Physician Assistant Schools, Salaries, and Job Data

Job Numbers and Growth

About 66,000 physician assistants are working in the US. Unemployment for workers ranks very low among occupations in the US. In 2008, 3% of employees were not able to find jobs.

Area Job Conditions

Popular cities for physician assistants include Fayetteville (North Carolina), Greenville (North Carolina), and Casper (Wyoming), and the least popular are New Orleans (Louisiana), Huntsville (Alabama), and Little Rock (Arkansas).

Workers looking for high paying jobs should consider Ocala (Florida), Owensboro (Kentucky), and Sacramento (California), and avoid Memphis (Tennessee), St. George (Utah), and Little Rock (Arkansas).

Training and Education

Employees often get a master's degree before beginning their career. About 67% of physician assistants have four year degrees. Workers that went to college (but did not get a bachelor's degree) are about 26% of the total. Some employees, about 8%, did not pursue education beyond high-school. 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

Part-time physician assistants are 16% of the total. Among workers, about 2% are self-employed.

Physician Assistants: An Introductory Video

Physician Assistants Around the Country

In the list below, each metro area is rated for the relative popularity of physician assistants 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 physician assistants.

Alabama

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Birmingham	$78,000	100
Mobile	$74,000	40
Montgomery	$99,000	30
Huntsville	$86,000	30

Alaska

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Anchorage	$116,000	120
Fairbanks	$74,000	40

Arizona

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Phoenix	$76,000	950
Tucson	$78,000	190
Prescott	$82,000	40
Yuma	$81,000	30

Arkansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Little Rock	$42,000	30

California

Location	Median Pay	Workers
San Diego	$83,000	930
Oakland	$99,000	850
Sacramento	$102,000	640
Santa Ana	$74,000	560
Riverside	$76,000	480
San Jose	$100,000	240
Fresno	$97,000	240
San Francisco	$90,000	240
San Luis Obispo	$66,000	150
Bakersfield	$83,000	130
Chico	$81,000	100
Santa Rosa	$79,000	90
Vallejo	$86,000	80
Santa Barbara	$87,000	70
Oxnard	$103,000	60
Stockton	$82,000	50
Santa Cruz	$93,000	50
Visalia	$94,000	50
Salinas	$89,000	40
Hanford	$89,000	40
Madera	$78,000	30

Colorado

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Denver	$83,000	750
Colorado Springs	$73,000	140
Boulder	$70,000	130
Greeley	$57,000	60
Fort Collins	$82,000	60

Connecticut

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Hartford	$95,000	430
New Haven	$95,000	330
Bridgeport	$97,000	260
Norwich	$88,000	90
Danbury	$88,000	70
Waterbury	$98,000	60

Delaware

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Wilmington	$83,000	180
Dover	$92,000	60

District of Columbia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Washington	$79,000	1,110

Florida

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Tampa	$77,000	810
Orlando	$87,000	430
Jacksonville	$84,000	320
Sarasota	$92,000	280
Fort Lauderdale	$86,000	260
Miami	$82,000	250
West Palm Beach	$78,000	240
Tallahassee	$85,000	150
Deltona	$61,000	130
Cape Coral	$86,000	130
Port St Lucie	$62,000	130
Naples	$74,000	120
Palm Bay	$83,000	120
Pensacola	$75,000	100
Gainesville	$81,000	100
Lakeland	$87,000	40
Fort Walton Beach	$76,000	40
Ocala	$118,000	30

Georgia

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Atlanta	$87,000	1,270
Augusta	$76,000	190
Macon	$88,000	140
Columbus	$84,000	120
Athens	$80,000	110
Albany	$78,000	50
Gainesville	$105,000	30

Hawaii

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Honolulu	$77,000	190

Idaho

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Boise	$74,000	230
Pocatello	$77,000	40

Illinois

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Chicago	$71,000	1,300
Peoria	$74,000	190
Rockford	$105,000	170
Springfield	$68,000	100

Indiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Indianapolis	$77,000	290
Fort Wayne	$78,000	130
Gary	$76,000	100
Muncie	$80,000	70
Anderson	$57,000	30

Iowa

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Des Moines	$80,000	200
Iowa City	$100,000	50
Davenport	$73,000	50
Waterloo	$86,000	40
Cedar Rapids	$77,000	40
Sioux City	$82,000	30

Kansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Wichita	$74,000	200
Topeka	$85,000	60

Kentucky

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Lexington	$72,000	160
Louisville	$91,000	110
Owensboro	$104,000	30

Louisiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Baton Rouge	$75,000	140
Shreveport	$64,000	110
New Orleans	$67,000	90
Alexandria	$74,000	50

Maine

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Portland	$85,000	190
Lewiston	$85,000	90
Bangor	$92,000	90

Maryland

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Baltimore	$86,000	860
Bethesda	$93,000	350
Salisbury	$85,000	60
Hagerstown	$81,000	60

Massachusetts

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Boston	$81,000	1,480
Springfield	$91,000	270
Worcester	$93,000	140
Barnstable Town	$96,000	140
Framingham	$97,000	90
New Bedford	$99,000	50
Lowell	$78,000	50
Brockton	$91,000	40
Leominster	$119,000	40
Pittsfield		30

