The Best (& Worst) States for Physical Therapists in 2022
According to U.S. News & World Report’s Best Jobs of 2022, physical therapy ranks 10th among the 2022 top healthcare jobs in the U.S. On top of having some of the highest projected job growth numbers (PT jobs are expected to grow by 21% between 2020 and 2030, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS]), physical therapy turns out to be one of the more lucrative healthcare professions in the country as well. (As of May 2021, the average annual PT salary was $92,920.)
These metrics vary from state to state, however, which means that where you live can play a big role in how your career shapes up. To help you determine where you have the best chances for both professional and personal satisfaction, we’ve identified four key factors that contribute to states’ being considered the “best” (or “worst”) to work in as a PT:
- Salary
- Affordability/Cost of Living
- Job Demand
- Quality of Life
The Best & Worst States for Physical Therapists
For each metric, we pulled the latest data from the BLS and U.S. News & World Report. Then we identified which states ranked the highest and lowest for PTs along all four categories.
The Best & Worst States for Physical Therapists: Salary
To dig into the earning potential of PTs — and how salaries vary by state, we looked at data from the BLS’s Occupational Employment Statistics (OES). Below are the five states with the highest PT salaries and the five states with the lowest.
Keep in mind that all BLS data reflect the employment and wage numbers for PTs as of May 2021. We’ll update these tables when the BLS releases its 2022 data in May.
The 5 Highest-Paying States for Physical Therapists
RankStateAverage Annual Salary for Physical TherapistsAverage Hourly Pay for Physical Therapists1Nevada$104,210$50.102California$103,510$49.773Connecticut$101,180$48.644Delaware$100,490$48.315New Jersey$99,530$47.85
The 5 Lowest-Paying States for Physical Therapists
RankStateAverage Annual Salary for Physical TherapistsAverage Hourly Pay for Physical Therapists46South Dakota$83,820$40.3047South Carolina$83,270$40.0348Michigan$83,160$39.9849Montana$82,660$39.7450North Dakota$81,480$39.17
The Best & Worst States for Physical Therapists: Affordability/Cost of Living
Cost of living is a really important factor to consider when determining your earning potential. To help you get a more accurate picture, we’ve turned to U.S. News’ 2022 affordability rankings to find out which states are considered the most (and least) affordable. To determine how affordable each state was, U.S. News gave it scores on two metrics: cost of living and housing affordability. Based on those scores, each state then received an overall ranking on a scale of 1 to 50, with 1 being the most affordable and 50 being the least.
Keep in mind that U.S. News & World Report last updated its rankings in January 2021. We’ll keep updating the tables below when new data is released.
The 5 Most Affordable States for Physical Therapists
RankStateCost of Living ScoreHousing Affordability Score1Ohio622Oklahoma833Michigan474Iowa1715Missouri39
The 5 Least Affordable States for Physical Therapists
RankStateCost of Living ScoreHousing Affordability Score46Oregon404647Alaska483648Massachusetts474049California504950Hawaii4950
The Best & Worst States for Physical Therapists: Job Demand
When determining whether a state is the “best” or “worst” to work in as a PT, one key factor to consider is not only how much demand there currently is for your particular skill set but also how much demand there will be in the future. (You can think about this in terms of job security.)
To assess current employment levels, we looked at the most recent BLS’s OES statistics (May 2020). Next we turned to job demand projection data from Projection Central to show you the five states that are predicted to have the most job openings for PTs between now and 2028, and the five that are predicted to have the least. We’ve also provided the job growth percentages for the states as well.
