Across the 29 states we track, Massachusetts gives Physical Therapists the strongest cost-of-living-adjusted pay: about $109,600 real pay on a median of $118,700. Louisiana follows at about $108,300 real pay, then Oklahoma at about $107,300. The table ranks every state by real pay, so a high nominal salary in an expensive state cannot masquerade as a raise.
Physical Therapist Salary by State (2026): Real Pay Ranked
Massachusetts ranks first for Physical Therapist real pay: about $109,600 after cost of living. Median and real pay for all 29 states, ranked.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS) & BEA Regional Price Parities · Updated October 2026
States ranked
29
Metros counted
45
National average
$100,440
Physical Therapist pay by state, ranked by real pay
| State | Median pay | Real pay (COL-adjusted) | Metro(s) counted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Massachusetts | $118,700 | $109,600 | Boston |
| 2. Louisiana | $100,300 | $108,300 | New Orleans |
| 3. Oklahoma | $96,400 | $107,300 | Oklahoma City, Tulsa |
| 4. Indiana | $102,500 | $107,100 | Indianapolis |
| 5. Kansas | $95,000 | $106,900 | Wichita |
| 6. Tennessee | $100,000 | $106,000 | Nashville, Memphis |
| 7. Texas | $102,400 | $104,600 | Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, El Paso |
| 8. New Mexico | $99,700 | $104,400 | Albuquerque |
| 9. Ohio | $99,600 | $104,300 | Columbus |
| 10. Missouri | $95,900 | $103,700 | Kansas City |
| 11. Nevada | $103,800 | $103,600 | Las Vegas |
| 12. California | $113,200 | $102,800 | Los Angeles-Long Beach, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco-Oakland, Fresno, Sacramento |
| 13. Wisconsin | $99,200 | $102,400 | Milwaukee |
| 14. Pennsylvania | $104,700 | $102,000 | Philadelphia |
| 15. Georgia | $99,900 | $99,800 | Atlanta |
| 16. Illinois | $103,300 | $99,700 | Chicago |
| 17. Michigan | $99,600 | $99,300 | Detroit |
| 18. Arizona | $99,000 | $98,900 | Phoenix-Mesa, Tucson |
| 19. North Carolina | $94,500 | $96,600 | Charlotte, Raleigh |
| 20. Maryland | $100,200 | $95,900 | Baltimore |
| 21. Kentucky | $89,300 | $95,900 | Louisville |
| 22. Colorado | $98,700 | $95,600 | Denver, Colorado Springs |
| 23. Oregon | $100,400 | $95,300 | Portland |
| 24. Nebraska | $87,200 | $94,900 | Omaha |
| 25. District of Columbia | $103,100 | $94,700 | Washington |
| 26. Washington | $104,700 | $94,200 | Seattle |
| 27. Minnesota | $97,200 | $92,700 | Minneapolis |
| 28. New York | $104,000 | $92,400 | New York |
| 29. Florida | $95,100 | $89,000 | Jacksonville, Miami |
Method: each state aggregates the BLS OEWS metro medians we track for Physical Therapist in that state - an employment-weighted mean where every counted metro publishes employment (27 of 29 states), otherwise a simple mean (2 states). Real pay = state median divided by (state RPP / 100), where the state RPP is the mean BEA Regional Price Parity of its counted metros; figures are rounded to the nearest $100. Twin cities sharing one metro estimate (for example Phoenix-Mesa) are counted once. Arlington, TX and Cleveland, OH metros lack a cost-of-living index in our dataset and are excluded from their state's figures. States without a tracked metro are omitted rather than estimated.
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Frequently Asked Questions
On cost-of-living-adjusted pay, Massachusetts leads at about $109,600 real pay (median $118,700), ahead of Louisiana at about $108,300.
We aggregate the BLS median wages of the metros we track in each state (an employment-weighted mean where employment data exists, otherwise a simple average), then divide by the mean Regional Price Parity of those metros to get real pay.
The full city-level table with 10th-90th percentiles and every metro's cost-of-living index is on the Physical Therapist salary hub at /salary/physical-therapist/.