Physician Assistants in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$97,365
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$37,375
27.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$102,487
Utah costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Utah — 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
$134,740
Kept after tax
$97,365
Worth in national money
$102,487
State rank
24
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Utah sits in the middle of the pack for physician assistants. The median is $134,740, ranking 24 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 487 occupations Utah reports, physician assistants comes in at 15 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $134,740 you keep $97,365 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $102,487 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $132,530.
- Utah occupies the middle band for physician assistants: a median of $134,740, ranking 24 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Physician assistants ranks 15 of 487 occupations by median in Utah, 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.
- Retained pay in Utah is $97,365 after the full tax stack, from $134,740. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $102,487 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $132,530 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Physician Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $82,910 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $134,740 |
| Top tenth earn over | $171,430 |
| This salary | $134,740 |
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 Utah | $97,365 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $103,361 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,878 |
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 | $125,968 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,514 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 95 |
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 Utah earn under $134,740 and half over. The published range runs $82,910 at the tenth percentile to $171,430 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Utah's $97,365, worked from $134,740. 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 15 of 487.
- One number stands for prices across all of Utah, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $102,487, the adjusted value of that $134,740 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 15 of 487 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for physician assistants in Utah, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $82,910 to $171,430; 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.
- The Utah take-home of $97,365, on $134,740 for work ranking 15 of 487 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 15 of 487 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Utah, so $102,487 — the adjusted value of that $134,740 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 15 of 487 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $82,910 at the bottom tenth to $171,430 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Utah sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $102,487 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Utah adds its own income tax on top — which is why $97,365 of this wage survives to your account.
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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($82,910 to $171,430) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Utah rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Utah'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 $102,487 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 $97,365 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Utah 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.