Physical Therapist Schools, Salaries, and Job Data

Job Numbers and Growth

There were about 173,000 jobs for physical therapists in the US in 2008. Compared to other occupations, unemployment for workers was ranked very low. The percentage of employees without jobs in 2008 was 1%.

Area Job Conditions

The cities with the most jobs for physical therapists are Sherman (Texas), Missoula (Montana), and Waterbury (Connecticut), and cities with the least jobs are Beaumont (Texas), Visalia (California), and Clarksville (Tennessee).

The highest salaries for workers are found in Laredo (Texas), Wichita Falls (Texas), and Alexandria (Louisiana), and the lowest-paying areas are in Las Cruces (New Mexico), Albany (Georgia), and Honolulu (Hawaii).

Training and Education

People who want to work as employees should consider getting a master's degree. More than 89% of physical therapists have a four year degree. About 9% of workers have attended college, but not earned a bachelor's degree. For 2% of employees a high school diploma was all that was required. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

About 23% of physical therapists work part of the time. About 8% of workers are self-employed.

Physical Therapists: An Introductory Video

Physical Therapists Around the Country

In the list below, each metro area is rated for the relative popularity of physical therapists compared to other locations (that is, jobs per population). Single or double up or down arrows indicate the relative popularity in that location. Within each state listing, metro areas are sorted by the actual number of jobs for physical therapists.

Alabama

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Birmingham	$75,000	490
Huntsville	$82,000	230
Mobile	$72,000	140
Montgomery	$82,000	140
Tuscaloosa	$76,000	100
Gadsden	$84,000	60
Florence	$59,000	50
Decatur	$77,000	50
Dothan	$79,000	50
Anniston	$71,000	30

Alaska

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Anchorage	$82,000	230

Arizona

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Phoenix	$69,000	1,690
Tucson	$81,000	500
Flagstaff	$68,000	110
Prescott	$74,000	90
Kingman	$78,000	50

Arkansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Little Rock	$68,000	550
Fayetteville	$69,000	230
Fort Smith	$78,000	100
Jonesboro	$66,000	80
Hot Springs	$65,000	70

California

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Santa Ana	$93,000	1,350
San Diego	$78,000	1,170
Riverside	$87,000	980
Oakland	$86,000	860
Sacramento	$83,000	830
San Francisco	$92,000	790
San Jose	$81,000	650
Fresno	$82,000	400
Oxnard	$87,000	350
Stockton	$86,000	200
Santa Rosa	$83,000	180
Salinas	$81,000	170
Modesto	$80,000	160
Vallejo	$80,000	150
Bakersfield	$82,000	150
San Luis Obispo	$66,000	130
Chico	$84,000	120
Santa Barbara	$83,000	120
Napa	$62,000	120
Santa Cruz	$77,000	80
Visalia	$77,000	60
Redding	$85,000	50
Merced	$90,000	40

Colorado

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Denver	$70,000	1,570
Boulder	$59,000	390
Colorado Springs	$68,000	390
Fort Collins	$64,000	210
Greeley	$64,000	100
Grand Junction	$69,000	90
Pueblo	$72,000	60

Connecticut

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Hartford	$80,000	1,140
Bridgeport		660
New Haven	$72,000	640
Waterbury	$73,000	210
Danbury	$73,000	190
Norwich	$74,000	190

Delaware

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Wilmington	$75,000	480
Dover	$78,000	50

District of Columbia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Washington	$76,000	1,480

Florida

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Miami	$75,000	1,930
Tampa	$77,000	1,560
Orlando	$75,000	1,120
Fort Lauderdale	$81,000	910
West Palm Beach	$77,000	790
Jacksonville	$77,000	670
Sarasota	$75,000	360
Lakeland	$64,000	310
Cape Coral	$80,000	300
Port St Lucie	$74,000	260
Deltona	$73,000	250
Naples	$96,000	240
Gainesville	$70,000	230
Palm Bay	$75,000	230
Pensacola	$63,000	180
Panama City	$73,000	150
Ocala	$64,000	150
Tallahassee	$72,000	110
Punta Gorda	$81,000	90
Sebastian	$83,000	90

Georgia

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Atlanta	$76,000	1,790
Augusta	$77,000	270
Albany	$56,000	160
Macon	$83,000	150
Athens	$62,000	150
Savannah	$64,000	130
Columbus	$73,000	90
Gainesville	$69,000	60
Rome	$69,000	50
Warner Robins	$91,000	50

