Physician Assistant salary: $72.50/hr median.
Across 1,463 active postings · 5 titles with data · 36 states.
Browse Physician Assistant salary titles in Advanced Practice Provider, including posting volume, median pay, state coverage, and role-level comparisons.
How Physician Assistant pay is distributed across the market.
10% of postings pay under $60.00. The top 10% pay above $97.50.
How Physician Assistant pay has moved month over month.
Median pay moved from $37.90 in Apr 2026 to $88.50 in Oct 2026 (+133.5%). Bars show monthly posting volume; the line tracks the posting-weighted median.
Physician Assistant pay across every state with live data.
Showing all 36 states with live data. Bars scale to the highest-paying state.
CITY PAY DATA
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The most common job titles in Physician Assistant.
These are the individual job titles that make up the Physician Assistant track, ranked by active posting volume over the last 6 months.
| Role | Category · Track | Median /hr | P25–P75 | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Care Physician Assistant | Advanced Practice Provider · Physician Assistant | $39.65 | $34.48–$73.70 | 20 |
| Cardiology Physician Assistant | Advanced Practice Provider · Physician Assistant | $103.50 | $91.20–$103.50 | 3 |
| Neurosurgery Physician Assistant | Advanced Practice Provider · Physician Assistant | $108.50 | $84.00–$133.00 | 2 |
| Cardiothoracic Surgery PA | Advanced Practice Provider · Physician Assistant | $88.50 | $88.50–$88.50 | 1 |
Highest-paying job titles in the Physician Assistant track.
| Role | Category · Track | Median /hr | P25–P75 | Postings | Δ pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neurosurgery Physician Assistant | Advanced Practice Provider · Physician Assistant | $108.50 | $84.00–$133.00 | 2 | — flat |
| Cardiology Physician Assistant | Advanced Practice Provider · Physician Assistant | $103.50 | $91.20–$103.50 | 3 | — flat |
| Cardiothoracic Surgery PA | Advanced Practice Provider · Physician Assistant | $88.50 | $88.50–$88.50 | 1 | — flat |
| Primary Care Physician Assistant | Advanced Practice Provider · Physician Assistant | $39.65 | $34.48–$73.70 | 20 | — flat |
How to become a Physician Assistant.
Advanced Practice Providers — Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, Clinical Nurse Specialists, and Certified Nurse Midwives — diagnose, treat, prescribe, and coordinate care under their own license. APPs sit between RN-level bedside care and physician-level decision authority, with scope of practice that varies by state. The two dominant paths are the APRN route (NP / CNS / CRNA / CNM, built on an RN license) and the PA route (a separate medical-model master's program).
APRNs (NP, CNS, CRNA, CNM) start with a BSN and RN license, complete a graduate program in their chosen population focus, and pass the national certification exam (e.g. AANP/ANCC for NPs). PAs come through a separate medical-model master's program with no nursing prerequisite, then pass the PANCE. Both routes require state APP licensure / authorization to practice; collaboration and supervision rules vary widely by state.
| Degree | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Master of Science in Nursing (MSN-NP)MSN | 2-3 years post-BSN | Standard entry to Nurse Practitioner practice. Tracks include FNP, AGNP (primary or acute), PMHNP, PNP, NNP, and Women's Health NP. |
| Doctor of Nursing PracticeDNP | 3-4 years post-BSN | Terminal practice degree for APRNs. Increasingly the entry-level requirement for some specialties (CRNA programs are doctoral-only as of 2025). |
| Physician Assistant Master'sMPAS / MMS / MSPAS | 27 months full-time | Medical-model program covering didactic plus 2,000+ supervised clinical hours across core rotations (IM, surgery, EM, peds, OB, behavioral health, family medicine). |
| Post-master's certificateCert | 1-2 years | Adds a new APRN specialty (e.g. PMHNP) on top of an existing master's. Common for FNPs who want to add an acute-care or psych population focus. |
Required for NPs, CNSes, CRNAs, and CNMs. Built on top of the underlying RN license. Some states grant full practice authority; others require physician collaboration.
Required for PAs in every state. Eligibility requires PANCE certification and graduation from an ARC-PA accredited program.
Required to prescribe controlled substances. Almost universally required in practice for full-scope outpatient roles.
Required for nearly all APP roles; PALS is required for pediatric specialties.
| Credential | Issued by | Pay impact |
|---|---|---|
| AANP / ANCC NP certification National NP board certification (population-focused) Population-focused certification (FNP, AGNP, PMHNP, PNP, etc.) is the bridge from graduation to state APRN licensure. Not optional. | AANP or ANCC | Entry requirement |
| PANCE / PANRE Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam PANCE is the post-graduation entry exam; PANRE recertifies every 10 years. Standard requirement for PA state licensure. | NCCPA | Entry requirement |
| Specialty CAQ / sub-specialty Certificate of Added Qualifications (PAs) or specialty certification (NPs) Surgical, EM, cardiology, hospital medicine, psychiatry — both PAs and NPs can add formal specialty credentials. Often required for procedure-heavy roles. | NCCPA / specialty boards | +5-15% |
- 0-1 yearsNew-grad APP / Fellowship
Newly licensed NP or PA. Many systems run formal post-graduate fellowships (EM, hospitalist, surgery, primary care) for structured onboarding.
- 1-4 yearsStaff APP
Independent clinical caseload within specialty. Builds procedural skill and patient panel.
- 4-8 yearsSenior / specialty APP
Holds specialty CAQ or sub-specialty certification. Often a clinical preceptor for new-grad APPs and physician residents.
- 8+ yearsLead APP
Oversees APP scheduling, hiring, and protocols for a service line. Partners with the medical director on quality and throughput metrics.
- 12+ yearsDirector of APPs / Chief APP
System-level leadership over the APP workforce. Owns scope-of-practice strategy, credentialing, and APP-physician collaboration models. Often holds a doctorate (DNP or DMS).
Schedule. Outpatient APPs run business hours with limited call. Hospital and ER APPs typically work 12-hour shifts including nights, weekends, and holidays. Surgical APPs may take significant first-assist call.
Physical demands. Largely moderate — clinic-based roles involve frequent standing and EHR work; procedure-heavy specialties (surgery, EM, cardiology) add patient positioning, suturing, and longer stretches on your feet.
Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants are projected to be among the fastest-growing US occupations of the decade. Demand is driven by physician shortages (especially in primary care and rural areas), expanding scope-of-practice laws, and the shift of routine specialty care from physicians to APPs.