and cost · Best-paying state after cost of living: Oklahoma

Physician Assistant pay range

Annual wages, May 2025

10th percentile$99,380
25th percentile$120,670
Median$135,880
75th percentile$163,980
90th percentile$190,280

Half of all physician assistants earned more than $135,880 and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% made under $99,380; the top 10% made over $190,280. The middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile, ran from $120,670 to $163,980.

These percentiles describe everyone in the occupation at one time. They are not pay steps by years of experience: they mix new and senior workers, different states, employers and hours. Pay generally rises with experience, credentials and specialization, but BLS does not publish pay by experience.

Percentile	Annual	Hourly	Monthly
10th	$99,380	$47.78	$8,282
25th	$120,670	$58.02	$10,056
Median (50th)	$135,880	$65.33	$11,323
75th	$163,980	$78.84	$13,665
90th	$190,280	$91.48	$15,857
Mean (average)	$141,280	$67.92	$11,773

Physician Assistant salary by state

Median annual pay; cost of living from BEA regional price parities 2024

Median annual pay for physician assistants by state. Darker tiles pay more.

Highest-paying states

1. New Jersey $165,690
2. California $165,650
3. Washington $164,360
4. Hawaii $164,050
5. New York $160,880

Lowest-paying states

51. Alabama $104,960
50. Mississippi $105,920
49. Georgia $115,390
48. Tennessee $118,240
47. Arkansas $118,430

Best after cost of living: Oklahoma. Its median of $136,550 is worth about $155,448 at national-average prices, more than in New Jersey once prices are counted.


Alabama	$104,960	51	$118,168	51	$50.46	930	0.44
Alaska	$150,700	8	$147,227	16	$72.45	700	2.15
Arizona	$134,650	26	$133,745	40	$64.73	3,750	1.16
Arkansas	$118,430	47	$136,225	33	$56.94	850	0.65
California	$165,650	2	$149,612	10	$79.64	13,600	0.75
Colorado	$134,540	28	$130,555	44	$64.68	3,270	1.14
Connecticut	$139,860	15	$134,987	35	$67.24	3,570	2.11
Delaware	$139,350	16	$139,618	26	$67.00	860	1.76
District of Columbia	$135,140	21	$122,965	48	$64.97	470	0.67
Florida	$129,620	39	$125,341	47	$62.32	9,310	0.94
Georgia	$115,390	49	$119,832	50	$55.48	5,610	1.15
Hawaii	$164,050	4	$149,203	12	$78.87	530	0.85
Idaho	$133,790	30	$140,103	25	$64.32	1,320	1.54
Illinois	$131,950	36	$132,005	41	$63.44	3,790	0.62
Indiana	$132,050	35	$141,489	24	$63.49	2,110	0.66
Iowa	$134,770	23	$153,563	4	$64.79	1,200	0.77
Kansas	$125,640	44	$139,495	27	$60.41	890	0.62
Kentucky	$120,760	46	$133,941	39	$58.06	1,360	0.68
Louisiana	$128,870	41	$146,100	18	$61.96	1,360	0.70
Maine	$131,170	38	$135,157	34	$63.06	1,030	1.61
Maryland	$137,560	17	$131,061	42	$66.13	2,950	1.07
Massachusetts	$142,410	10	$134,658	37	$68.47	4,470	1.23
Michigan	$131,510	37	$136,681	31	$63.23	6,310	1.43
Minnesota	$141,190	12	$143,164	21	$67.88	3,660	1.24
Mississippi	$105,920	50	$121,813	49	$50.92	320	0.27
Missouri	$135,130	22	$148,794	14	$64.96	2,300	0.78
Montana	$141,470	11	$149,474	11	$68.02	600	1.18
Nebraska	$133,040	33	$147,653	15	$63.96	1,330	1.30
Nevada	$134,660	25	$134,688	36	$64.74	1,090	0.70
New Hampshire	$150,960	7	$144,924	19	$72.58	1,060	1.55
New Jersey	$165,690	1	$152,282	5	$79.66	4,790	1.12
New Mexico	$139,920	14	$151,737	6	$67.27	700	0.81
New York	$160,880	5	$149,072	13	$77.35	19,140	1.98
North Carolina	$129,360	40	$137,141	29	$62.19	7,490	1.52
North Dakota	$133,450	31	$150,013	9	$64.16	510	1.20
Ohio	$132,090	34	$142,378	22	$63.51	4,900	0.88
Oklahoma	$136,550	18	$155,448	1	$65.65	1,770	1.04
Oregon	$155,780	6	$150,714	7	$74.89	2,250	1.14
Pennsylvania	$127,070	43	$130,232	45	$61.09	9,020	1.49
Rhode Island	$139,930	13	$136,811	30	$67.27	810	1.62
South Carolina	$122,490	45	$130,657	43	$58.89	2,250	0.98
South Dakota	$133,200	32	$150,362	8	$64.04	680	1.49
Tennessee	$118,240	48	$128,704	46	$56.85	2,240	0.68
Texas	$134,550	27	$138,630	28	$64.69	10,110	0.72
Utah	$134,740	24	$136,288	32	$64.78	1,610	0.93
Vermont	$150,490	9	$153,627	2	$72.35	410	1.36
Virginia	$135,940	20	$134,456	38	$65.36	4,340	1.05
Washington	$164,360	3	$153,589	3	$79.02	3,540	1.00
West Virginia	$128,610	42	$143,703	20	$61.83	1,080	1.53
Wisconsin	$133,950	29	$142,356	23	$64.40	3,580	1.22
Wyoming	$136,080	19	$146,810	17	$65.42	330	1.17