Hawaii

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Honolulu	$53,000	850

Idaho

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Boise	$67,000	390
Coeur Dalene	$73,000	90
Idaho Falls	$73,000	70
Pocatello	$61,000	40

Illinois

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Chicago	$83,000	4,540
Champaign	$82,000	170
Rockford	$79,000	170
Bloomington	$73,000	100
Springfield	$82,000	90
Kankakee	$72,000	50

Indiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Indianapolis	$68,000	1,540
Gary	$81,000	470
Evansville	$62,000	280
Fort Wayne	$65,000	270
South Bend	$77,000	170
Terre Haute	$79,000	130
Lafayette	$61,000	110
Bloomington	$72,000	100
Elkhart	$82,000	70
Kokomo	$67,000	60
Anderson	$76,000	50
Columbus	$78,000	40
Michigan City	$73,000	30

Iowa

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Des Moines	$66,000	380
Davenport	$82,000	160
Cedar Rapids	$65,000	140
Iowa City	$66,000	140
Waterloo	$63,000	110
Sioux City	$73,000	60
Dubuque	$69,000	60

Kansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Wichita	$72,000	380
Topeka	$56,000	200
Lawrence	$59,000	90

Kentucky

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Louisville	$71,000	610
Lexington	$69,000	270
Bowling Green	$80,000	150
Owensboro	$73,000	50
Elizabethtown	$74,000	30

Louisiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers
New Orleans	$73,000	610
Baton Rouge	$79,000	430
Shreveport	$81,000	280
Lafayette	$76,000	130
Lake Charles	$72,000	100
Alexandria	$90,000	80
Monroe	$82,000	70
Houma	$80,000	60

Maine

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Portland	$65,000	290
Bangor	$75,000	80
Lewiston	$53,000	70

Maryland

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Baltimore	$80,000	2,300
Bethesda	$81,000	990
Salisbury	$68,000	120
Cumberland	$73,000	100
Hagerstown	$79,000	70

Massachusetts

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Boston	$70,000	3,310
Springfield	$73,000	560
Worcester	$74,000	390
Framingham	$73,000	300
Barnstable Town	$73,000	230
Haverhill	$71,000	200
Brockton	$72,000	190
Lowell	$70,000	180
New Bedford	$76,000	120
Lawrence	$66,000	110
Leominster	$66,000	90

Michigan

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Warren	$78,000	2,010
Detroit	$76,000	1,180
Grand Rapids	$71,000	460
Ann Arbor	$65,000	400
Flint	$71,000	340
Lansing	$72,000	230
Saginaw	$77,000	160
Holland	$71,000	150
Kalamazoo	$74,000	150
Battle Creek	$87,000	100
Niles	$71,000	100
Muskegon	$70,000	70
Bay City	$73,000	60
Jackson		40

Minnesota

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Minneapolis	$68,000	1,830
Duluth	$67,000	230
Rochester	$72,000	210
St Cloud	$66,000	150

Mississippi

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Jackson	$76,000	370
Gulfport	$64,000	120
Pascagoula	$73,000	100
Hattiesburg	$70,000	80

Missouri

Location	Median Pay	Workers
St Louis	$62,000	2,320
Kansas City	$66,000	1,250
Springfield	$70,000	250
Joplin	$62,000	170
Columbia	$58,000	110
St Joseph	$56,000	40

Montana

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Missoula	$52,000	180

Nebraska

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Omaha	$65,000	580
Lincoln	$66,000	240

Nevada

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Las Vegas	$90,000	740
Reno	$78,000	150
Carson City	$72,000	40

New Hampshire

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Nashua	$65,000	240
Manchester	$68,000	140
Portsmouth	$65,000	110
Rochester	$73,000	100

New Jersey

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Edison	$82,000	1,880
Newark	$86,000	1,120
Camden	$81,000	730
Trenton	$80,000	270
Atlantic City	$81,000	220
Vineland	$80,000	60
Ocean City	$78,000	40

New Mexico

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Albuquerque	$64,000	390
Las Cruces	$52,000	140
Santa Fe	$67,000	70
Farmington	$65,000	60

New York

Location	Median Pay	Workers
New York	$79,000	7,130
Nassau	$75,000	2,640
Buffalo	$62,000	1,000
Rochester	$66,000	550
Syracuse	$62,000	530
Albany	$64,000	520
Poughkeepsie	$78,000	290
Utica	$69,000	210
Binghamton	$67,000	130
Kingston	$85,000	100
Glens Falls	$58,000	90
Ithaca	$53,000	70

North Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Charlotte	$72,000	680
Raleigh	$75,000	610
Durham	$73,000	400
Greensboro	$79,000	310
Winston Salem	$74,000	310
Asheville	$68,000	260
Wilmington	$80,000	210
Fayetteville	$74,000	180
Greenville	$61,000	140
Hickory	$74,000	100
Rocky Mount	$83,000	80
Jacksonville	$78,000	40
Burlington	$74,000	40

North Dakota

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Fargo	$68,000	150
Bismarck	$57,000	80
Grand Forks	$64,000	70

Ohio

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Cincinnati	$71,000	1,560
Cleveland	$75,000	1,470
Columbus	$73,000	1,010
Dayton	$74,000	480
Youngstown	$74,000	480
Toledo	$82,000	470
Akron	$80,000	380
Canton	$82,000	300
Springfield	$74,000	80
Lima	$79,000	60
Mansfield	$65,000	40

Oklahoma

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Oklahoma City	$73,000	740
Tulsa	$61,000	560
Lawton	$71,000	40

Oregon

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Portland	$68,000	1,400
Eugene	$74,000	240
Bend	$66,000	160
Salem	$72,000	130
Medford	$70,000	120
Corvallis	$70,000	50

Pennsylvania

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Philadelphia	$74,000	3,020
Pittsburgh	$69,000	1,780
Allentown	$74,000	550
Harrisburg	$81,000	470
Scranton	$68,000	370
Reading	$75,000	310
Erie	$74,000	310
Lancaster	$80,000	290
York	$73,000	270
Williamsport	$79,000	100
Altoona	$71,000	60
State College	$69,000	50
Lebanon	$70,000	40

Rhode Island

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Providence	$80,000	950

South Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Charleston	$70,000	480
Columbia	$75,000	330
Greenville	$69,000	320
Spartanburg	$68,000	180
Florence	$87,000	150
Myrtle Beach	$68,000	110
Anderson	$74,000	50

South Dakota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Sioux Falls	$62,000	230
Rapid City	$62,000	90

Tennessee

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Memphis	$79,000	720
Nashville	$74,000	720
Knoxville	$70,000	480
Chattanooga	$71,000	260
Jackson	$62,000	170
Kingsport	$78,000	140
Johnson City	$81,000	110
Clarksville	$84,000	30

Texas

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Houston	$77,000	2,010
Dallas	$77,000	1,640
Fort Worth	$80,000	1,060
San Antonio	$81,000	900
Austin	$66,000	840
Mcallen	$92,000	390
El Paso	$86,000	250
Corpus Christi	$85,000	230
Tyler	$76,000	180
Amarillo	$65,000	170
Sherman	$89,000	140
Brownsville	$76,000	120
Waco	$75,000	110
Wichita Falls	$89,000	100
Midland	$58,000	100
Texarkana	$74,000	100
Killeen	$79,000	80
Beaumont	$81,000	80
Laredo	$107,000	70
Longview	$91,000	60
Abilene	$77,000	60
Odessa	$73,000	50
Victoria	$88,000	50
College Station	$75,000	50
San Angelo	$81,000	50

Utah

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Salt Lake City	$65,000	510
Provo	$66,000	220
Ogden	$69,000	220
Logan	$76,000	60
St George	$68,000	50

Vermont

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Burlington	$64,000	220

Virginia

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Virginia Beach	$75,000	770
Richmond	$67,000	680
Charlottesville	$75,000	210
Roanoke	$70,000	200
Lynchburg	$75,000	150
Winchester	$71,000	100
Blacksburg	$72,000	80
Danville	$86,000	70

Washington

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Seattle	$77,000	1,910
Spokane	$65,000	460
Tacoma	$67,000	380
Bremerton	$73,000	140
Olympia	$63,000	120
Kennewick	$67,000	100
Yakima	$74,000	90
Mount Vernon	$68,000	80
Wenatchee	$77,000	50
Bellingham	$71,000	50

West Virginia

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Charleston	$74,000	160
Huntington	$80,000	140
Morgantown	$80,000	90
Wheeling	$70,000	70
Parkersburg	$88,000	70

Wisconsin

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Milwaukee	$69,000	1,560
Madison	$72,000	390
Green Bay	$75,000	200
La Crosse	$71,000	130
Eau Claire	$74,000	130
Appleton	$74,000	130
Oshkosh	$79,000	110
Racine	$66,000	90
Janesville	$70,000	80
Sheboygan	$68,000	80
Wausau	$62,000	70
Fond	$72,000	50

Wyoming

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Cheyenne	$65,000	60

Our physical therapist career and school information is provided by CTI Career Search.