How much does a physician assistant make?
Filed Under (General Talk) by Dave on 07-03-2008
I have been keeping track of recent searches that people conduct on google and I have found many are looking for to find how much money or what the salary of a physician assistant is. I did this search myself on google and tons of results came up. I started to go through many of the sites when I started to notice something….none of the sites provide anywhere near the same information. From this, I can see how many people would be very confused when searching for how much a physician assistant makes when there are so many different answers out there. So to help clear things up, I have compiled the best of all the sites in an easy to understand way and will provide it for you. I will try and provide data that will give you a good idea of the range that a physician assistant can make.
So lets start with data that was collected in 2007 by The American Academy of Physician Assistants. According to the AAPA, “The median total annual income from primary employer for respondents who work at least 32 hours per week for their primary employer and who are not self-employed is $82,223; the mean is $86,214. The comparable figures for respondents who graduated in 2006 are $71,825 and $73,013, respectively.” For more details on how they came up with this data visit the AAPA’s site.
Now that I have thrown some exact figures at you, I would like to now summarize all the other figures you will find on the web. Something to know is that I will be giving the low end of all estimates. So if the average pay for a third year physician assistant is $90,000 – $110,000…I will report the average as $90,000. I think it is more important to know the low end and to be thoughtful of the fact that the number can always go up.
It seems that the average starting pay for a physician assistant fresh out of PA school is in the neighborhood of $72,000.
After the first year of employment, the pay goes up as should be expected. It seems the average pay for non first year physician assistant, or physician assistants that have been practicing for a few years is $90,000.
Now, for the stuff everyone wants to really now, but may be afraid to actually ask? What is the most that a PA can make? Well, I have seen many figures, but it seems that some physician assistants are or have the potential to make $150,000.
So, for those of you who like to have it in terms of hours….
the figures I have gathered say the general idea of pay per hour is anywhere from $35 to $75. So doing some simple math…
$35 per hours times 40 hours per week, the hours may be more or less, times 52 weeks in a year equals $72,800. Doing the same thing for $75 per hours gives, $156,000.
It must be kept in mind that pay or salary has many factors. How much experience, hours, geographic location, the type of practice, etc…
So to put it all in words….
Physician Assistants do very well 
You did a wonderful job with finding good figures. Lately i’ve been googling PA salaries, and haven’t come up with consistent numbers. Thanks!
Thanks. And remember guys, if you ever have anything you think I should add, new figures, corrections, just let me know!
Good job, thanks
u gave me what i needed
Hello, i was just wondering if you know what specialty that a P.A. can go into makes the most out of all of them?
Kelley,
Im not sure tha is a clear cut answer. It all depends on if the practice or hospital you work for gives you a bonus for got performance, if you have to pay for medical insurance out of pocket…all that good stuff. So in other words, there are tons of factors that go into the process.
-Dave
Yeah thats true! TY
Great answer! I have been looking up questions like these for some answers and this one is the most consistent one. Thank you and God bless!
I live in an area where we have the top ranked cardiology hospital in the state. I have been told that a PA salary is around 100K to 200K per year.
Finally my question have been answered! lol
What is the primary different between PA’s and NP’s. I’m having trouble deciding which one I want to major in.
[...] One of the most visited pages on this site is the one I compiled some time ago about how much Physician Assistants really got paid. If you are interested in reading that story follow this link… HOW MUCH PAs MAKE [...]
I have friend that he made 240,000 last year as PA, he acually thought about going back to medical school but after a long thoughts and doctors advises , they told him not do it because it’s just not worth it on the long run.
i wonder which states are the best for PAs to make the most money in
Which field is your friend in that makes 240K? Thanx.
And for anyone to answer….which field/speciality of PA makes 6 figures?
Having a medical degree from foreign country along with PA accreditation does that increase your pay?
Thanx.
Hi, I am a PA, VERY unusual for a PA to make over $110k! The highest paid PAs are usually in surgical sub-specialties and/or they have a % deal with their employer.
Michelle,
Do you mind my asking what field you work in and in what state?
Hi,
I am looking into PA schools in Michigan. Does anyone know what schools are better?
I wanted to know, if you did 2 years in a community college to become a PA does the salary start off the same?
Once you have that “PA-C” title you are a PA. There is no reason why going to a community college should result in less pay. As long as you do well at the job you do!
I am a physician recruiter for a hospital in the Midwest. Hospitals use a number of benchmarks to ensure that the compensation that we are offering physicians and allied health professionals remains competitive. There are a number of good sources, such as MGMA, AGMA, and UHC, however, you typically have to pay for the current compensation data. Delta provides a free annual report, however, those of us in the industry typically find that their data is higher than the norm. Each hospital has their own philosophy, but the general idea is that most first year providers will hit at or around the 25th percentile of the benchmark, with the hope that the provider will eventually get to the 50th-75th percentile. Compensation does differ based on specialty/call requirements/etc. We offered ths ame to a new grad working in interventional neuro, who had significant call requirements as we did to an experienced PA who worked 30 hr/wk in an urgent care setting (85K). Also keep in mind that there are a number of non-compensation benefits available such as PTO, CME training, time off for CME, paying for licenses and memberships, paying for boards, etc. If an organization is not willing to increase your actual compensation, perhaps you can negotiate to add one of these other benefits instead.
I graduated from Stanford PCA program. As a new grad, I made 106k w/o cme, pto, and malpractice benefits included in that figure (in 2009, Virginia/DC area- CV surg and internal med). Moved to TX 3 months ago for pain med/ surg position, 139K + relocation and full benefits in addition to profit sharing and productivity. IDK what to say. My mom is a MSN-NP in NY. She makes over 150K (been working there for 5 yrs). Her associate is a MMS PA-C, makes a little less than she does and has only bn with the practice for 2 yrs. I believe that PAs, NPs and other mid level clinicians that are capable of providing physician level care should be compensated as such. PAs are “legally” able to perform about 80% of a physician’s duties but, the education we receive is 95% identical to that of a typical med student. Though PAs squeeze all of that in their brains in 2 yrs opposed to the 4+ MDs and DOs have for their training. As time passes, more and more employers will begin to value the PA profession and our pay will reflect our competence and ability.
