Physical Therapist Assistants in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$63,661
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$19,449
23.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$56,547
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
$83,110
Kept after tax
$63,661
Worth in national money
$56,547
State rank
1
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for physical therapist assistants is strong here. California's middle earner gets $83,110, putting the state 1 of 51 — about 21.54% ahead of the national figure.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations California reports figures for, this is number 176.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $83,110 the take-home is $63,661. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $56,547 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is lower, $83,080, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For physical therapist assistants, California sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $83,110, ranking 1 of 51 and running about 21.54% 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.
- In California's occupational distribution, physical therapist assistants sits at 176 of 492 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and California income tax is $63,661 for physical therapist assistants, from $83,110. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $56,547. ⚠️ 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 $83,080 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Physical Therapist Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $59,500 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $83,110 |
| Top tenth earn over | $102,800 |
| This salary | $83,110 |
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 | $63,661 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $67,298 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$12,708 |
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 | $77,940 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$17,436 |
| 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 $83,110. The published range is $59,500 up to $102,800, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind California's $63,661, worked from $83,110. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 176 of 492.
- Two cautions on $56,547, the adjusted value of that $83,110 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of California. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 176 of 492 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for physical therapist assistants in California the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $59,500 to $102,800. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The California take-home of $63,661, on $83,110 for work ranking 176 of 492 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 176 of 492 in the state.
- This $56,547 adjusted figure, worked from $83,110, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 176 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 176 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $59,500 and the top tenth $102,800, so most people doing this work in California sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. California costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $56,547 rather than its face figure.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and California's own levy, $63,661 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($59,500 to $102,800) 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 $56,547 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 $63,661 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.