Pay by state · 51 areas

Physician Assistant Salary by State (2026)

Name: Physician Assistant annual wages by US state, May 2025
Creator: NueCareer
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Physician Assistants earn the most in New Jersey at $165,690 a year and the least in Alabama at $104,960 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $135,880. The table below covers all 50 states and DC, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median: $165,690New Jersey
National median: $135,880BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median: $104,960Alabama
Areas reporting: 51of 54 OEWS areas

Top and bottom

Highest- and lowest-paying states for physician assistants

Ranked on the state median among the 50 states and DC. After cost of living, Oklahoma comes out ahead instead.

Highest median pay

1New Jersey$165,690
2California$165,650
3Washington$164,360
4Hawaii$164,050
5New York$160,880

Lowest median pay

1Alabama$104,960
2Mississippi$105,920
3Georgia$115,390
4Tennessee$118,240
5Arkansas$118,430

All states

Physician Assistant salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of physician assistants OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
#
1	NJNew Jersey	$165,690	$134,710	$192,370	4,790	$152,282
2	CACalifornia	$165,650	$136,730	$206,990	13,600	$149,612
3	WAWashington	$164,360	$138,050	$177,930	3,540	$153,589
4	HIHawaii	$164,050	$126,780	$170,060	530	$149,203
5	NYNew York	$160,880	$134,480	$174,710	19,140	$149,072
6	OROregon	$155,780	$134,390	$169,550	2,250	$150,714
7	NHNew Hampshire	$150,960	$134,050	$170,790	1,060	$144,924
8	AKAlaska	$150,700	$126,530	$169,930	700	$147,227
9	VTVermont	$150,490	$131,400	$166,050	410	$153,627
10	MAMassachusetts	$142,410	$128,020	$169,980	4,470	$134,658
11	MTMontana	$141,470	$129,750	$156,350	600	$149,474
12	MNMinnesota	$141,190	$131,720	$163,690	3,660	$143,164
13	RIRhode Island	$139,930	$129,690	$167,710	810	$136,811
14	NMNew Mexico	$139,920	$106,240	$153,560	700	$151,737
15	CTConnecticut	$139,860	$129,370	$165,140	3,570	$134,987
16	DEDelaware	$139,350	$128,800	$156,880	860	$139,618
17	MDMaryland	$137,560	$125,140	$160,090	2,950	$131,061
18	OKOklahoma	$136,550	$129,250	$161,560	1,770	$155,448
19	WYWyoming	$136,080	$119,990	$158,550	330	$146,810
20	VAVirginia	$135,940	$120,580	$162,790	4,340	$134,456
21	DCDistrict of Columbia	$135,140	$127,990	$165,890	470	$122,965
22	MOMissouri	$135,130	$121,680	$163,170	2,300	$148,794
23	IAIowa	$134,770	$120,060	$159,950	1,200	$153,563
24	UTUtah	$134,740	$123,570	$152,480	1,610	$136,288
25	NVNevada	$134,660	$117,280	$163,550	1,090	$134,688
26	AZArizona	$134,650	$123,990	$156,500	3,750	$133,745
27	TXTexas	$134,550	$122,720	$156,000	10,110	$138,630
28	COColorado	$134,540	$124,100	$156,400	3,270	$130,555
29	WIWisconsin	$133,950	$125,640	$156,800	3,580	$142,356
30	IDIdaho	$133,790	$126,820	$146,230	1,320	$140,103
31	NDNorth Dakota	$133,450	$107,030	$155,010	510	$150,013
32	SDSouth Dakota	$133,200	$112,570	$142,330	680	$150,362
33	NENebraska	$133,040	$112,820	$146,790	1,330	$147,653
34	OHOhio	$132,090	$109,780	$150,000	4,900	$142,378
35	INIndiana	$132,050	$123,220	$166,230	2,110	$141,489
36	ILIllinois	$131,950	$122,780	$145,600	3,790	$132,005
37	MIMichigan	$131,510	$119,990	$143,030	6,310	$136,681
38	MEMaine	$131,170	$121,340	$140,640	1,030	$135,157
39	FLFlorida	$129,620	$111,360	$156,920	9,310	$125,341
40	NCNorth Carolina	$129,360	$110,320	$140,030	7,490	$137,141
41	LALouisiana	$128,870	$117,130	$144,100	1,360	$146,100
42	WVWest Virginia	$128,610	$108,960	$148,160	1,080	$143,703
43	PAPennsylvania	$127,070	$107,260	$137,220	9,020	$130,232
44	KSKansas	$125,640	$107,110	$137,390	890	$139,495
45	SCSouth Carolina	$122,490	$105,560	$134,100	2,250	$130,657
46	KYKentucky	$120,760	$102,430	$136,080	1,360	$133,941
47	ARArkansas	$118,430	$103,810	$133,270	850	$136,225
48	TNTennessee	$118,240	$102,690	$132,500	2,240	$128,704
49	GAGeorgia	$115,390	$62,230	$141,740	5,610	$119,832
50	MSMississippi	$105,920	$82,580	$132,680	320	$121,813
51	ALAlabama	$104,960	$98,710	$122,830	930	$118,168

Method

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For physician assistants, that changes the ranking: New Jersey leads on raw pay at $165,690, while Oklahoma leads once prices are taken into account at $155,448.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Questions

Physician Assistant pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays physician assistants the most?

New Jersey reports the highest median wage for physician assistants at $165,690 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by California ($165,650) and Washington ($164,360).

Which state pays physician assistants the least?

Among the 50 states and DC, Alabama reports the lowest median for physician assistants at $104,960 a year, $60,730 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

In which states do physician assistants earn over $100,000?

All 50 states and DC: even the lowest, Alabama, has a median of $104,960 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Is the highest-paying state the best for physician assistants after cost of living?

Not on this data. New Jersey pays the most on paper ($165,690) but ranks 5th of 51 once each median is divided by the state's BEA Regional Price Parity ($152,282). Oklahoma leads after that adjustment at $155,448, from a raw median of $136,550. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024; the adjustment is NueCareer's calculation.

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