Occupation salary profile

Physician Assistants

SOC 29-1071 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

Provide healthcare services typically performed by a physician, under the supervision of a physician. Conduct complete physicals, provide treatment, and counsel patients. May, in some cases, prescribe medication. Must graduate from an accredited educational program for physician assistants. Excludes “Registered Nurses” (29-1141), “Nurse Anesthetists” (29-1151), “Nurse Midwives” (29-1161), “Nurse Practitioners” (29-1171), “Emergency Medical Technicians” (29-2042), “Paramedics” (29-2043), “Surgical Assistants” (29-9093), and “Medical Assistants” (31-9092).

National median · BLS
$135,880
▲ +1.97% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$132,000
▲ +8.92% YoY · 55 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$141,280
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
162,150
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.

Pay range for Physician Assistants

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 55 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS) H-1B sponsored
10th — entry pay$99,380$108,589
25th$120,670$115,674
Median (50th)$135,880$132,000
75th$163,980$149,408
90th — top pay$190,280$154,466
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $132,000 for Physician Assistants — 2.9% below the BLS national median of $135,880.

Hourly ⇄ annual pay

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Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Physician Assistants

BLS projects employment of physician assistants to grow 21.1% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 11,500 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
168,900 → 204,600
+35,700 jobs
Projected change
+21.1%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
11,500
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Master's degree
No related experience required
Self-employed
1.4% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 5)
Extensive Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Fastest-growing jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a master's degree →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

H-1B sponsored pay

Pay by H-1B wage level

Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.

H-1B median $132,000
Change vs prior year +8.92%
After inflation (CPI-U) +5.61%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 17 30.9% $115,000 $130,500 $138,965
Level II 23 41.8% $112,301 $126,000 $141,765
H-1B job titles

Salaries by job title in Physician Assistants

The 1 most-filed job titles inside SOC 29-1071, from 55 H-1B filings. Seniority words and level numbers are grouped (“Senior Data Engineer II” counts as Data Engineer). Tap a title for its full range, wage levels and the exact titles employers used.

Job title LCAs Share P25 Median P75 YoY
Physician Assistant 39 70.91% $115,225 $132,600 $149,408 +12.28%

Titles are cleaned from the employer's own LCA text (codes and typos removed, nothing invented). Rows need 10+ filings in this SOC.

Skills & tools

Skills needed for Physician Assistants

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Critical Thinking4.1
  • Reading Comprehension4.1
  • Active Listening4.0
  • Judgment and Decision Making4.0
  • Service Orientation4.0
  • Social Perceptiveness4.0
  • Speaking4.0
  • Writing4.0
  • Active Learning3.9
  • Complex Problem Solving3.9
Top knowledge areas
  • Medicine and Dentistry5.0
  • Biology4.8
  • English Language4.6
  • Psychology4.6
  • Therapy and Counseling4.5
  • Customer and Personal Service4.2
  • Education and Training4.0
  • Sociology and Anthropology3.6
Software and technology used
Epic SystemseClinicalWorks EHR softwareMEDITECH softwareMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft WordChartWare EMRElectronic medical record EMR softwareHealthcare common procedure coding system HCPCSMedical condition coding softwareMedical procedure coding softwarePatient management softwarePatient records software for personal digital assistants PDAsTeleconferencing softwareTeleradiology systemsWeb browser software

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What physician assistants do

  • Make tentative diagnoses and decisions about management and treatment of patients.
  • Interpret diagnostic test results for deviations from normal.
  • Prescribe therapy or medication with physician approval.
  • Obtain, compile, and record patient medical data, including health history, progress notes, and results of physical examination.
  • Examine patients to obtain information about their physical condition.
  • Administer or order diagnostic tests, such as x-ray, electrocardiogram, and laboratory tests.
  • Instruct and counsel patients about prescribed therapeutic regimens, normal growth and development, family planning, emotional problems of daily living, and health maintenance.
  • Perform therapeutic procedures, such as injections, immunizations, suturing and wound care, and infection management.
Also called
Certified Physician Assistant (PA-C)Family Practice Physician AssistantPhysician Assistant (PA)Physician's AssistantCardiology Physician AssistantEmergency Medicine Physician Assistant (Emergency Medicine PA)Orthopaedic Physician AssistantOrthopedic Physician AssistantSurgical Critical Care Physician Assistant (Surgical Critical Care PA)Surgical Physician Assistant (Surgical PA)
Specialties within this occupation
  • Anesthesiologist Assistants
More job titles for this occupation (25)
Advanced Practice Provider (AAP)Anesthesia AssistantAnesthesia OrderlyAnesthesia Technician (Anesthesia Tech)Anesthesia TechnologistAnesthesiology AssistantAnesthesiology Technician (Anesthesiology Tech)Anesthetic AssistantCAA (Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant)CAA (Certified Anesthesiology Assistant)Cardiothoracic Anesthesia Technician (Cardiothoracic Anesthesia Tech)Cer.AT (Certified Anesthesia Technician)Cer.ATT (Certified Anesthesia Technologist)Certified Physician's Assistant (PA-C)Doctor AssistantFamily Medicine PA (Family Medicine Physician Assistant)Family Physician AssistantGynecological AssistantMedical Service TechnicianNeurosurgery PA (Neurosurgery Physician Assistant)Pediatric Physician AssistantPhysician Associate (PA)Radiology Practitioner AssistantUrgent Care PA (Urgent Care Physician Assistant)Urgent Care Specialist

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.