The physician assistant market spans from $94,000 to $400,000 annually, a 326% range that tells you everything and nothing about what you should expect to earn. There are 1,229 active listings scattered across the country, from California’s 176 postings to Arkansas’s lone opportunity. Of these, 533 include salary data. The story here is not abundance (though there is plenty of that) but rather profound geographic arbitrage: where you work matters more than almost anything else.
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The Physician Assistant Job Market at a Glance

Total listings: 1,229. Listings with salary data: 533. Full compensation range: $94,000 to $400,000. National average range: $150,881 to $191,561.

That average conceals a market split into two worlds. The floor is weighed down by saturated coastal metros where supply has caught up to demand. The ceiling is propped up by rural scarcity premiums, specialized roles, and states that have discovered they must pay to attract talent. The $400,000 top end is an outlier (likely locum tenens or a very specialized niche), but the $280,000 emergency medicine roles are real and repeatable. Most full-time permanent positions cluster between $95,000 and $190,000, which means the average is doing real work as a benchmark.

States represented:

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

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How States Stack Up

Overperformers:

Tennessee leads nationally at $213,200 to $283,760, a stunning premium for a state with only five listings (scarcity has been monetized). Kansas follows at $208,000 to $270,400, proving that the Great Plains will pay you to show up. Kentucky averages $208,000 to $280,800, and like Tennessee, this is a low-volume, high-reward scenario. Indiana comes in at $195,000 to $264,080, offering both income and proximity to the Midwest’s lower cost structure. South Carolina averages $191,360 to $255,840, a strong showing for a state with 32 listings. Virginia posts $185,467 to $230,533, blending mid-Atlantic access with above-average pay. Alabama ($178,800 to $242,507) and Wisconsin ($178,660 to $243,348) both clear $178,000 on the low end, rewarding those willing to work outside the coasts. Florida ($176,960 to $222,821), Montana ($174,909 to $231,418), and Ohio ($173,677 to $213,923) round out the top tier with strong compensation and reasonable volume.

Near-average:

North Carolina averages $172,333 to $225,903 across 88 listings, making it a volume leader with respectable pay. Pennsylvania sits at $166,549 to $218,971, and Texas averages $157,486 to $207,829, both offering solid compensation in large markets. Minnesota ($157,185 to $216,587), Oregon ($158,971 to $228,206), and New Mexico ($163,800 to $200,200) cluster near the national midpoint. California, with 176 listings, averages $151,698 to $187,086, essentially defining the national baseline. Illinois ($148,945 to $187,735), Missouri ($145,760 to $191,040), Maine ($145,543 to $184,657), and New Hampshire ($145,600 to $187,200) all hover near $145,000 on the low end. Washington state, despite 71 listings, averages $142,732 to $169,706, slightly below the national mean.

Underperformers:

New Jersey averages $141,200 to $172,124, underwhelming given the cost of living. Hawaii posts $138,800 to $164,333, a reminder that paradise does not pay a premium. Maryland ($134,360 to $172,008) and Vermont ($133,100 to $160,885) both fall short of expectations. New York, with 85 listings, averages just $131,187 to $164,020, a shocking disconnect between volume and value. Connecticut ($130,050 to $173,377) and Nevada ($127,371 to $151,524) round out the lower middle. Massachusetts averages $126,400 to $161,240, proving that Boston does not compensate for Boston rents. Rhode Island ($121,120 to $160,440) and Colorado ($117,516 to $148,386) bring up the rear, with Colorado posting the lowest average in the dataset despite its desirability.

Volume leaders: California (176), North Carolina (88), New York (85), Washington (71), Oregon (58), Illinois (52), Georgia (48). New York’s volume-to-pay ratio is the market’s most glaring inefficiency. California and Washington also post high volume with middling compensation. North Carolina offers the best balance of the group.
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What This Means If You’re a Physician

If your priority is maximum compensation: Tennessee, Kansas, and Kentucky are the statistical leaders, but their low listing counts mean you will need patience (or flexibility). The highest confirmed salary in the dataset is $400,000, though context is unavailable. The highest detailed listing is an Emergency Medicine PA in Dothan, Alabama at $135 per hour ($280,800 annualized), a figure that reflects both specialty and location scarcity.

