Physical Therapists in Missouri
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$74,964
after federal, FICA and Missouri tax
Tax takes
$24,346
24.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$81,694
Missouri costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Missouri — 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
$99,310
Kept after tax
$74,964
Worth in national money
$81,694
State rank
38
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Missouri is among the lower-paying states for physical therapists. The middle earner takes $99,310, ranking 38 of 51 states — about 3.36% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 488 occupations Missouri reports, physical therapists comes in at 57 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where Missouri does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $99,310 you keep $74,964, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $81,694 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $98,700, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Missouri ranks 38 of 51 for physical therapists, with a median of $99,310 — about 3.36% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Physical therapists ranks 57 of 488 occupations by median in Missouri, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After federal, FICA and Missouri income tax, retained pay for physical therapists on $99,310 is $74,964. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $81,694 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $98,700 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 Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $76,110 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $99,310 |
| Top tenth earn over | $124,530 |
| This salary | $99,310 |
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 Missouri | $74,964 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $78,695 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$712 |
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 | $94,008 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$983 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Missouri earn less than $99,310. The published range is $76,110 up to $124,530, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $74,964 take-home in Missouri comes from $99,310. 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 57 of 488.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $81,694 uses one figure for the whole of Missouri. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 488 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 57.
- Reported values are medians; for physical therapists in Missouri the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $76,110 to $124,530. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $74,964, from $99,310, assumes a single Missouri 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 57 of 488 locally, and the state ranks 38 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $81,694, worked from $99,310, 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 Missouri address, on work sitting at 57 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $76,110 and the top tenth $124,530, so most people doing this work in Missouri sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Missouri sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $81,694 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Missouri's own levy, $74,964 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 ($76,110 to $124,530) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Missouri rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Missouri'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 $81,694 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 $74,964 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Missouri 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.