Its widely established that physician assistants have a pretty good gig. The profession, for example, has been featured on well known ranking sites like U.S. News. While salaries for PAs are solid at the national level, some states stand out as being more favorable environments for physician assistants to practice.
One way to look at PA salaries is to assess changes year over year. Looking back at 2015 and 2016 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, we can see that there are a handful of states where physician assistants have enjoyed significant salary increases. In a dozen states nationwide, mean annual compensation for physician assistants increased more than $10,000 from 2015 to 2016. Here’s where PAs have fared best:
Hawaii (+$22,960)
2015 Mean Annual Wage: $90,880
2016 Mean Annual Wage: $113,840
New Jersey (+$21,060)
2015 Mean Annual Wage: $89,890
2016 Mean Annual Wage: $110,950
North Dakota (+$18,800)
2015 Mean Annual Wage: $96,010
2016 Mean Annual Wage: $114,810
Nevada (+$15,670)
2015 Mean Annual Wage: $112,700
2016 Mean Annual Wage: $128,370
Illinois (+$14,900)
2015 Mean Annual Wage: $83,770
2016 Mean Annual Wage: $98,670
Wyoming (+$14,570)
2015 Mean Annual Wage: $95,880
2016 Mean Annual Wage: $110,450
Utah (+$13,090)
2015 Mean Annual Wage: $92,600
2016 Mean Annual Wage: $105,690
Maryland (+$11,560)
2015 Mean Annual Wage: $84,550
2016 Mean Annual Wage: $96,110
West Virginia (+$11,340)
2015 Mean Annual Wage: $99,090
2016 Mean Annual Wage: $87,750
Louisiana (+$11,280)
2015 Mean Annual Wage: $81,290
2016 Mean Annual Wage: $92,570
Mississippi (+$11,130)
2015 Mean Annual Wage: $49,900
2016 Mean Annual Wage: $61,030
Iowa (+$10,590)
2015 Mean Annual Wage: $92,000
2016 Mean Annual Wage: $102,590
While physician assistants have seen a bump in their paychecks in these states since 2015, the numbers don’t show us the reason behind rising pay. In some cases, compensation increases may reflect that PAs have previously been underpaid in certain markets; the 2015 to 2016 average salary increase is simply a correction to keep up with the pace of the rest of the nation. In other states, cost of living may be taken into account. Finally, political and economic changes in the healthcare landscape come into play. Scope of practice regulations in some states make employing PAs more favorable for healthcare facilities, which is reflected in salaries.
Whatever the reason for year-over-year compensation increases, paychecks for physician assistants practicing in these 12 states are on an upward trajectory.
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