Physical Therapists in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$75,576
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$22,954
23.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$85,547
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — 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
$98,530
Kept after tax
$75,576
Worth in national money
$85,547
State rank
42
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for physical therapists is on the low side in Louisiana. The middle earner gets $98,530. That is 42 of 51 states, and about 4.12% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Louisiana. It ranks 47 out of 484 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $98,530 you keep $75,576 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $85,547 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $97,250.
- For physical therapists, Louisiana sits in the lower band at $98,530, ranking 42 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 4.12%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Louisiana, physical therapists ranks 47 of 484 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.
- Retained pay in Louisiana is $75,576 after the full tax stack, from $98,530. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $85,547 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $97,250 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Physical Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $60,150 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $98,530 |
| Top tenth earn over | $127,640 |
| This salary | $98,530 |
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 Louisiana | $75,576 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $78,146 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,129 |
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 | $94,877 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$7,085 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Louisiana earn less than $98,530. The published range is $60,150 up to $127,640, 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 Louisiana's $75,576, worked from $98,530. 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 47 of 484.
- Two cautions on $85,547, the adjusted value of that $98,530 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Louisiana. 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 47 of 484 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for physical therapists in Louisiana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $60,150 to $127,640. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Louisiana take-home of $75,576, on $98,530 for work ranking 47 of 484 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 47 of 484 in the state.
- This $85,547 adjusted figure, worked from $98,530, 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 47 of 484 in the state. The occupation ranks 47 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $60,150 and the top tenth $127,640, so most people doing this work in Louisiana sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $85,547.
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; Louisiana then takes its own share, leaving $75,576.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($60,150 to $127,640) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Louisiana rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Louisiana'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 $85,547 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 $75,576 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana 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.