The 5 States With the Highest Employment Levels for Physical Therapists (May 2021)
RankStateEmployment NumbersEmployment per thousand jobs1California23,8401.442New York16,1301.863Texas14,0401.154Florida13,2201.545Pennsylvania10,7001.92
The 5 States With the Lowest Employment Levels for Physical Therapists (May 2021)
RankStateEmployment NumbersEmployment per thousand jobs46South Dakota8101.9347North Dakota7201.8248Alaska6802.349Vermont6302.2150Wyoming5702.2
The 5 States With the Highest Projected Demand for Physical Therapists (2018-2028)
RankStateAverage Number of Physical Therapist Job Openings per YearPhysical Therapist Job Growth Percentage1California1,63022.4%2New York1,56034%3Texas1,15020.4%4Florida95022.1%5Pennsylvania83020.6%
The 5 States With the Lowest Projected Demand for Physical Therapists (2018-2028)
RankStateAverage Number of Physical Therapist Job Openings per YearPhysical Therapist Job Growth Percentage46Nevada4031.5%47Idaho4025.8%48Wyoming4022.4%49Alaska307.5%50Mississippi106.6%
The Best & Worst States for Physical Therapists: Quality of Life
Everyone defines “quality of life” a little differently, so to establish a standard unit of measurement, we turned to U.S. News’ 2021 best states rankings — specifically its “Overall Best States” list. First, analysts ranked each state for the following eight metrics:
- Healthcare
- Education
- Economy
- Infrastructure
- Opportunity
- Fiscal Stability
- Crime & Corrections
- Natural Environment
Then the analysts used those sub-rankings to provide each state with an overall ranking. (You can read more about their methodology here.) Below, we’ve provided you with the rankings for the top five and bottom five, along with their rankings for each metric.
The 5 Best States for Physical Therapists’ Quality of Life
RankStateHealthcare ScoreEducation ScoreEconomy ScoreInfrastructure ScoreOpportunity ScoreFiscal Stability ScoreCrime & Corrections ScoreNatural Environment Score1Washington844325619152Minnesota16171592211033Utah9102324512494New Hampshire13131134333125Idaho24293102441012
The 5 Worst States for Physical Therapists’ Quality of Life
RankStateHealthcare ScoreEducation ScoreEconomy ScoreInfrastructure ScoreOpportunity ScoreFiscal Stability ScoreCrime & Corrections ScoreNatural Environment Score46Alabama465045384523453547West Virginia454548501838433748New Mexico335044454935473149Mississippi504349484441332250Louisiana4648474748425049
U.S. State Rankings: Affordability & Quality of Life
Use the tables below to check how your state fares on measures of affordability and quality of life, according to the most recent U.S. News’ rankings.
National Affordability Rankings (2021)
RankStateCost of Living ScoreHousing Affordability Score1Ohio622Oklahoma833Michigan474Iowa1715Missouri396Indiana1147Arkansas2138West Virginia1359Kentucky71510Mississippi12011Nebraska21612Kansas161213Georgia91814South Dakota231115Pennsylvania26816Illinois191417Tennessee52618 Alabama102519Wisconsin201620Louisiana152321North Dakota321022Texas142823Minnesota281724North Carolina123125South Carolina183226New Mexico243527Delaware342428Virginia303429Arizona273730Idaho224231 Florida254132Montana294433Wyoming323934Utah314535Maine393036New York373837New Jersey422238New Hampshire432139Vermont412940Connecticut461941Nevada354342Maryland442743Colorado364844Washington384745Rhode Island453346Oregon404647Alaska483648Massachusetts474049California504950Hawaii4950
