Physician Assistants in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$95,869
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$33,001
25.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$108,516
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
$128,870
Kept after tax
$95,869
Worth in national money
$108,516
State rank
41
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Louisiana pays physician assistants a middle wage of $128,870, 41 of 51 states and about 5.16% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Louisiana. It ranks 11 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 $128,870 you keep $95,869 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $108,516 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $130,290, since top earners drag the number up.
- Louisiana's $128,870 median for physician assistants places it 41 of 51 states, about 5.16% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Within Louisiana, physician assistants ranks 11 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 $95,869 after the full tax stack, from $128,870. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $108,516 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $130,290 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Physician Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $100,920 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $128,870 |
| Top tenth earn over | $162,200 |
| This salary | $128,870 |
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 | $95,869 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $99,349 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,280 |
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 | $123,779 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$8,928 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
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 Louisiana earn under $128,870 and half over. The published range runs $100,920 at the tenth percentile to $162,200 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $95,869 take-home in Louisiana comes from $128,870. 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 11 of 484.
- One number stands for prices across all of Louisiana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $108,516, the adjusted value of that $128,870 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 11 of 484 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for physician assistants in Louisiana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $100,920 to $162,200; 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.
- Retained pay of $95,869, from $128,870, assumes a single Louisiana 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 11 of 484 locally, and the state ranks 41 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Louisiana, so $108,516 — the adjusted value of that $128,870 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 11 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $100,920 at the tenth percentile, $162,200 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Louisiana sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $108,516 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $95,869.
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 ($100,920 to $162,200) 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 $108,516 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 $95,869 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.