Physical Therapist Aides in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,309
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$6,021
15.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,699
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$38,330
Kept after tax
$32,309
Worth in national money
$28,699
State rank
9
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for physical therapist aides is strong here. California's middle earner gets $38,330, putting the state 9 of 50 — about 8.77% ahead of the national figure.
- Against 492 occupations California publishes, physical therapist aides lands at 474. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $38,330 the take-home is $32,309. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $28,699 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $43,470, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For physical therapist aides, California sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $38,330, ranking 9 of 50 and running about 8.77% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Within California, this work ranks 474 of 492 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and California income tax is $32,309 for physical therapist aides, from $38,330. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $28,699. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $43,470 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Physical Therapist Aides
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,690 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,330 |
| Top tenth earn over | $60,200 |
| This salary | $38,330 |
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 California | $32,309 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,978 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,238 |
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 | $37,498 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,335 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in California earn less than $38,330. The published range is $34,690 up to $60,200, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $32,309 take-home in California comes from $38,330. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 474 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $28,699 uses one figure for the whole of California. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 474.
- Reported values are medians; for physical therapist aides in California the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $34,690 to $60,200. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $32,309, from $38,330, assumes a single California filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 474 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 9 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $28,699, worked from $38,330, 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 California address, on work sitting at 474 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $43,470, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $34,690 and the top tenth $60,200, so most people doing this work in California sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in California run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $28,699 — 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; California then takes its own share, leaving $32,309.
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 California is $43,470. 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 ($34,690 to $60,200) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to California rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $28,699 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 $32,309 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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.