Source:U.S. News & World Report’s Best States 2021 Rankings (January 2021)
National Quality of Life Rankings (2021)
Rank State Healthcare Score Education Score Economy Score Infrastructure Score Opportunity Score Fiscal Stability Score Crime & Corrections Score Natural Environment Score 1 Washington 8 4 4 3 25 6 19 15 2 Minnesota 16 17 15 9 2 21 15 10 3 Utah 11 10 1 5 30 5 8 47 4 New Hampshire 13 13 11 34 3 33 1 2 5 Idaho 24 29 3 10 24 4 10 12 6 Nebraska 28 9 20 6 10 17 31 6 7 Virginia 12 12 13 39 8 18 9 19 8 Wisconsin 15 8 26 24 9 9 25 17 9 Massachusetts 2 2 5 42 36 43 4 4 10 Florida 25 3 8 20 33 8 26 18 11 Vermont 18 15 25 12 17 37 3 9 12 Iowa 20 18 27 19 1 23 14 20 13 North Carolina 30 7 17 22 28 7 20 27 14 North Dakota 27 25 32 4 23 16 18 8 15 South Dakota 29 19 30 14 27 2 35 3 16 Colorado 10 5 2 15 41 45 41 23 17 Maryland 6 14 35 38 15 29 22 11 18 Georgia 43 26 12 11 13 11 29 25 19 New Jersey 4 1 33 41 19 49 5 33 20 Connecticut 3 6 22 46 45 30 6 28 21 New York 7 16 43 30 46 20 11 5 22 Oregon 17 35 14 2 31 13 40 42 23 Delaware 14 24 24 25 14 12 39 45 24 California 5 20 10 31 50 36 28 35 25 Hawaii 2 27 46 33 34 46 12 1 26 Kansas 41 23 31 7 16 39 27 16 27 Maine 26 28 36 37 29 26 2 14 28 Missouri 42 30 23 27 4 15 45 21 29 Tennessee 40 33 16 17 21 3 42 39 30 Illinois 23 11 39 26 12 50 16 43 31 Texas 31 34 9 16 39 10 37 40 32 Indiana 32 22 21 32 7 32 24 48 33 Montana 36 32 19 13 35 19 34 24 34 Rhode Island 9 39 28 49 32 44 7 7 35 Wyoming 38 21 45 8 42 34 21 13 36 Ohio 37 21 34 29 6 24 32 44 37 Nevada 39 40 6 1 47 27 36 50 38 Michigan 35 38 29 35 5 38 30 32 39 Arizona 21 46 7 23 40 40 38 41 40 Pennsylvania 19 37 42 44 11 47 17 38 41 Kentucky 44 36 40 18 20 48 13 29 42 South Carolina 34 44 18 36 38 31 46 26 43 Oklahoma 48 42 37 21 26 25 44 34 44 Arkansas 49 41 41 43 22 14 48 30 45 Alaska 22 49 50 40 43 1 49 46 46 Alabama 45 47 38 28 37 22 43 37 47 West Virginia 47 45 48 50 18 28 23 36 48 New Mexico 33 50 44 45 49 35 47 31 49 Mississippi 50 43 49 48 44 41 33 22 50 Louisiana 46 47 47 47 48 42 50 49
Source: U.S. News & World Report’s Best States 2021 Rankings (January 2021)
Nationwide Job Growth Projections for Physical Therapists (2018-2028)
State Average Number of Job Openings per Year Job Growth Percentage Alabama 190 18.9% Alaska 30 7.5% Arizona 150 43.4% Arkansas 150 23.6% California 1,630 22.4% Colorado 490 37.3% Connecticut 260 13.3% Delaware 60 22% Florida 950 22.1% Georgia 440 35.7% Hawaii 70 17.6% Idaho 40 25.8% Illinois 620 10.3% Indiana 340 20.7% Iowa 150 25.7% Kansas 140 11% Kentucky 160 16.7% Louisiana 50 14.2% Maine 80 7.3% Maryland 430 31% Massachusetts 470 9.9% Michigan 450 9.4% Minnesota 310 18.4% Mississippi 10 6.6% Missouri 320 18.9% Montana 70 19.6% Nebraska 120 22.7% Nevada 40 31.5% New Hampshire 100 20.1% New Jersey 540 20% New Mexico 90 19.4% New York 1,560 34% North Carolina 390 14.9% North Dakota 50 21.7% Ohio 480 15.5% Oklahoma 160 15.2% Oregon 230 23.5% Pennsylvania 830 20.6% Rhode Island 60 10.5% South Carolina 220 22.5% South Dakota 60 17% Tennessee 330 21% Texas 1,150 20.4% Utah 150 27.5% Vermont 50 14.3% Virginia 470 21.3% Washington 760 30.3% West Virginia 100 19.9% Wisconsin 260 8.3% Wyoming 40 22.4%
Source: Projections Central – Long-Term Occupational Projections (2018-2028)
Image courtesy of iStock.com/vitapix
