Skip to content

Physician Assistant Programs by State: 288 Colleges and Schools

Every college and school that reported physician assistant completions to the federal IPEDS survey for 2024, listed by state, with graduate counts and school type.

288
Schools in 46 states and DC
12,930
Graduates in 2024
95
Public colleges
Pennsylvania · 28
Most programs of any state

NCES IPEDS 2024 completions · CIP 51.0912 Physician Assistant

288 schools across 46 states and DC reported physician assistant completions to NCES IPEDS for 2024, graduating 12,930 students. 95 are public, 182 private nonprofit, and 11 private for-profit.

Pennsylvania has the most programs, 28, followed by New York with 26. Pick a state below to see every school with its type, credentials, and 2024 graduates, or start with the largest programs in the country.

Who runs the 288 schools

Hover a segment
95
Public · 33%
182
Private nonprofit · 63%
11
Private for-profit · 4%

NCES IPEDS 2024 · institution control

Programs by state

All 47 states with programs, ranked by number of schools. Each state links to its own page with every program grouped by city.

Physician Assistant programs by state
#StateSchools2024 graduatesGraduates per school
1Pennsylvania281,27245.4
2New York261,41354.3
3California1962632.9
4Ohio1549032.7
5North Carolina1449435.3
6Florida1273861.5
7Texas1256947.4
8Virginia982892.0
9Illinois937942.1
10Michigan934838.7
11Tennessee866783.4
12Massachusetts848460.5
13Indiana828335.4
14Maryland714220.3
15Georgia629248.7
16Connecticut628046.7
17New Jersey621836.3
18Minnesota615926.5
19Missouri536372.6
20South Carolina522044.0
21Alabama519639.2
22Iowa518036.0
23Wisconsin514629.2
24Nebraska414837.0
25Oklahoma414536.3
26Colorado413433.5
27Louisiana413433.5
28West Virginia410225.5
29Kentucky320167.0
30Arizona315250.7
31Utah314046.7
32Oregon311638.7
33Kansas38428.0
34Washington215678.0
35Nevada210251.0
36Rhode Island28040.0
37Arkansas27035.0
38Idaho27035.0
39Mississippi25226.0
40District of Columbia16464.0
41Montana15454.0
42Maine14040.0
43North Dakota13131.0
44South Dakota12424.0
45New Hampshire12222.0
46New Mexico12222.0
47Hawaii100.0

NCES IPEDS 2024 completions · 46 states and DC report programs

Largest programs in the US

The 15 schools that graduated the most Physician Assistants in 2024.

Largest physician assistant programs
#SchoolCity, stateType2024 graduates
1University of LynchburgLynchburg, VAPrivate nonprofit440
2Nova Southeastern UniversityFort Lauderdale, FLPrivate nonprofit242
3A T Still University of Health SciencesKirksville, MOPrivate nonprofit236
4South CollegeKnoxville, TNPrivate for-profit213
5MCPHS UniversityBoston, MAPrivate nonprofit204
6Lincoln Memorial UniversityHarrogate, TNPrivate nonprofit191
7Touro UniversityNew York, NYPrivate nonprofit188
8University of Washington-Seattle CampusSeattle, WAPublic156
9Shenandoah UniversityWinchester, VAPrivate nonprofit130
10Thomas Jefferson UniversityPhiladelphia, PAPrivate nonprofit121
11Hofstra UniversityHempstead, NYPrivate nonprofit115
12Yale UniversityNew Haven, CTPrivate nonprofit115
13Pace UniversityNew York, NYPrivate nonprofit113
14Barry UniversityMiami, FLPrivate nonprofit98
15Medical University of South CarolinaCharleston, SCPublic96

NCES IPEDS 2024 completions

Questions about Physician Assistant programs

How many physician assistant programs are there?
288 colleges and schools across 46 states and DC reported physician assistant completions to NCES IPEDS for 2024, graduating 12,930 students.
Which state has the most Physician Assistant programs?
Pennsylvania, with 28 schools that graduated 1,272 students in 2024.
Are most programs at public colleges?
95 of the 288 schools are public, 182 are private nonprofit, and 11 are private for-profit.
Does a listing mean a program is accredited or state-approved?
No. IPEDS records completions at every institution that awards the credential; it does not certify accreditation or state approval. Check the program’s accreditor and your state board before enrolling.

Explore next

← Back to the Physician Assistant guide