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Physician Assistants Salary by State

There were an estimated 155,540 physician assistants working in the United States in May 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey. The typical (median) physician assistant earned $133,260 a year, or $64.07 an hour, while the mean annual wage was $136,900. Pay spans a wide range even inside the same occupation: the lowest-paid 10% of physician assistants earned $95,240 or less, the bottom quarter earned $113,770 or less, the top quarter earned at least $160,160, and the top 10% earned at least $182,200. Where a physician assistant works matters almost as much as the job itself, as the state table below shows.

Where physician assistants earn the most — and least

The highest median pay for physician assistants is in Hawaii, at $163,020 a year — 22.3% higher than the national median of $133,260. Next are California at $161,080 and Washington at $156,990. At the other end, Alabama posts the lowest published median, $101,620, which is 23.7% lower than the national figure. That is a top-to-bottom spread of about 1.6 times between the highest- and lowest-paying states for the same occupation — a gap driven by local labor markets, licensing, employer mix, and cost of living rather than by differences in the job title itself.

Where the physician assistant jobs are

Employment is concentrated in a handful of large states. New York alone employs 19,390 physician assistants, and the three largest states — New York, California, and Florida — together account for 28% of all U.S. jobs in this occupation. Pay in the largest market, New York, runs at a median of $152,650, 14.6% higher than the national median, so the biggest job market is also one of the better-paying ones. Smaller states can still be attractive: several low-population states post medians close to the national figure with far less competition for each opening.

Physician Assistant salary by state — full table

Median and mean annual wages for physician assistants in every state where BLS publishes an estimate for May 2024, ranked by median pay. The 90th-percentile column shows what the top-earning tenth of physician assistants in each state make. Follow a state link for that state's full wage tables, or open a detailed guide where one is available.

How to read these numbers

The median is the middle wage: half of physician assistants earn more and half earn less. The mean is pulled up by the highest earners, which is why the mean of $136,900 sits above the median of $133,260 for this occupation. OEWS wages are gross pay before taxes and benefits, and BLS converts hourly rates to annual figures on a 2,080-hour, year-round full-time basis; part-time and seasonal workers' actual annual earnings can be lower. Figures marked with a plus sign are at or above the BLS reporting cap of $239,200 a year ($115.00 an hour).

Physician Assistant salary FAQ

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024 — bls.gov/oes. Figures checked October 2026.