BLS OEWS, May 2025, state estimates. Adjusted pay = median ÷ (state price level ÷ 100), using BEA regional price parities for 2024; it ignores taxes. Figures for states with few workers in the occupation have larger survey errors and can change sharply from one year to the next. “—” means BLS did not publish the figure. State names link to each state’s highest-paying jobs.

Best-paying metro areas for physician assistants

348 metro areas with published pay

Highest median pay
Metro area	Median	Adjusted	Jobs
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$223,640	$202,530	1,030
Bakersfield-Delano, CA	$198,070	$196,331	350
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$184,380	$159,480	1,830
Yuba City, CA	$183,460	$176,010	40
Vallejo, CA	$179,520	$165,488	150
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$172,750	$160,274	140
Napa, CA	$172,170	$152,967	50
Salinas, CA	$170,180	$156,068	130
Urban Honolulu, HI	$170,060	$153,261	390
Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA	$168,080	$161,841	60

Most jobs
Metro area	Jobs	Median	Adjusted
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	16,800	$167,650	$148,939
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	3,970	$111,810	$111,745
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	3,890	$161,890	$142,551
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	3,550	$142,410	$131,537
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	3,390	$135,640	$132,262
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	3,230	$134,900	$130,857
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	3,050	$127,940	$123,500
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	3,050	$134,650	$130,328
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	3,020	$148,200	$136,108
Pittsburgh, PA	2,560	$125,230	$132,279

BLS OEWS, May 2025, metropolitan statistical areas; adjusted with BEA metro price parities (2024).

What moves physician assistant pay: employers and settings

Work setting makes a clear difference for physician assistants. PAs in outpatient care centers have a median of $153,500 and those in hospitals $141,090. Physician offices, which employ the most PAs, pay a median of $132,000; colleges and universities $134,770. The federal government is the highest-paying employer type with a median of $164,760. That is well above state government ($135,310) and local government ($134,990).

State has a large effect. New Jersey leads at $165,690, followed closely by California at $165,650, Washington at $164,360, Hawaii at $164,050, and New York at $160,880. At the low end are Georgia at $115,390, Mississippi at $105,920, and Alabama at $104,960. After adjusting for living costs, Oklahoma comes out ahead at $155,448 adjusted.

Overall, PA pay runs from $99,380, the 10th percentile, to $190,280, the 90th percentile. Those are points in the national pay spread, not experience levels; the setting and state gaps above explain part of it. Schedules vary too, and some PA jobs include nights, weekends, holidays or call.

