How Much Does a Physical Therapist Make in the United States in 2026?

Physical Therapists rebuild movement for patients after injury, surgery, and illness. Hospitals, outpatient clinics, and home visit agencies all hire for that work. A therapist holding a DPT earns a typical $49.40 per hour, or $102,760 a year, according to the latest government wage data (May 2025).

Pay swings by far more than a few thousand dollars from one job to the next. State, setting, years on the job, and board certification all move the number. About 267,330 Physical Therapists work in the United States, one of the larger licensed clinical professions.

A typical Physical Therapist earns $49.40 per hour, which comes to $102,760 over a full year of work. Calculated from the annual figure, that is roughly $8,563 a month, or about $1,976 a week. Actual paychecks track hours worked and caseload.

Entry-level positions start near $37.09 an hour, or $77,140 a year. The top 10% of earners make more than $64.97 an hour, or $135,140 a year. That is a $58,000 spread from one end to the other. Experience, setting, and state account for most of it.

Entry-level positions pay around $77,140 a year, or $37.09 an hour. Within a few years, pay commonly moves toward $86,160, or $41.42 an hour. Therapists carrying a steady caseload then land near the typical figure of $102,760. Experience alone drives most of that early climb.

Experienced Physical Therapists often clear $121,160 a year, or $58.25 an hour. The top 10% of earners make over $135,140, or $64.97 an hour. Therapists in that group usually pair a decade or more of practice with a high-paying setting, a high-paying state, or a board specialty.

Pay for Physical Therapists in 2015 sat at $84,020 a year. By 2025 the typical figure had reached $102,760, a gain of $18,740, or 22.3%, across the decade. The most recent year added $1,740, a rise of 1.7%.

The climb was uneven. Pay rose $5,420 between 2015 and 2019, then $7,140 between 2021 and 2025. Demand ran hotter in the later stretch, and wages followed. National figures describe the country as a whole, so your own state and setting may have moved faster or slower.

Where you work is often the single biggest factor in what a Physical Therapist earns. California leads at $124,190 a year, followed by Alaska at $115,280, New Jersey at $112,140, Nevada at $111,250, and Maryland at $106,890. Metro figures run higher: $141,980 in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont ($68.26 an hour), $141,530 in Vallejo, $140,100 in Santa Rosa-Petaluma, $139,000 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, and $138,540 in Napa.

North Dakota sits at the low end at $85,330, with Montana at $91,450 and South Dakota at $92,660. The state-to-state gap runs $38,860. The largest workforces are in California with 26,580 jobs, Texas with 21,870 at $105,810, and New York with 20,940 at $100,660. High-paying states also carry high housing and daily costs, so a bigger paycheck does not always leave more behind. The table below lists every state.

Most Physical Therapists work in outpatient offices. Offices of other health practitioners employ 103,680 and pay $97,290 a year, or $46.78 an hour; offices of physical, occupational and speech therapists and audiologists employ 101,300 at $97,160, or $46.71. General medical and surgical hospitals employ 61,520 and pay $106,890, or $51.39, about 4% above the national figure.

Home health care services pays the most among common settings, at $114,740 a year, or $55.16 an hour, about 12% above the national figure. Skilled nursing facilities follow at $111,740, or $53.72, across 13,390 jobs. Offices of physicians pay $102,010, or $49.04, across 17,150 jobs. The table below shows each setting.

Some employers add a shift differential for evening, overnight, and weekend coverage. Inpatient units and rehabilitation hospitals that run seven days a week are the most likely to offer one. The size of the add-on varies by employer, and many outpatient clinics on weekday hours pay nothing extra.

Every state requires a license to practice. The standard path runs through a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from a CAPTE-accredited program, then the National Physical Therapy Examination, then a state license. Rules and renewal requirements differ by state, so a therapist moving across state lines should check the new board early.

ABPTS offers board specialties in orthopedics, sports, neurology, and geriatrics, and employers in some markets weigh them when setting pay. Setting matters too, since home health and skilled nursing commonly pay more than outpatient clinics. Travel therapy contracts vary widely in pay and length, and the terms depend on the assignment.

A Physical Therapist Assistant earns a typical $68,380 a year. Moving up to Physical Therapist at $102,760 adds $34,380. That step requires a Doctor of Physical Therapy program, commonly three years after a bachelor's degree, along with the national exam and a state license.

Assistants who make the move usually plan the degree around a working schedule, since coursework and clinical rotations run on set hours. Some employers offer tuition help, though the terms differ and are worth confirming before you enroll. Years spent as an assistant count, because patient handling and documentation carry directly into the therapist role.

Physical Therapists earn a typical $102,760 a year, or $49.40 an hour, up 22.3% from $84,020 in 2015. BLS projects 11.9% growth through 2035. Two next steps: check your state's salary page for local figures, since the gap between the highest-paying and lowest-paying states runs $38,860, and look up the training and licensing requirements where you plan to practice.