Physician Assistant Salary in Seattle, WA 2026,
$167,290 Median | BLS + Market Data

Seattle physician assistants earn a BLS MSA median of $167,290/yr, or $80.43/hr, with a published metro range of $130,820 to $218,970. That is 23.1% above the US figure and 1.8% above the Washington statewide median. Even the metro's lower quartile clears what many large metros pay at the median.

Yes, by 1.8%, and the Puget Sound region is what sets the Washington figure rather than following it. The state's largest health systems and specialty centres are concentrated here, and their pay scales lead the rest of the state.

On effective pay it is close to unmatched: the published median is 23.1% above the national figure, the floor is unusually high, and Washington levies no state income tax. Housing costs are the offsetting factor, but on a take-home basis a Seattle PA does better than a California counterpart at a similar gross.

A Washington physician assistant licence from the Washington Medical Commission, held with NCCPA certification. Washington requires a practice agreement with a collaborating physician or group, and the state's collaboration model gives PAs comparatively broad scope once that agreement is in place.

Surgical specialties with first-assist responsibilities reach the $218,970 top of the band. Emergency and inpatient specialty roles sit around $180,720 before differentials, while ambulatory and primary-care roles sit at the metro median. The spread here is narrower than in California metros because the floor is so high.

Washington health systems rely on physician assistants to carry substantial clinical load, supported by a collaboration framework that grants broad scope without heavy procedural supervision. That raises what a PA is worth to the organisation. Add a high regional cost base that employers must meet and the absence of state income tax, and the metro produces both the strongest published median in this dataset and the highest floor.

First-assist fees, call pay and shift differentials are excluded, and the estimate covers the whole Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area, which blends Eastside specialty employers with Tacoma community systems. Benefits, which regional systems compete on heavily, are outside the published wage entirely.

Washington's model asks for a practice agreement with a collaborating physician or group rather than direct supervision of each activity, which in practice lets an experienced PA operate with a good deal of independence. That structural difference is why the gap between the Seattle floor and its median is so narrow: even ambulatory PAs here are trusted with work that would sit further up the ladder elsewhere.