Where physician assistants work
Industry	Share of jobs	Median pay
Offices of Physicians	53.5%	$132,000
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	25.2%	$141,090
Outpatient Care Centers	9.2%	$153,500
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	2.3%	$134,770
Federal Executive Branch	2.2%	$164,760
Offices of Other Health Practitioners	1.8%	$132,140

Private employers and government
Employer type	Jobs	Median pay
Private employers	149,210	$135,600
Federal government (incl. Postal Service)	3,560	$164,760
State government (incl. schools and hospitals)	4,540	$135,310
Local government (incl. schools and hospitals)	4,840	$134,990

BLS OEWS, May 2025, national industry-specific and ownership estimates (4-digit NAICS).

Physician Assistant pay over time

Median annual pay, 2015–2025

$136K $98.2K

2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025

Nominal median (dollars of each year)In May 2025 dollars (adjusted with CPI-U)

The median rose from $98,180 in 2015 to $135,880 in 2025, up 38% in nominal dollars. After inflation, the 2015 median is worth $132,720 in May 2025 dollars, so real pay grew 2% over the period.

BLS OEWS, May 2025 and earlier May releases; inflation from the CPI-U, US city average, May of each year.

What physician assistants do

A physician assistant (PA) is a licensed clinician who examines patients, diagnoses illnesses and injuries, orders and reads tests, prescribes medication and carries out treatment plans, working in collaboration with physicians. In a family practice that can mean checkups, infections, diabetes follow-ups and minor procedures such as stitches or joint injections. In surgery, PAs take histories before operations, assist in the operating room and manage patients on the hospital floor afterward. In an emergency department they evaluate and treat patients alongside the attending physicians.

About half of PAs work in physician offices and a quarter in hospitals; others are in outpatient care centers, the federal government and colleges and universities. The title is also spelled physicians assistant or physician's assistant. In 2021 the national PA society voted to adopt physician associate, but the legal title is set by each state, and NCCPA treats the two names as equivalent. PAs are educated as generalists, which lets them switch specialties during their careers.

A typical day

Take medical histories and examine patients
Order lab work and imaging, and interpret the results
Diagnose conditions and decide on treatment with the care team
Write prescriptions and adjust medications
Perform procedures such as suturing, casting, joint injections or assisting in surgery
Explain diagnoses and treatment plans to patients and families
Document visits in the electronic health record and coordinate referrals

Also called: physicians assistant, physician associate, cardiology physician assistant, certified physician assistant (pa-c), emergency medicine physician assistant (emergency medicine pa), family practice physician assistant, orthopaedic physician assistant, orthopedic physician assistant.

How to become a physician assistant

Full guide

To become a physician assistant, you earn a bachelor's degree with science prerequisites, build patient care experience, complete a roughly 2-year ARC-PA accredited master's program, pass the PANCE and get a state license. That usually takes 6 to 8 years after high school.

Typical time: 6-8 years; Fastest: About 6 years after high school
Minimum education: Master's degree from an ARC-PA accredited physician assistant program
License: Required in all 50 states and DC
Typical training cost: $80.7K–$111K; See the guide for what it includes

Read the step-by-step guide to becoming a physician assistant: each step with its time and cost, education options, exams, licensing and advancement.

Is it worth it? Training cost against pay

Compare careers

Training time: 6-8 years; Typical path in our guide
Training cost: $80.7K–$111K; Tuition and exam fees, before aid
Median pay: $135,880; $84,900 above the all-jobs median ($50,980)
Cost vs. one year's pay: 59–81%; Training cost as a share of a year at the median

Once qualified, the pay difference over the typical US job at the median ($84,900 a year before tax) would repay the training cost in less than a year to 1.3 years after training ends (6-8 years in our guide). This is a rough guide: it ignores taxes, financial aid, interest, earnings given up while training and how pay changes over a career. How we calculate ROI.

