Physician Assistants in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$78,299
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$26,661
25.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$87,028
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
$104,960
Kept after tax
$78,299
Worth in national money
$87,028
State rank
51
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Alabama is among the lower-paying states for physician assistants. The middle earner takes $104,960, ranking 51 of 51 states — about 22.76% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Alabama. It ranks 39 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 $104,960 the take-home is $78,299; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $87,028 would nationally. The average comes to $110,860, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Alabama ranks 51 of 51 for physician assistants, with a median of $104,960 — about 22.76% 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.
- Within Alabama, physician assistants ranks 39 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 physician assistants in Alabama, on $104,960, is $78,299 — equivalent to $87,028 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 $110,860 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Physician Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $83,020 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $104,960 |
| Top tenth earn over | $145,100 |
| This salary | $104,960 |
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 | $78,299 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $82,669 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,956 |
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 | $98,748 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,701 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of physician assistants in Alabama earn under $104,960 and half over. The published range runs $83,020 at the tenth percentile to $145,100 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Alabama the take-home figure of $78,299, from $104,960, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 39 of 482 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Alabama, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $87,028, the adjusted value of that $104,960 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 39 of 482 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for physician assistants in Alabama, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $83,020 to $145,100; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Alabama is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $78,299 from $104,960. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 39 of 482 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Alabama, so $87,028 — the adjusted value of that $104,960 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 39 of 482 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 $110,860, 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?
The range here is narrow. From $83,020 at the bottom tenth to $145,100 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $87,028.
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, $78,299 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
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 Alabama is $110,860. 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 ($83,020 to $145,100) 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 $87,028 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 $78,299 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.