How Much Does a Physician Assistant Make in the United States in 2026?

Physician Assistants examine patients, order tests, and prescribe treatment in clinics, hospitals, and surgical practices. A PA earns a typical $65.33 per hour, or $135,880 a year, according to the latest government wage data (May 2025). Hiring has held steady across most of medicine, and the job now sits in nearly every specialty.

That figure is a midpoint, not a standard. State, work setting, years of experience, and specialty all move what a PA takes home. About 162,150 people hold the job nationwide, spread across clinics, hospitals, and outpatient centers, and pay practices differ from one employer to the next.

A typical Physician Assistant earns $65.33 per hour, which over a full year comes to $135,880. From that annual figure, monthly pay works out to about $11,323 and weekly pay to roughly $2,613. Those totals assume steady full-time hours at one employer, with no overtime or call pay added.

Entry-level positions typically offer around $47.78 an hour, or $99,380 a year. The top 10% of earners make over $91.48 an hour, or $190,280 annually. That leaves a spread of about $90,900 between the two ends. Experience, work setting, and state account for most of it.

Entry-level positions typically offer around $99,380 a year, or $47.78 an hour, for graduates in their first year of practice. Pay climbs after a few years of patient care. Mid-career earnings commonly reach $58.02 an hour, about $120,670 a year, and keep moving toward the typical $135,880 as caseload and autonomy grow.

Experienced Physician Assistants often earn upwards of $78.84 an hour, or $163,980 a year. The top 10% make over $190,280, which works out to $91.48 an hour. Specialty drives much of that top end, with surgical subspecialties, emergency medicine, and dermatology paying above primary care. High-cost states and hospital or federal employers push totals higher still.

Pay for this role has climbed steadily for a decade. Typical annual pay was $98,180 in 2015 and reached $135,880 in 2025, a gain of $37,700, or 38.4%. The most recent year added $2,620, a rise of about 2%.

The climb has been even rather than front-loaded. Pay rose $14,080 between 2015 and 2019, then $14,350 between 2021 and 2025. Demand grew across clinics, hospitals, and surgical services, and pay followed. These are national figures, so a given state or metro can run well ahead of or behind them.

Where you work is often the single biggest factor. New Jersey leads the states at $165,690 a year, with California close behind at $165,650, Washington at $164,360, Hawaii at $164,050, and New York at $160,880. Metro pay climbs higher: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara reaches $223,640, Bakersfield-Delano $198,070, and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont $184,380. Yuba City follows at $183,460, and the Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area at $181,760.

At the other end, Alabama pays a typical $104,960 a year, Mississippi $105,920, and Georgia $115,390. The spread between the highest- and lowest-paying states runs about $60,730. The largest workforces sit in New York with 19,140 jobs at $160,880, California with 13,600 at $165,650, and Texas with 10,110 at $134,550. Higher pay usually tracks higher housing and living costs, so check your own state in the table below.

Most Physician Assistants work in physicians' offices, where 86,830 hold jobs and typical pay is $63.46 an hour, or $132,000 a year. General medical and surgical hospitals employ another 40,850 at $67.83 an hour, about $141,090 a year. The hospital setting pays roughly 4% above the national figure, and physician offices about 3% below.

Federal government employers pay the most among common settings, at $79.21 an hour or $164,760 a year, about 21% above the national figure. Outpatient care centers follow at $73.80 an hour, or $153,500 a year. Facility type moves pay more than many new graduates expect. The table below lists every setting.

Hospitals and emergency departments run around the clock, and employers commonly pay a shift differential for nights, weekends, and holidays. The size of that premium is set by the employer, so it varies from one facility to the next. Call coverage can carry its own pay. Both sit on top of base pay, so two PAs on the same salary can take home different amounts.

Entering the field takes a master's degree from an ARC-PA-accredited program, a passing score on the PANCE exam, and a state license. Keeping the credential means recertification through PANRE along with continuing medical education. Scope of practice and supervision or collaboration requirements vary by state, which shapes what a PA can be hired to do.

Specialty choice moves pay as much as anything else inside the profession. Surgical subspecialties, emergency medicine, and dermatology commonly pay more than primary care. Employers also weigh procedural skill, willingness to take call, and experience in a particular service line. Moving between specialties usually happens through on-the-job training rather than another degree.

Many PAs come to the role from another clinical job. Medical Assistants earn a typical $45,690 a year. Moving up to Physician Assistant, at $135,880, adds about $90,190 in annual pay. The step requires a bachelor's degree, patient-care hours, and an accredited master's program that commonly runs about 27 months.

Some people finish prerequisite coursework part time while working in a clinic, then apply once their patient-care hours are in place. Tuition help exists at some employers, so ask before building a budget around it. Clinical experience from an earlier role carries over once you are in practice, particularly in the specialty you came from.

Physician Assistants earn a typical $135,880 a year, or $65.33 an hour, up 38.4% from $98,180 in 2015, and BLS expects the field to keep growing through 2035. For figures closer to home, check your state's salary page, since pay ranges from $104,960 in Alabama to $165,690 in New Jersey. Then look up the training and licensing rules your state sets, because scope and supervision requirements differ.