Job outlook for physician assistants

BLS Employment Projections 2025–35

Projected growth: +21.1%; All occupations +3.5%
Jobs in 2025: 168,900; 204,600 projected for 2035
Openings each year: 11,500; New jobs plus replacements
Self-employed: 1.4%; Not in the pay figures above

BLS projects physician assistant jobs to grow 21.1% from 2025 to 2035, from 168,900 to 204,600, roughly six times the 3.5% pace for all occupations. It expects about 11,500 openings a year, many of them to replace PAs who retire or change careers. Demand comes from an aging population and a growing number of people living with long-term conditions like diabetes. BLS also expects PAs to take on a larger role because they can be trained faster than physicians and team-based care is spreading.

Related careers and their pay

Related occupations from O*NET 31.0; median annual pay from BLS OEWS, May 2025.

Physician Assistant salary FAQ

How much do physician assistants make an hour?

The median hourly wage for physician assistants was $65.33 in May 2025. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $47.78 an hour and the highest-paid 10% more than $91.48. Hourly figures are BLS estimates for all workers in the occupation, full-time and part-time.

Which state pays physician assistants the most?

New Jersey has the highest median pay for physician assistants, $165,690 a year, followed by California ($165,650) and Washington ($164,360). After adjusting for each state's price level, Oklahoma comes out ahead at about $155,448 in national-average dollars.

Do physician assistants make $200,000 a year?

Few do: based on the BLS percentiles, fewer than 10% of physician assistants earn more than $200,000 a year. The median is $135,880, and the top 10% earn more than $190,280. Pay generally rises with experience, specialization and location.

What is the difference between a physician assistant and a nurse practitioner?

Both diagnose, treat and prescribe, and their job settings overlap. The training differs: PAs complete a master's program that educates them as generalists across specialties, then pass the PANCE. Nurse practitioners are registered nurses who earn a graduate nursing degree and usually focus on one patient population, such as family, pediatric or psychiatric care. Practice rules also differ by state. See our nurse practitioner page.

Can a physician assistant work without a doctor?

Not fully on their own in most states. BLS notes that most states require PAs to have a supervision or collaboration agreement with a physician, though that physician does not have to be present for every visit. The exact rules, such as chart review or how many PAs one physician can work with, are set by each state's law and medical or PA board.

Do physician assistants work nights and weekends?

Many do. BLS notes that PA schedules can include nights, weekends and holidays, and some PAs take call, meaning they must respond to work requests on short notice. Hours depend on the job: settings that cover patients around the clock need PAs on those shifts, while office hours set the schedule in a clinic. Because PAs can move between specialties, some change settings over time to get the schedule they want.

Sources

Data updated October 28, 2026 · Text checked against its sources October 28, 2026

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, released April 30, 2026, SOC 29-1071
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035, released September 2026
O*NET 31.0 Database (29-1071.00), U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0; tasks rewritten by Careers and Salaries
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state and metro area, 2024
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), US city average, May values
U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard field-of-study and institution data, most recent cohorts, released 2026-10-15
Physician Assistants, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked October 28, 2026
Become Certified, National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants · checked October 28, 2026
Maintain Certification, National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants · checked October 28, 2026
University of Iowa (CASPA Program Directory), Physician Assistant Education Association · checked October 28, 2026
Charleston Southern University (CASPA Program Directory), Physician Assistant Education Association · checked October 28, 2026
CASPA Fees and Fee Waivers, Liaison International for PAEA · checked October 28, 2026
License Finder, CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor · checked October 28, 2026
Specialty Certificates, National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants · checked October 28, 2026
Accreditation Standards for PA Education, Sixth Edition, Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) · checked October 28, 2026
CASPA, Physician Assistant Education Association · checked October 28, 2026
NCCPA Board Certification and Title Change, National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants · checked October 28, 2026
Practitioner's Manual / Mid-Level Practitioners, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Diversion Control Division · checked October 28, 2026
From Primary Care to Specialization, National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants · checked October 28, 2026
Nurse Anesthetists, Nurse Midwives, and Nurse Practitioners, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked October 28, 2026

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