Michigan

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Warren	$93,000	600
Detroit	$85,000	470
Ann Arbor	$89,000	310
Grand Rapids	$80,000	280
Lansing	$81,000	170
Flint	$76,000	130
Niles	$86,000	110
Kalamazoo	$95,000	110
Saginaw	$67,000	80
Muskegon	$73,000	60
Battle Creek	$75,000	50

Minnesota

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Minneapolis	$84,000	790
St Cloud	$79,000	70
Duluth	$86,000	60

Mississippi

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Hattiesburg	$60,000	70

Missouri

Location	Median Pay	Workers
St Louis	$68,000	360
Kansas City	$77,000	300
Springfield	$56,000	90
Columbia	$77,000	50

Montana

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Billings	$81,000	70
Missoula	$94,000	40

Nebraska

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Omaha	$78,000	450
Lincoln	$89,000	150

Nevada

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Las Vegas	$102,000	350
Reno	$74,000	80

New Hampshire

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Manchester	$75,000	120
Nashua	$89,000	100

New Jersey

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Newark	$90,000	340
Camden	$89,000	150
Trenton	$81,000	60
Atlantic City	$94,000	40

New Mexico

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Albuquerque	$54,000	260
Las Cruces	$69,000	40

New York

Location	Median Pay	Workers
New York	$87,000	3,910
Nassau	$91,000	1,360
Rochester	$79,000	560
Albany	$86,000	460
Syracuse	$78,000	350
Buffalo	$82,000	330
Poughkeepsie	$85,000	180
Glens Falls	$86,000	80
Utica	$87,000	70
Binghamton	$82,000	40

North Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Greensboro	$82,000	360
Charlotte	$86,000	320
Durham	$78,000	290
Fayetteville	$83,000	280
Winston Salem	$81,000	260
Raleigh	$82,000	240
Greenville	$80,000	150
Asheville	$82,000	140
Wilmington	$86,000	140
Hickory	$82,000	120
Goldsboro	$80,000	30

North Dakota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Fargo	$77,000	140
Grand Forks	$73,000	40

Ohio

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Cleveland	$81,000	510
Columbus	$83,000	330
Cincinnati	$77,000	220
Dayton	$84,000	190
Akron	$75,000	80
Toledo	$82,000	60
Youngstown	$62,000	50
Canton	$84,000	40
Mansfield	$96,000	40

Oklahoma

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Tulsa	$66,000	420
Oklahoma City	$78,000	360

Oregon

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Portland	$97,000	450
Eugene	$92,000	90
Salem	$77,000	50

Pennsylvania

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Philadelphia	$70,000	1,150
Pittsburgh	$67,000	830
Allentown	$60,000	350
Scranton	$64,000	240
Harrisburg	$76,000	200
York	$81,000	150
Reading	$72,000	140
Lancaster	$73,000	100
Altoona	$60,000	100
Erie	$74,000	70
Johnstown	$72,000	60
Lebanon	$74,000	50
Williamsport	$71,000	40

Rhode Island

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Providence	$84,000	250

South Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Greenville	$51,000	120
Charleston	$79,000	100
Columbia	$77,000	90

South Dakota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Sioux Falls	$83,000	160
Rapid City	$79,000	70

Tennessee

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Nashville	$65,000	460
Knoxville	$83,000	250
Memphis	$55,000	180
Chattanooga	$124,000	120
Johnson City	$75,000	50
Kingsport	$82,000	50
Clarksville	$71,000	50

Texas

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Houston	$91,000	1,060
Dallas	$83,000	870
San Antonio	$83,000	270
Fort Worth	$81,000	270
Austin	$77,000	220
El Paso	$64,000	80
Mcallen	$80,000	80
Corpus Christi	$68,000	80
Killeen	$84,000	70
Tyler	$93,000	70
Lubbock	$101,000	40
Wichita Falls	$87,000	30
Abilene	$79,000	30

Utah

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Salt Lake City	$94,000	320
Ogden	$92,000	100
Provo	$88,000	70
St George	$44,000	50

Vermont

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Burlington	$87,000	70

Virginia

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Virginia Beach	$65,000	380
Richmond	$60,000	270
Roanoke	$67,000	60
Winchester	$73,000	30

Washington

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Seattle	$90,000	710
Tacoma	$109,000	200
Spokane	$87,000	200
Yakima	$80,000	60
Bremerton	$96,000	60
Olympia	$88,000	60
Mount Vernon	$82,000	50
Kennewick	$86,000	50
Wenatchee	$90,000	50
Bellingham	$89,000	50

West Virginia

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Charleston	$77,000	120
Huntington	$78,000	90
Morgantown	$70,000	80
Parkersburg	$86,000	50
Wheeling	$79,000	30

Wisconsin

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Milwaukee	$79,000	570
Madison	$76,000	220
Green Bay	$96,000	80
Oshkosh	$82,000	50
Janesville	$77,000	50
Appleton	$82,000	40
La Crosse	$85,000	30

Wyoming

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Casper	$91,000	70
Cheyenne		30

Our physician assistant career and school information is provided by CTI Career Search.