Physical Therapist Aides in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,032
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$5,228
14.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$29,704
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$35,260
Kept after tax
$30,032
Worth in national money
$29,704
State rank
20
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Arizona is 20 of 50 states for physical therapist aides, with a middle wage of $35,260. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Arizona this is lower-paid work. Of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, physical therapist aides ranks 477. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Arizona costs about what the country costs, so from $35,260, take-home of $30,032 is worth roughly $29,704 in national money. The average comes to $37,310, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Arizona ranks 20 of 50 for physical therapist aides at $35,260. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Arizona reports, physical therapist aides ranks 477 of 491, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Price parity in Arizona is near the national base, so for physical therapist aides, whose median is $35,260, the adjusted figure of $29,704 differs little from $30,032 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $37,310 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Physical Therapist Aides
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,510 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,260 |
| Top tenth earn over | $44,630 |
| This salary | $35,260 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Arizona | $30,032 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,511 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,694 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $34,664 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,049 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of physical therapist aides in Arizona earn under $35,260 and half over. The published range runs $31,510 at the tenth percentile to $44,630 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Arizona the take-home figure of $30,032, from $35,260, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 477 of 491 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $29,704 uses one figure for the whole of Arizona. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 477.
- Figures are distribution medians for physical therapist aides in Arizona, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,510 to $44,630; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Arizona is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $30,032 from $35,260. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 477 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $29,704, worked from $35,260, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Arizona address, on work sitting at 477 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $37,310 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $31,510 at the tenth percentile, $44,630 at the ninetieth.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Arizona run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $29,704 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Arizona then takes its own share, leaving $30,032.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Arizona is $37,310. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,510 to $44,630) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Arizona rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $29,704 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $30,032 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.