How much do physical therapists make in 2026?
Physical therapists earn a national median of $102,760 a year ($49.40 an hour) per BLS OEWS May 2025 (SOC 29-1123). The bottom 10% earn about $77,140 and the top 10% reach $135,140. Setting drives the spread more than seniority: hospital outpatient and academic clinics sit near the median, home health and skilled-nursing facilities pay above it because of travel, documentation load and staffing difficulty, and clinic directors or private-practice owners occupy the top decile. The entry route is a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree plus the National Physical Therapy Examination and a state licence, so the P10 reflects first-year licensed clinicians rather than trainees. Employment is projected to grow 10.9% through 2034 with about 13,200 openings a year. → Full physical therapist career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $102,760 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Physical Therapists earn a national median $102,760/yr ($49.40/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 29-1123); the P10 to P90 range is $77,140 to $135,140.
- Setting, not title, sets physical-therapy pay: home health and skilled nursing pay above the $102,760 median, while outpatient orthopaedics and academic clinics cluster around or below it.
- The entry route is a three-year clinical doctorate plus the national licensure examination, so the $77,140 P10 represents a fully licensed first-year clinician, not a trainee wage.
- BLS projects 10.9% growth through 2034 with roughly 13,200 openings a year, and the ageing population's rehabilitation demand is the main driver behind it.
US Physical Therapist Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do physical therapists earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 29-1123; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 29-1123, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a physical therapist earn at each career stage?
Physical therapy has one licence, so the stages below track setting, specialisation and clinic leadership rather than credential tiers. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS percentile distribution for SOC 29-1123.
By State
Which states pay physical therapists the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates — the BLS national median scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index — not BLS state observations. Physical therapy has a licensure compact in participating states, which makes multi-state practice far easier than in most clinical professions, so setting and caseload usually matter more than which state you choose.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($118,170), the highest-paying state shown. See all 51 state salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay physical therapists the most?
Modeled metro estimates: the national median scaled by the state wage index and then by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local wage levels, not BLS metropolitan-area observations.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a physical therapist’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does physical therapist pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Physical Therapists sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify physical therapist wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a physical therapist actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Physical Therapist Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
Physical Therapist career research journey
Do your homework, then let the network do the rest.Get the job, then keep rising
FreeSet your intent, matching jobs come to you. No applying.
A roadmap to your next licence tier and higher pay band.
Once placed, we cover all certification, licence & career-guide fees.
Hiring physical therapists?
Get a verified shortlist of 3–5 qualified candidates in 48 hours
GlobalCybers verifies active state licenses, trade certifications, Intent and right-to-work status before any candidate reaches your portal. Flat $2,999/mo RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing), up to 3 concurrent roles, or a free trial (pay on hire). 90-day written guarantee.
Related · Physical Therapist
Everything for physical therapists in one place
Salary data, licensing, interview prep, and hiring, all cross-linked so you (and search engines) can move through the full physical therapist cluster.