Salaries for Physician Assistants Increased More than $10K in These States

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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