Physical Therapists: Career Profile
Assess, plan, organize, and participate in rehabilitative programs that improve mobility, relieve pain, increase strength, and improve or correct disabling conditions resulting from disease or injury.
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What Do Physical Therapists Do?
Typical responsibilities of physical therapists cover:
- Plan, prepare, or carry out individually designed programs of physical treatment to maintain, improve, or restore physical functioning, alleviate pain, or prevent physical dysfunction in patients.
- Perform and document an initial exam, evaluating data to identify problems and determine a diagnosis prior to intervention.
- Record prognosis, treatment, response, and progress in patient's chart or enter information into computer.
- Instruct patient and family in treatment procedures to be continued at home.
- Evaluate effects of treatment at various stages and adjust treatments to achieve maximum benefit.
- Confer with the patient, medical practitioners, or appropriate others to plan, implement, or assess the intervention program.
- Administer manual exercises, massage, or traction to help relieve pain, increase patient strength, or decrease or prevent deformity or crippling.
- Obtain patients' informed consent to proposed interventions.
What Physical Therapists Need to Know
Successful physical therapists draw on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Most Important Skills
The abilities that matter most in this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Top Knowledge Areas
Related Job Titles
This career also goes by job titles like:
- Acute Care PT (Acute Care Physical Therapist)
- Acute Physical Therapist (Acute PT)
- Cardiopulmonary Physical Therapist (Cardiopulmonary PT)
- Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)
- Geriatric Physical Therapist (Geriatric PT)
- Home Care Physical Therapist (Home Care PT)
- Home Health Physical Therapist (Home Health PT)
- Inpatient Physical Therapist (Inpatient PT)
Job Outlook
The U.S. employs around 2,206,692 physical therapists working in the United States today. Employment is projected to grow by +8.0% over the projection horizon.
Salary for Physical Therapists
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $144,047 |
| Hourly median | $69.25 |
| 10th percentile | $104,224 |
| 25th percentile | $124,136 |
| 75th percentile | $163,959 |
| 90th percentile | $183,871 |
Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.
Pay by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| California | $123,300 |
| Alaska | $108,640 |
| New Jersey | $106,310 |
| Nevada | $105,170 |
| Oregon | $104,430 |
| Maryland | $104,330 |
| Connecticut | $103,720 |
| Texas | $103,710 |
| Illinois | $103,380 |
| Delaware | $103,120 |
| Rhode Island | $102,900 |
| Massachusetts | $102,260 |
| Washington | $102,140 |
| Georgia | $101,930 |
| Arizona | $101,660 |
| West Virginia | $101,210 |
| Wyoming | $101,130 |
| New Mexico | $101,130 |
| South Carolina | $100,950 |
| District of Columbia | $100,760 |
| Hawaii | $100,740 |
| Virginia | $100,710 |
| Tennessee | $100,660 |
| Louisiana | $100,550 |
| Wisconsin | $100,440 |
| Colorado | $100,240 |
| Ohio | $99,740 |
| Pennsylvania | $99,570 |
| New York | $99,430 |
| Indiana | $99,310 |
| Oklahoma | $99,220 |
| Michigan | $98,960 |
| Florida | $98,880 |
| Minnesota | $98,870 |
| Kansas | $98,840 |
| Utah | $97,580 |
| Kentucky | $97,500 |
| New Hampshire | $97,200 |
| Mississippi | $97,080 |
| Alabama | $97,040 |
| Arkansas | $96,840 |
| North Carolina | $96,670 |
| Nebraska | $96,540 |
| Iowa | $95,890 |
| Maine | $93,890 |
| Vermont | $93,840 |
| Missouri | $93,750 |
| Idaho | $93,610 |
| Montana | $92,910 |
| South Dakota | $89,240 |
| North Dakota | $86,180 |
| Puerto Rico | $48,960 |
Top-Paying U.S. Regions
Pay for physical therapists differ across the country. The following regions pay the most:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Far Western US | $116,830 | 14.5% | 0.87 |
| Southwest | $102,840 | 10.9% | 0.86 |
| Middle Atlantic | $101,415 | 16.4% | 1.07 |
| New England | $100,940 | 6.6% | 1.42 |
| Great Lakes | $100,616 | 15.2% | 1.06 |
| Southeast | $99,175 | 24.3% | 1.00 |
| Rocky Mountains | $98,129 | 4.3% | 1.10 |
| Plains States | $95,971 | 7.6% | 1.12 |
Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Physical Therapists
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $137,250 | 1,350 |
| Vallejo, CA | CA | $136,440 | 270 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $136,200 | 3,170 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | CA | $134,810 | 280 |
| Chico, CA | CA | $131,370 | 160 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | CA | $130,160 | 1,620 |
| Napa, CA | CA | $128,760 | 60 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | CA | $128,370 | 140 |
Top Industries Employing Physical Therapists
The bulk of physical therapists are concentrated in the following sectors:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 231,650 | $101,200 |
| Educational Services | 7,580 | $94,280 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 3,850 | $80,980 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 690 | $101,020 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 420 | $93,340 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 410 | $116,570 |
| Finance and Insurance | 170 | $105,830 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 50 | $93,700 |
The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.
Software Physical Therapists Use
- Medical software: eClinicalWorks EHR software (hot technology)
- Medical software: MEDITECH software (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
- Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
What the Workplace Is Like
The work environment for physical therapists is shaped by the following characteristics:
- Contact With Others
- Physical Proximity
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Freedom to Make Decisions
Education and Training
The role falls in Extensive Preparation Needed (Job Zone 5), signaling the level of preparation typically expected.
Similar Occupations
Similar Occupations
- Occupational Therapists (Primary-Short)
- Radiation Therapists (Supplemental)
- Recreational Therapists (Primary-Long)
- Respiratory Therapists (Supplemental)
- Registered Nurses (Supplemental)
- Acute Care Nurses (Supplemental)
- Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses (Supplemental)
- Clinical Nurse Specialists (Primary-Long)
Top Programs to Study For This Career
Future physical therapists often complete programs in:
Health Professions and Related Programs
2 programs across 1 majors
Sources
Data on this page comes from the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 29-1123.00 (Physical Therapists).
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