Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Peer-group outlier SOC 29-1123

Physical Therapists

Median pay sits 69% below the mid peer in Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations (neighbors include Pediatric Surgeons, Prosthodontists, Dermatologists, Radiologists).

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Physical Therapists: Pediatric Surgeons ($559K) , Prosthodontists ($311K) , Dermatologists ($329K) , Radiologists ($421K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Physical Therapists publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 29-1123 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Plan, prepare, or carry out individually designed programs of physical treatment to maintain, improve, or restore physical functioning, a…
  2. 2. Perform and document an initial exam, evaluating data to identify problems and determine a diagnosis prior to intervention
  3. 3. Record prognosis, treatment, response, and progress in patient's chart or enter information into computer
  4. 4. Instruct patient and family in treatment procedures to be continued at home
  5. 5. Evaluate effects of treatment at various stages and adjust treatments to achieve maximum benefit
  6. 6. Confer with the patient, medical practitioners, or appropriate others to plan, implement, or assess the intervention program
  7. 7. Administer manual exercises, massage, or traction to help relieve pain, increase patient strength, or decrease or prevent deformity or cr…
  8. 8. Obtain patients' informed consent to proposed interventions
  9. 9. Test and measure patient's strength, motor development and function, sensory perception, functional capacity, or respiratory or circulato…
  10. 10. Direct, supervise, assess, and communicate with supportive personnel
  11. 11. Review physician's referral and patient's medical records to help determine diagnosis and physical therapy treatment required
  12. 12. Identify and document goals, anticipated progress, and plans for reevaluation

Physical Therapists: O*NET ranks Reading Comprehension first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 29-1123 - lead skill Reading Comprehension at 4.0 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Reading Comprehension 4.0
  2. 2. Active Listening 4.0
  3. 3. Speaking 4.0
  4. 4. Critical Thinking 4.0
  5. 5. Social Perceptiveness 4.0
  6. 6. Service Orientation 4.0
  7. 7. Writing 3.9
  8. 8. Monitoring 3.9

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 4.6
  2. 2. Therapy and Counseling 4.6
  3. 3. Medicine and Dentistry 4.6
  4. 4. Psychology 4.1
  5. 5. Education and Training 4.0
  6. 6. English Language 4.0
Pay vs Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations peers
-69%
vs mid peer median $335,550
This role $102,760/yr
$103K
National median
↑ +11%
Growth 2024-2034
13,200
Annual openings
267,330
Estimated US jobs
Pediatric Surgeons
Highest-pay peer · $559K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Doctoral or professional degree

Top Paying States for Physical Therapists

1. Illinois $105,250
2. California $124,190
3. Washington $105,950
4. Connecticut $104,360
5. Alaska $115,280
6. New Jersey $112,140
7. Texas $105,810
8. New Mexico $106,880
9. Maryland $106,890
10. Nevada $111,250

Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations titles

  1. 1. Dermatologists $328,730
  2. 2. Radiologists $420,860
  3. 3. Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric $358,550
  4. 4. Anesthesiologists $391,490
  5. 5. Prosthodontists $311,180
  6. 6. Pediatric Surgeons $559,030

Among Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations peers on this card, Physical Therapists sits 69% below the mid peer median ($335,550). Its own median is $102,760.

Employment Projections expect +11% change between 2024 and 2034 (much faster than average vs baseline 3.1%). About 13,200 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Doctoral or professional degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Illinois at $105,250. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Pediatric Surgeons at $559,030. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Physical Therapists pay-rank #34 in Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations

Physical Therapists sits at pay-rank #34 of 71 detailed Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 29-1123 · national median $102,760 · middle third of Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations (#34/71). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Physical Therapists salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 29-1123

Illinois · top state for Physical Therapists

$105K published median

California · #2 state pay

$124K · behind Illinois

Pediatric Surgeons

Highest-pay peer vs Physical Therapists · $559K

Prosthodontists

Lower-pay peer beside Physical Therapists · $311K

Compare Physical Therapists

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Physical Therapists with another occupation →

Peer-comparison next reads

Compare Physical Therapists

Against another occupation

Pediatric Surgeons card

Top peer in this major group

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Physical Therapists mid-table among Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #34 of 71 detailed Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Nuclear Medicine Technologists ($101K), Occupational Therapists ($100K), Radiation Therapists ($105K), Genetic Counselors ($100K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do physical therapists do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Physical Therapists. Leading ones include: Plan, prepare, or carry out individually designed programs of physical treatment to maintain, improve, or restore physical functioning, a…; Perform and document an initial exam, evaluating data to identify problems and determine a diagnosis prior to intervention; Record prognosis, treatment, response, and progress in patient's chart or enter information into computer; Instruct patient and family in treatment procedures to be continued at home. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for physical therapists? ▼
For SOC 29-1123, O*NET importance scores lead with Reading Comprehension (4.0), Active Listening (4.0), Speaking (4.0), Critical Thinking (4.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, Therapy and Counseling, Medicine and Dentistry. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Physical Therapists? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $102,760 as the national median for Physical Therapists. The published 10th-90th range is $77,140 to $135,140. Beside Pediatric Surgeons ($559,030), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Physical Therapists? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Physical Therapists is +11%. Projected annual openings: about 13,200. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: much faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Physical Therapists? ▼
BLS assigns Doctoral or professional degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Physical Therapists. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Physical Therapists? ▼
Illinois ($105,250), California ($124,190), Washington ($105,950) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Physical Therapists card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 29-1123. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Physical Therapists. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics