Physical Therapists in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$73,203
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$24,087
24.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$81,363
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — 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
$97,290
Kept after tax
$73,203
Worth in national money
$81,363
State rank
46
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for physical therapists is on the low side in Alabama. The middle earner gets $97,290. That is 46 of 51 states, and about 5.32% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Alabama. It ranks 58 out of 482 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Alabama is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $97,290 the take-home is $73,203; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $81,363 would nationally. The average comes to $100,190, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For physical therapists, Alabama sits in the lower band at $97,290, ranking 46 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 5.32%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Alabama, physical therapists ranks 58 of 482 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Post-tax income for physical therapists in Alabama, on $97,290, is $73,203 — equivalent to $81,363 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $100,190 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Physical Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $74,770 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $97,290 |
| Top tenth earn over | $133,710 |
| This salary | $97,290 |
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 Alabama | $73,203 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $77,274 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,844 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $91,503 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,546 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $97,290 as a midpoint for Alabama, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $74,770 and the ninetieth is $133,710 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $73,203 take-home in Alabama comes from $97,290. 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 58 of 482.
- Two cautions on $81,363, the adjusted value of that $97,290 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Alabama. 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 58 of 482 locally.
- The Alabama median of $97,290 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $74,770 to $133,710. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $73,203, from $97,290, assumes a single Alabama 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 58 of 482 locally, and the state ranks 46 of 51 for it.
- This $81,363 adjusted figure, worked from $97,290, 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 58 of 482 in the state. The occupation ranks 58 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $74,770 at the bottom tenth to $133,710 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Alabama is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $81,363 in national terms.
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 Alabama's own levy, $73,203 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 ($74,770 to $133,710) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $81,363 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $73,203 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama 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.