Which state pays physical therapist assistants the most?

California has the highest median physical therapist assistant pay in the United States at $83,110 (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is the sticker figure. After state income tax and cost of living, the pay that goes furthest is Texas at $80,365, then Alaska ($75,851) and Nevada ($75,536).

Where does physical therapist assistant pay go furthest after cost of living?

Texas, Alaska, and Nevada. Real value starts from the BLS median physical therapist assistant wage, subtracts modeled state income tax, then divides by the state cost of living (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024). California ranks #7 of 51 on that measure despite paying the most on paper.

Which states pay physical therapist assistants the least after cost of living?

District of Columbia ($55,255), South Dakota ($55,663), New York ($56,741). A state can pay well and still land here: high local prices and state income tax both come out of the same wage.

What is the median physical therapist assistant salary in the US?

$68,380 nationally, BLS OEWS May 2025 (SOC 31-2021). State medians run from $63,400 to $83,110 before any adjustment.

Do states with no income tax pay physical therapist assistants more?

Not automatically. No-income-tax states (Texas, Florida, Washington, Tennessee, and others) keep more of the nominal wage as take-home, but cost of living still decides the real value. The table below separates the two effects so you can see which one is moving a state up or down.

Where physical therapist assistants actually earn the most

California pays physical therapist assistants the most on paper, at $83,110. After state income tax and cost of living, Texas goes furthest at $80,365, and California drops to #7 of 51.

Therapists

Physical therapy Occupational therapy Speech-language

Assistants

PTA COTA

After-tax pay adjusted for cost of living. Stacks state tax and local prices.

$55k$80k

Shading is scaled within physical therapist assistants only. US median for physical therapist assistants: $68,380.

Texas

#1 of 51 · Real value

BLS reported median: $78,000
State income tax: none
After-tax: $78,000
Cost of living (US = 100): 97.1
Real value: $80,365

Pay varies inside Texas too.

Compare 31 Texas metros Or see what you should be getting paid

These are state medians

Your local number depends on your experience and practice setting.

See what you should be getting paid

All 51 states, ranked

Median physical therapist assistant pay by state, ranked by what it is worth after state income tax and cost of living.

#	State	Nominal	Take-home	Real value
1	Texas	$78,000	$78,000	$80,365
2	Alaska	$77,640	$77,640	$75,851
3	Nevada	$75,520	$75,520	$75,536
4	Georgia	$72,800	$69,644	$72,326
5	Louisiana	$65,370	$63,795	$72,324
6	South Carolina	$70,500	$67,427	$71,923
7	California	$83,110	$79,610	$71,902
8	Massachusetts	$79,460	$75,707	$71,586
9	Arkansas	$64,520	$62,216	$71,565
10	North Dakota	$63,520	$63,520	$71,404
11	Delaware	$74,610	$71,027	$71,163
12	Maryland	$77,670	$74,344	$70,832
13	Vermont	$71,600	$69,335	$70,780
14	Florida	$72,530	$72,530	$70,136
15	Connecticut	$75,880	$72,457	$69,932
16	Virginia	$73,760	$70,333	$69,565
17	New Jersey	$78,440	$75,632	$69,511
18	North Carolina	$67,540	$65,354	$69,285
19	Mississippi	$61,770	$60,031	$69,039
20	New Hampshire	$71,440	$71,440	$68,584
21	Wyoming	$63,550	$63,550	$68,561
22	Kansas	$64,500	$61,701	$68,504
23	Tennessee	$62,500	$62,500	$68,031
24	Missouri	$63,770	$61,710	$67,950
25	Indiana	$65,280	$63,384	$67,914
26	Ohio	$63,820	$62,847	$67,742
27	Iowa	$61,030	$59,363	$67,641
28	Alabama	$61,430	$58,624	$66,000
29	Nebraska	$61,370	$59,457	$65,988
30	Wisconsin	$64,080	$62,042	$65,935
31	Kentucky	$61,480	$59,446	$65,934
32	New Mexico	$62,280	$60,519	$65,630
33	Oregon	$73,180	$67,606	$65,408
34	West Virginia	$60,430	$58,446	$65,305
35	Oklahoma	$59,480	$57,349	$65,286
36	Rhode Island	$68,640	$66,683	$65,196
37	Maine	$66,250	$62,960	$64,874
38	Minnesota	$66,770	$63,753	$64,644
39	Montana	$62,650	$60,462	$63,883
40	Arizona	$64,650	$63,243	$62,817
41	Illinois	$65,240	$62,155	$62,182
42	Pennsylvania	$62,580	$60,659	$62,168
43	Washington	$66,450	$66,450	$62,095
44	Idaho	$61,020	$58,894	$61,673
45	Michigan	$61,670	$59,300	$61,631
46	Colorado	$64,810	$62,667	$60,811
47	Utah	$61,980	$59,191	$59,871
48	Hawaii	$67,510	$63,909	$58,125
49	New York	$64,100	$61,236	$56,741
50	South Dakota	$49,310	$49,310	$55,663
51	District of Columbia	$63,400	$60,726	$55,255

Ranked by real value (take-home pay adjusted for cost of living). Nominal = BLS median annual wage.

The same map for the other four professions

Each profession ranks states differently. Assistant pay sits in a narrower band, so cost of living moves it more.

How this is calculated

Nominal pay is the median annual wage from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program (May 2025 release) for physical therapist assistants, SOC 31-2021, in each state. Where BLS suppresses an estimate for confidentiality, that state is left out rather than filled in, and there is no gap for this profession.

Take-homesubtracts modeled state income tax for a single filer taking the standard deduction, at that state's median wage, using Tax Foundation brackets as of January 1, 2026. It does not include federal income tax or FICA (those don't vary by state, so they don't change the ranking), and it excludes local (city or county) income taxes.

Real valuedivides take-home by each state's cost of living, using the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities (2024), where the US average is 100. Cost of living already captures sales tax and, through rents, some property tax; income tax is separate, which is why it is applied on its own.

Limits: single filer only; local income taxes (Maryland, New York, Ohio) are averaged out at the state grain; and cost of living is statewide, so a specific metro can run higher or lower. Typical pay, not personalized tax advice.

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