If your priority is maximum optionality: California offers 176 listings, North Carolina 88, and New York 85. California and New York both pay below their brand value, but the volume provides leverage. North Carolina combines 88 postings with an above-average range of $172,333 to $225,903, making it the rare high-volume, high-pay market.

If your priority is balance: Georgia (48 listings, $154,191 to $201,475), Florida (39 listings, $176,960 to $222,821), and Wisconsin (37 listings, $178,660 to $243,348) offer strong compensation without requiring you to relocate to rural Tennessee. Florida and Wisconsin both clear $176,000 on the low end while maintaining meaningful job counts. The cost-of-living mismatch is most severe in Colorado ($117,516 to $148,386) and Massachusetts ($126,400 to $161,240), where salaries lag far behind housing costs.
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What This Means If You’re a Recruiter

Salary transparency rate: 43.4% (533 of 1,229 listings). This is a coin-flip market for candidates evaluating opportunities, and it creates friction in the pipeline. States with high volume and low transparency (Oregon at 12%, Arizona at 5%, Alaska at 0%) will struggle to convert interest into applications without leading with compensation data.

Candidate pipeline implications: New York, California, and Washington are all high-volume, below-average-pay markets. Recruiters in these states cannot rely on salary to close candidates and will need to emphasize scope, team culture, or career trajectory. Conversely, Tennessee, Kansas, and Kentucky have tiny listing counts but top-tier pay, meaning recruiters there can lead with the number and expect inbound interest. The volume-pay misalignment is most severe in New York (85 listings, $131,187 average low) and Oregon (58 listings, $158,971 average low). Both will require non-financial differentiation to compete.
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What’s Driving the Numbers

Geographic arbitrage is the dominant force. The gap between Tennessee ($213,200 low) and Colorado ($117,516 low) is $95,684, or 81%. This is not a marginal difference. This is two entirely different labor markets operating under the same credential. Physician assistants who optimize for location can effectively double their earning power without changing their scope of practice.

Specialty and setting command measurable premiums. The $280,800 emergency medicine role in Alabama and the $400,000 ceiling suggest that acute care, procedural work, and high-acuity environments pull compensation upward. The $94,000 floor (likely a part-time or entry-level role) and the $95,000 endocrinology position in New Jersey represent the opposite end: outpatient, chronic disease management, and saturated markets.

Volume does not predict pay. California has 176 listings and pays $151,698 on average. Tennessee has five listings and pays $213,200. New York has 85 listings and pays $131,187. The inverse relationship between supply and compensation is nearly perfect in the top and bottom deciles. High-volume states are not rewarding PAs for showing up; low-volume states are paying premiums to convince them to stay.

Coastal saturation has created a pay penalty. Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Colorado all fall below the national average despite being desirable markets. The explanation is straightforward: too many PAs want to live there, and employers have adjusted accordingly. The Midwest and South have flipped the script, offering both lower costs of living and higher nominal salaries.

The Bottom Line

The physician assistant market is abundant, geographically diffuse, and economically bifurcated. If you are willing to work in Tennessee, Kansas, or Kentucky, you will be paid like a scarce resource. If you insist on New York, Massachusetts, or Colorado, you will be paid like a commodity. The $400,000 ceiling proves that outlier compensation exists, but the $150,000 to $191,000 average range is where most careers will live. The opportunity is national, but the reward is regional.

There is a lot of work available for physician assistants. There is a lot of money available in specific ZIP codes. Choose accordingly.
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Salary data based on 533 listings with disclosed compensation. Figures may reflect part-time or specialized roles. This report is informational and should not replace professional judgment or financial planning.