Physical Therapist Salary 2026
Physical therapists earn a median of $102,760 (BLS, May 2025). Explore the full pay range by setting, state, and contract type.
The median physical therapist salary is $102,760 a year. That is $49.40 an hour, taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics release of May 2025, and it means half the profession earns above it and half below.
That PT salary figure is the least useful number on this page. What follows is the spread, what moves you up or down it, and why a contract rate and a staff salary are not the same thing.
- National median
- $102,760
- a year, May 2025
- Hourly equivalent
- $49.40
- at the median
- Full range
- $77,140–$135,140
- 10th to 90th percentile
The full range, not just the middle
A $58,000 gap separates the bottom tenth from the top tenth. Where you sit in it has more to do with setting, state and experience than with how good a clinician you are.
- Bottom 10 percent
- Under $77,140
- New graduates, rural outpatient, some school contracts
- 25th percentile
- $86,160
- Early career, lower cost states
- Median
- $102,760
- The physical therapist wage most quoted
- 75th percentile
- $121,160
- Experienced, home health, or high cost metro
- Top 10 percent
- Over $135,140
- Senior clinicians, management, contract work in short supply markets
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 283,700 physical therapists in 2025 and projects 12 percent growth through 2035, which is much faster than average and works out at roughly 13,200 openings a year. In physical therapist hourly terms the median is $49.40.
State, but less than you think
Physical therapist salary by state looks dramatic until you adjust it. California leads on $124,190, then Alaska on $115,280 and New Jersey on $112,140.
Now weigh those against local prices and the order turns upside down. Bureau of Economic Analysis parities put New Mexico on top, at the equivalent of $115,907 in national average terms, while the California headline buys a good deal less than it appears to. The generous looking states are, for the most part, simply the expensive ones.
Setting
Setting, which matters more
Setting moves physical therapist pay further than anything else, and BLS publishes the medians to prove it.
- Home healthcare services
- $114,740
- Highest paying setting. Usually priced per visit.
- Nursing and residential care
- $110,460
- Steady caseloads, minute based productivity.
- Hospitals
- $106,800
- Acute and inpatient rehab. Weekend rotation usual.
- Outpatient therapy offices
- $97,160
- Where most PTs start. Lowest pay, highest productivity targets.
That is a $17,580 gap between home health and outpatient clinics, for the same license and the same years of experience. Changing setting is the single fastest way to move your physical therapist pay, and it is faster than waiting for a raise.
Starting pay for a physical therapist
Starting pay for physical therapist roles is a range, not a number. Entry level physical therapist salary generally lands between the bottom tenth and the 25th percentile, so roughly $77,140 to $86,160 depending on setting and state.
Two things close that gap faster than waiting. Moving into home health or skilled nursing, where new graduates are hired more readily than people expect. And taking contract work in a market that is short, which prices on scarcity rather than on your years.
The same comparison runs one profession over. Occupational therapist pay sits at a $100,330 median, $2,430 under the PT figure on a master's route rather than a doctorate, and surgical tech salary reaches a $64,650 median on a certificate.
Why a contract rate and a salary are not comparable
Every figure above describes permanent employment. Agency and travel work is built differently, and comparing the two numbers directly is the commonest mistake therapists make when weighing an offer.
A travel physical therapist salary is usually quoted as a weekly total made of two parts. A taxable hourly base, which is what tax and retirement calculate from. And non taxable stipends for housing and meals, which are not wages at all and only apply if you maintain a genuine tax home elsewhere.
That structure is why a contract can look dramatically better than a staff salary and sometimes is, and sometimes is not. A therapist with no tax home who takes the stipend anyway is accepting money they may owe back. A therapist who keeps one is usually ahead of an equivalent staff role.
Ask three things of any contract before comparing it to a salary: what the taxable base is, what the stipend assumes about your housing, and what happens to both if the assignment is cancelled early.
Want to know what a contract would actually pay you?
Tell us your setting, your state and your license status. We will give you a real figure for your situation rather than a national median.
Frequently asked questions
How much do physical therapists make?
$102,760 a year, or $49.40 an hour, is the national median in the Bureau of Labor Statistics release for May 2025. Ten percent of therapists come in under $77,140 and ten percent clear $135,140, with the middle half between $86,160 and $121,160.
Do travel physical therapists earn more?
Travel contracts often total more per week than an equivalent staff salary, but the two figures are not built the same way. A travel package splits into a taxable hourly base and non taxable housing and meal stipends, and the stipends only apply if you maintain a tax home elsewhere. Compare the taxable base against a salary, not the headline weekly total.
Is physical therapy still worth it financially?
Physical therapy pays roughly double the $50,980 median across all US occupations, and BLS projects 12 percent growth through 2035. The honest caveat is that pay rises slowly after the first five years unless you change setting, and the doctoral entry requirement means most therapists start with substantial student debt.
Figures on this page come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release of May 2025 and the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities. Both are linked above. Last reviewed October 2026.