Physician Assistants in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$95,815
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$35,695
27.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$101,731
Michigan costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Michigan — 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
$131,510
Kept after tax
$95,815
Worth in national money
$101,731
State rank
37
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for physician assistants is on the low side in Michigan. The middle earner gets $131,510. That is 37 of 51 states, and about 3.22% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 493 occupations Michigan reports, physician assistants comes in at 18 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where Michigan does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $131,510 you keep $95,815, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $101,731 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $132,140, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For physician assistants, Michigan sits in the lower band at $131,510, ranking 37 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 3.22%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Physician assistants ranks 18 of 493 occupations by median in Michigan, 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 Michigan income tax, retained pay for physician assistants on $131,510 is $95,815. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $101,731 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 $132,140 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Physician Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $104,000 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $131,510 |
| Top tenth earn over | $162,570 |
| This salary | $131,510 |
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 Michigan | $95,815 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $101,153 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,362 |
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 | $123,700 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,359 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
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 Michigan earn under $131,510 and half over. The published range runs $104,000 at the tenth percentile to $162,570 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $95,815 take-home in Michigan comes from $131,510. 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 18 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $101,731 uses one figure for the whole of Michigan. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 18.
- Figures are distribution medians for physician assistants in Michigan, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $104,000 to $162,570; 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 $95,815, from $131,510, assumes a single Michigan 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 18 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 37 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $101,731, worked from $131,510, 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 Michigan address, on work sitting at 18 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $104,000 at the tenth percentile, $162,570 at the ninetieth.
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 $101,731.
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 Michigan's own levy, $95,815 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 ($104,000 to $162,570) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Michigan rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Michigan'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 $101,731 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 $95,815 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Michigan 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.