BLS physician assistant pay at every level and in every state, employer differences, on-call schedules and take-home after 2026 tax
Physician assistants earned a median salary of $135,880 in May 2025, or $65.33 an hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' count of 162,150 PAs. The bottom tenth earned under $99,380 and the top tenth over $190,280; on-call pay and bonuses aren't counted.
This is the BLS line for physician assistants (SOC 29-1071) on employers' payrolls. Medical assistants, who do clinical and clerical tasks but don't practice medicine, are a separate occupation with their own calculator here. Take-home assumes a single filer with 2026 federal tax and FICA and no state tax.
| Pay level | Hourly | Annual | Monthly | Take-home a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $47.78 | $99,380 | $8,282 | $78,744 |
| 25th percentile | $58.02 | $120,670 | $10,056 | $93,721 |
| Median | $65.33 | $135,880 | $11,323 | $104,140 |
| 75th percentile | $78.84 | $163,980 | $13,665 | $123,346 |
| 90th percentile | $91.48 | $190,280 | $15,857 | $141,681 |
New Jersey ($165,690), California ($165,650) and Washington ($164,360) are nearly tied at the top; Alabama is lowest at $104,960. New York employs the most PAs, 19,140, at $160,880.
| State | Median hourly | Median annual | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | $79.66 | $165,690 | 4,790 |
| California | $79.64 | $165,650 | 13,600 |
| Washington | $79.02 | $164,360 | 3,540 |
| Hawaii | $78.87 | $164,050 | 530 |
| New York | $77.35 | $160,880 | 19,140 |
| Oregon | $74.89 | $155,780 | 2,250 |
| New Hampshire | $72.58 | $150,960 | 1,060 |
| Alaska | $72.45 | $150,700 | 700 |
| Vermont | $72.35 | $150,490 | 410 |
| Massachusetts | $68.47 | $142,410 | 4,470 |
| Montana | $68.02 | $141,470 | 600 |
| Minnesota | $67.88 | $141,190 | 3,660 |
| New Mexico | $67.27 | $139,920 | 700 |
| Rhode Island | $67.27 | $139,930 | 810 |
| Connecticut | $67.24 | $139,860 | 3,570 |
| Delaware | $67.00 | $139,350 | 860 |
| Maryland | $66.13 | $137,560 | 2,950 |
| Oklahoma | $65.65 | $136,550 | 1,770 |
| Wyoming | $65.42 | $136,080 | 330 |
| Virginia | $65.36 | $135,940 | 4,340 |
| District of Columbia | $64.97 | $135,140 | 470 |
| Missouri | $64.96 | $135,130 | 2,300 |
| Iowa | $64.79 | $134,770 | 1,200 |
| Utah | $64.78 | $134,740 | 1,610 |
| Nevada | $64.74 | $134,660 | 1,090 |
| Arizona | $64.73 | $134,650 | 3,750 |
| Texas | $64.69 | $134,550 | 10,110 |
| Colorado | $64.68 | $134,540 | 3,270 |
| Wisconsin | $64.40 | $133,950 | 3,580 |
| Idaho | $64.32 | $133,790 | 1,320 |
| North Dakota | $64.16 | $133,450 | 510 |
| South Dakota | $64.04 | $133,200 | 680 |
| Nebraska | $63.96 | $133,040 | 1,330 |
| Ohio | $63.51 | $132,090 | 4,900 |
| Indiana | $63.49 | $132,050 | 2,110 |
| Illinois | $63.44 | $131,950 | 3,790 |
| Michigan | $63.23 | $131,510 | 6,310 |
| Maine | $63.06 | $131,170 | 1,030 |
| Florida | $62.32 | $129,620 | 9,310 |
| North Carolina | $62.19 | $129,360 | 7,490 |
| Louisiana | $61.96 | $128,870 | 1,360 |
| West Virginia | $61.83 | $128,610 | 1,080 |
| Pennsylvania | $61.09 | $127,070 | 9,020 |
| Kansas | $60.41 | $125,640 | 890 |
| South Carolina | $58.89 | $122,490 | 2,250 |
| Kentucky | $58.06 | $120,760 | 1,360 |
| Arkansas | $56.94 | $118,430 | 850 |
| Tennessee | $56.85 | $118,240 | 2,240 |
| Georgia | $55.48 | $115,390 | 5,610 |
| Mississippi | $50.92 | $105,920 | 320 |
| Alabama | $50.46 | $104,960 | 930 |
Government ($157,040) and outpatient care centers ($153,500) pay PAs the most; hospitals pay $141,150 and physicians' offices, which employ 53% of PAs, $132,000 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook).
| Industry | Median annual wage |
|---|---|
| Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals | $157,040 |
| Outpatient care centers | $153,500 |
| Hospitals; state, local, and private | $141,150 |
| Educational services; state, local, and private | $134,770 |
| Offices of physicians | $132,000 |
Most PAs work full time. Schedules vary and can include nights, weekends and holidays, and PAs may be on call, ready to respond with little notice (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook). Physicians' offices employ 53% of them and hospitals 26%; on-call pay, where it's paid, isn't in BLS's wage figures.
Federal rules say certified PAs who completed four years of pre-professional and professional study generally meet the duties test for the learned-professional exemption (29 CFR 541.301), so a PA salaried at $684 a week or more usually isn't owed overtime (DOL Fact Sheet #17D). A PA paid by the hour is.
PAs typically need a master's from an accredited program, usually 2 years or more after a bachelor's, and applicants often bring patient-care experience as medical assistants, EMTs or paramedics. Every state requires a license; passing the national exam earns the PA-C credential, kept by continuing education and periodic recertification. Postgraduate programs in specialties like emergency medicine and psychiatry are optional (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook).
More ways to work with your physician assistant pay:
$135,880 a year ($65.33 an hour) at the BLS median for May 2025. The middle half earned $120,670 to $163,980.
New Jersey ($79.66 an hour, $165,690 a year), then California and Washington; Alabama pays least among the 51 states where BLS released a figure (BLS, May 2025).
Certified PAs paid a salary of at least $684 a week generally don't: federal rules treat them as learned professionals (29 CFR 541.301; DOL Fact Sheet #17D). Hourly PAs are owed time and a half after 40 hours.
In the Occupational Outlook Handbook's industry table, government employers outside schools and hospitals have the highest median, and physicians' offices — the largest employer — the lowest of the five listed.
Tax rules, limits and pay data change. Check the current figures with the primary source before acting on them.