Physical Therapists — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$102,760
United States, 2025
Employment
267,330
United States, 2025
Typical education
Doctoral Degree
Job Zone 5
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
Assess, plan, organize, and participate in rehabilitative programs that improve mobility, relieve pain, increase strength, and improve or correct disabling conditions resulting from disease or injury.
- O*NET code
- 29-1123.00
- Job zone
- 5
- Experience required
- None
Typical tasks
- Plan, prepare, or carry out individually designed programs of physical treatment to maintain, improve, or restore physical functioning, alleviate pain, or prevent physical dysfunction in patients.
- Perform and document an initial exam, evaluating data to identify problems and determine a diagnosis prior to intervention.
- Record prognosis, treatment, response, and progress in patient's chart or enter information into computer.
- Instruct patient and family in treatment procedures to be continued at home.
- Evaluate effects of treatment at various stages and adjust treatments to achieve maximum benefit.
- Confer with the patient, medical practitioners, or appropriate others to plan, implement, or assess the intervention program.
- Administer manual exercises, massage, or traction to help relieve pain, increase patient strength, or decrease or prevent deformity or crippling.
- Obtain patients' informed consent to proposed interventions.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$77,140
25th percentile
$86,160
75th percentile
$121,160
90th percentile
$135,140
Most important skills
- Social Perceptiveness4.0
- Active Listening4.0
- Service Orientation4.0
- Critical Thinking4.0
- Speaking4.0
- Reading Comprehension4.0
- Writing3.9
- Monitoring3.9
- Judgment and Decision Making3.8
- Time Management3.6
- Instructing3.4
- Complex Problem Solving3.4
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 19 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
19
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 4.0 | 4.4 | Not selected | 4.4 |
| Active Listening | 4.0 | 4.1 | Not selected | 4.1 |
| Speaking | 4.0 | 4.1 | Not selected | 4.1 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 4.0 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Service Orientation | 4.0 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Critical Thinking | 4.0 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Writing | 3.9 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Monitoring | 3.9 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.8 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Time Management | 3.6 | 3.8 | Not selected | 3.8 |
| Instructing | 3.4 | 3.6 | Not selected | 3.6 |
| Coordination | 3.3 | 3.8 | Not selected | 3.8 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.4 | 3.4 | Not selected | 3.4 |
| Active Learning | 3.1 | 3.3 | Not selected | 3.3 |
| Systems Analysis | 3.1 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Learning Strategies | 3.1 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Systems Evaluation | 3.1 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Persuasion | 3.0 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Negotiation | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
Related careers
Supplemental
National median $97,550
Compare with Physical TherapistsHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | $141,980 | 3,140 | 2025 |
| Vallejo, CA | $141,530 | 300 | 2025 |
| Santa Rosa, CA | $140,100 | 290 | 2025 |
| San Jose, CA | $139,000 | 1,460 | 2025 |
| Napa, CA | $138,540 | 50 | 2025 |
| Chico, CA | $134,970 | 180 | 2025 |
| Sacramento, CA | $131,430 | 1,610 | 2025 |
| Santa Maria, CA | $128,680 | 310 | 2025 |
| Hanford, CA | $127,460 | 40 | 2025 |
| Salinas, CA | $127,120 | 190 | 2025 |
| Modesto, CA | $126,600 | 400 | 2025 |
| Merced, CA | $126,000 | 60 | 2025 |
| Decatur, IL | $125,600 | 40 | 2025 |
| Bakersfield, CA | $125,490 | 310 | 2025 |
| Santa Fe, NM | $124,870 | 80 | 2025 |
| Santa Cruz, CA | $124,790 | 160 | 2025 |
| Stockton, CA | $124,260 | 350 | 2025 |
| CA | $124,190 | 26,580 | 2025 |
| Fresno, CA | $123,820 | 620 | 2025 |
| Carson City, NV | $120,810 | 50 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Physical Therapists to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.