Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2017

29-1071 Physician Assistants

Provide healthcare services typically performed by a physician, under the supervision of a physician. Conduct complete physicals, provide treatment, and counsel patients. May, in some cases, prescribe medication. Must graduate from an accredited educational program for physician assistants. Excludes "Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics" (29-2041), "Medical Assistants" (31-9092), "Registered Nurses" (29-1141), "Nurse Anesthetists" (29-1151), "Nurse Midwives" (29-1161), and "Nurse Practitioners" (29-1171).


National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
109,220 1.4 % $50.37 $104,760 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $32.01 $42.30 $50.41 $59.71 $70.32
Annual Wage (2) $66,590 $87,980 $104,860 $124,200 $146,260


Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Offices of Physicians 61,830 2.43 $50.01 $104,020
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 25,610 0.47 $51.08 $106,240
Outpatient Care Centers 8,720 0.99 $53.13 $110,510
Employment Services 2,940 0.08 $52.63 $109,470
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 2,550 0.08 $49.37 $102,690

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Offices of Physicians 61,830 2.43 $50.01 $104,020
Outpatient Care Centers 8,720 0.99 $53.13 $110,510
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 25,610 0.47 $51.08 $106,240
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals 1,070 0.41 $52.64 $109,490
Offices of Other Health Practitioners 1,380 0.16 $47.10 $97,970

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Individual and Family Services 80 (7) $55.23 $114,880
Outpatient Care Centers 8,720 0.99 $53.13 $110,510
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals 1,070 0.41 $52.64 $109,490
Employment Services 2,940 0.08 $52.63 $109,470
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services 140 0.01 $52.57 $109,350


Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York 12,150 1.32 1.72 $53.84 $111,980
California 11,110 0.67 0.87 $54.29 $112,930
Texas 7,150 0.60 0.78 $46.12 $95,920
Pennsylvania 6,080 1.05 1.37 $46.37 $96,450
Florida 5,740 0.68 0.89 $49.46 $102,870




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Alaska 510 1.61 2.10 $55.99 $116,460
South Dakota 590 1.41 1.84 $47.87 $99,570
New York 12,150 1.32 1.72 $53.84 $111,980
Maine 790 1.32 1.73 $50.90 $105,880
Montana 570 1.24 1.62 $48.85 $101,610




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Washington 2,310 0.73 0.95 $57.79 $120,200
New Jersey 2,300 0.57 0.75 $57.34 $119,260
Nevada 570 0.43 0.57 $57.31 $119,210
North Dakota 290 0.69 0.89 $56.49 $117,500
Hawaii 330 0.53 0.69 $56.09 $116,660



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Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 7,100 1.06 1.38 $56.07 $116,620
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 2,440 0.93 1.21 $50.48 $104,990
Nassau County-Suffolk County, NY Metropolitan Division 2,400 1.84 2.40 $54.60 $113,570
Oakland-Hayward-Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Division 2,020 1.78 2.32 $57.08 $118,720
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 2,000 0.45 0.59 $48.68 $101,250
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 1,880 0.64 0.84 $46.79 $97,320
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 1,760 1.30 1.69 $47.32 $98,420
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 1,690 1.17 1.53 $50.11 $104,220
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA NECTA Division 1,660 0.90 1.18 $51.46 $107,030
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 1,650 0.66 0.86 $50.27 $104,560


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Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Carbondale-Marion, IL 150 2.78 3.63 $54.28 $112,900
Asheville, NC 480 2.53 3.30 $50.75 $105,550
Iowa City, IA 210 2.24 2.92 $50.83 $105,730
Bangor, ME 140 2.17 2.83 $50.55 $105,140
Dutchess County-Putnam County, NY Metropolitan Division 300 2.13 2.78 $54.36 $113,060
Glens Falls, NY 110 2.09 2.72 $48.85 $101,620
Altoona, PA 120 2.05 2.68 $42.39 $88,170
Beckley, WV 90 2.02 2.64 $41.25 $85,800
Rome, GA 70 1.97 2.57 $48.70 $101,290
Flint, MI 260 1.87 2.45 $56.30 $117,110


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Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Cedar Rapids, IA 100 0.74 0.96 $70.61 $146,870
West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Delray Beach, FL Metropolitan Division 270 0.45 0.59 $69.11 $143,750
Olympia-Tumwater, WA (8) (8) (8) $68.03 $141,510
Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA 140 0.62 0.81 $65.98 $137,240
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA 40 0.78 1.02 $65.82 $136,900
Yuba City, CA 70 1.69 2.20 $65.41 $136,040
Redding, CA 60 1.00 1.30 $64.40 $133,950
San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA Metropolitan Division 330 0.30 0.39 $64.25 $133,640
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 70 0.73 0.95 $63.83 $132,760
Idaho Falls, ID 50 0.75 0.98 $62.72 $130,450

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Southeast Coastal North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 320 1.27 1.66 $54.11 $112,560
Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area 250 1.31 1.71 $46.45 $96,610
Piedmont North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 240 0.94 1.22 $49.91 $103,810
South Georgia nonmetropolitan area 230 1.25 1.63 $55.49 $115,410
Southern Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area 190 1.02 1.33 $47.57 $98,930

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Northwest Nebraska nonmetropolitan area 80 1.88 2.45 $50.56 $105,150
Balance of Alaska nonmetropolitan area 130 1.88 2.45 $51.30 $106,700
Southwest Idaho nonmetropolitan area 40 1.88 2.46 $50.67 $105,400
West Montana nonmetropolitan area 130 1.70 2.22 $45.18 $93,970
Southwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area 150 1.54 2.01 $46.35 $96,410

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
East Central Illinois nonmetropolitan area 50 0.39 0.51 $66.60 $138,530
Central Louisiana nonmetropolitan area (8) (8) (8) $62.21 $129,400
Northwest Illinois nonmetropolitan area 50 0.33 0.44 $61.95 $128,850
Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 140 0.50 0.65 $59.46 $123,680
Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area 40 0.60 0.79 $59.13 $122,980


About May 2017 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate--50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2017 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 30, 2018