Median pay for physical therapists runs from $44,860 in Arecibo to $141,980 in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont — a 3.16× range across 522 metropolitan areas. The national median of $102,760 sits inside that range but describes no particular market.
From $77,140 at the 10th percentile to $135,140 at the 90th is only 1.75×, which is narrow. Pay for physical therapists is set more by structure than by individual outcome — scales, steps, licensure. That makes income predictable and makes the ceiling real: the way to earn materially more is usually to change role or location, not to out-perform within this one.
8 of the ten best-paying metros for physical therapists are in CA. When one state dominates the top of the table like this, cost of living is doing part of the work but rarely all of it — state licensing rules, public-sector pay scales and the presence of a few large employers usually explain the rest. If you are comparing an offer in CA against one elsewhere, adjust for housing before concluding anything.
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $141,980 | $68.26 | 0.77 | 3,140 |
| Vallejo CA | $141,530 | $68.04 | 1.23 | 300 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma CA | $140,100 | $67.36 | 0.81 | 290 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA | $139,000 | $66.83 | 0.75 | 1,460 |
| Napa CA | $138,540 | $66.61 | 0.4 | 50 |
| Chico CA | $134,970 | $64.89 | 1.35 | 180 |
| Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area | $132,740 | $63.82 | 0.71 | 80 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom CA | $131,430 | $63.19 | 0.87 | 1,610 |
| North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area | $129,370 | $62.20 | 0.56 | 110 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara CA | $128,680 | $61.87 | 0.9 | 310 |
| Hanford-Corcoran CA | $127,460 | $61.28 | 0.42 | 40 |
| Salinas CA | $127,120 | $61.12 | 0.6 | 190 |
| Modesto CA | $126,600 | $60.86 | 1.19 | 400 |
| Merced CA | $126,000 | $60.58 | 0.45 | 60 |
| Decatur IL | $125,600 | $60.39 | 0.51 | 40 |
| Bakersfield-Delano CA | $125,490 | $60.33 | 0.53 | 310 |
| Santa Fe NM | $124,870 | $60.03 | 0.78 | 80 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville CA | $124,790 | $60.00 | 0.96 | 160 |
| Stockton-Lodi CA | $124,260 | $59.74 | 0.7 | 350 |
| Alaska nonmetropolitan area | $124,120 | $59.67 | 0.92 | 170 |
| Fresno CA | $123,820 | $59.53 | 0.76 | 620 |
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area | $121,220 | $58.28 | 0.91 | 160 |
| Carson City NV | $120,810 | $58.08 | 0.85 | 50 |
| Las Cruces NM | $120,350 | $57.86 | 1.43 | 200 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario CA | $120,110 | $57.74 | 0.76 | 2,240 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arecibo PR | $44,860 | $21.57 | 0.64 | 40 |
| Ponce PR | $58,820 | $28.28 | 0.35 | 40 |
| Aguadilla PR | $59,340 | $28.53 | 0.46 | 40 |
| Mayaguez PR | $59,540 | $28.62 | 0.35 | 30 |
| San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas PR | $60,990 | $29.32 | 0.35 | 420 |
| Minot ND | $78,180 | $37.59 | 0.62 | 40 |
| Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux LA | $78,320 | $37.65 | 1.26 | 180 |
| Cleveland TN | $79,230 | $38.09 | 1.1 | 80 |
| Great Falls MT | $81,960 | $39.41 | 1.19 | 70 |
| Pocatello ID | $82,680 | $39.75 | 0.95 | 60 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homosassa Springs FL | $103,510 | $49.77 | 2.75 | 170 |
| Bay City MI | $93,450 | $44.93 | 2.11 | 120 |
| Victoria TX | $102,520 | $49.29 | 2.07 | 140 |
| Traverse City MI | $101,640 | $48.86 | 2.06 | 240 |
| Wichita Falls TX | $93,250 | $44.83 | 2 | 190 |
| Rochester MN | $100,140 | $48.14 | 1.96 | 410 |
| Winchester VA-WV | $102,670 | $49.36 | 1.93 | 220 |
| Central New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area | $97,310 | $46.78 | 1.92 | 330 |
| Jonesboro AR | $100,010 | $48.08 | 1.82 | 190 |
| Missoula MT | $83,970 | $40.37 | 1.82 | 210 |
| Morgantown WV | $96,010 | $46.16 | 1.82 | 210 |
| Bangor ME | $94,510 | $45.44 | 1.78 | 220 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $107,650 | $51.75 | 1.3 | 21,240 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $108,170 | $52.01 | 0.9 | 9,750 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN | $105,720 | $50.83 | 1.02 | 7,880 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA-NJ-DE-MD | $105,790 | $50.86 | 1.25 | 6,250 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX | $107,780 | $51.82 | 0.88 | 6,100 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $103,550 | $49.78 | 1.15 | 5,330 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach FL | $100,870 | $48.50 | 1.02 | 4,950 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands TX | $107,700 | $51.78 | 0.83 | 4,680 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV | $102,980 | $49.51 | 0.84 | 4,540 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell GA | $103,440 | $49.73 | 0.85 | 4,250 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn MI | $102,970 | $49.51 | 1.15 | 3,770 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler AZ | $103,220 | $49.63 | 0.92 | 3,760 |
Figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, May 2025 release, SOC code 29-1123. OEWS surveys employers, so it reports what is actually paid rather than what job advertisements claim, and it excludes the self-employed. Estimates cover 522 of 528 metropolitan areas — near-complete coverage, which means the ranges above are reliable rather than drawn from a handful of markets. Read the methodology.