Physical Therapists
Assess, plan, organize, and participate in rehabilitative programs that improve mobility, relieve pain, increase strength, and improve or correct disabling conditions resulting from disease or injury.
- O*NET-SOC code
29-1123.00 - Preparation Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Wages
Median annual wage, U.S.$102,760
Employment, U.S.267,330
Median hourly wage$49.40
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $77,140 | $86,160 | $102,760 | $121,160 | $135,140 |
By state (51)
| State | Employment | Median annual | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 3,040 | $97,290 | 0.84 |
| Alaska | 680 | $115,280 | 1.22 |
| Arizona | 5,170 | $103,220 | 0.93 |
| Arkansas | 2,680 | $99,010 | 1.20 |
| California | 26,580 | $124,190 | 0.85 |
| Colorado | 5,630 | $102,030 | 1.14 |
| Connecticut | 4,060 | $104,360 | 1.39 |
| Delaware | 1,260 | $102,050 | 1.51 |
| District of Columbia | 610 | $101,640 | 0.50 |
| Florida | 16,290 | $101,040 | 0.95 |
| Georgia | 6,780 | $102,700 | 0.81 |
| Hawaii | 950 | $101,700 | 0.88 |
| Idaho | 1,030 | $99,000 | 0.70 |
| Illinois | 9,800 | $105,250 | 0.93 |
| Indiana | 6,130 | $101,560 | 1.11 |
| Iowa | 2,530 | $97,560 | 0.95 |
| Kansas | 2,660 | $98,290 | 1.07 |
| Kentucky | 3,390 | $100,710 | 0.98 |
| Louisiana | 3,280 | $98,530 | 0.99 |
| Maine | 1,860 | $99,720 | 1.69 |
| Maryland | 3,940 | $106,890 | 0.83 |
| Massachusetts | 6,850 | $103,790 | 1.09 |
| Michigan | 8,630 | $100,900 | 1.14 |
| Minnesota | 5,180 | $102,010 | 1.02 |
| Mississippi | 1,980 | $99,990 | 0.99 |
| Missouri | 4,900 | $99,310 | 0.97 |
| Montana | 1,180 | $91,450 | 1.35 |
| Nebraska | 2,140 | $97,090 | 1.22 |
| Nevada | 2,030 | $111,250 | 0.76 |
| New Hampshire | 1,960 | $99,850 | 1.67 |
| New Jersey | 9,750 | $112,140 | 1.32 |
| New Mexico | 1,330 | $106,880 | 0.89 |
| New York | 20,940 | $100,660 | 1.26 |
| North Carolina | 7,350 | $99,910 | 0.86 |
| North Dakota | 830 | $85,330 | 1.12 |
| Ohio | 10,280 | $103,050 | 1.08 |
| Oklahoma | 2,560 | $98,590 | 0.87 |
| Oregon | 3,210 | $103,510 | 0.95 |
| Pennsylvania | 11,710 | $101,380 | 1.12 |
| Rhode Island | 1,020 | $99,400 | 1.18 |
| South Carolina | 3,930 | $101,330 | 0.99 |
| South Dakota | 1,060 | $92,660 | 1.35 |
| Tennessee | 4,800 | $100,140 | 0.85 |
| Texas | 21,870 | $105,810 | 0.90 |
| Utah | 2,300 | $99,880 | 0.77 |
| Vermont | 760 | $97,970 | 1.45 |
| Virginia | 7,630 | $101,450 | 1.08 |
| Washington | 5,370 | $105,950 | 0.88 |
| West Virginia | 1,310 | $96,600 | 1.08 |
| Wisconsin | 5,580 | $101,840 | 1.10 |
| Wyoming | 560 | $100,400 | 1.15 |
Similar occupations
Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.
Circles are the 20 most similar occupations, coloured by Job Zone. Lines join pairs where one is among the other's 10 most similar; darker lines are pairs O*NET also lists as related. Drag a circle to move it out of the way; select one to open it.
| # | Occupation | Job Zone | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Athletic Trainers | 5 | 0.983 |
| 2 | Occupational Therapists | 5 | 0.981 |
| 3 | Nurse Midwives | 5 | 0.978 |
| 4 | Midwives | 5 | 0.976 |
| 5 | Exercise Physiologists | 4 | 0.976 |
| 6 | Physical Therapist Assistants | 3 | 0.975 |
| 7 | Nurse Practitioners | 5 | 0.973 |
| 8 | Critical Care Nurses | 4 | 0.973 |
| 9 | Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians | 5 | 0.973 |
| 10 | Clinical Nurse Specialists | 5 | 0.972 |
One skill away
Among the 50 occupations most similar to Physical Therapists, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.
| Occupation | Skill to build | Level gap | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athletic Trainers | Learning Strategies | 0.76 | 0.983 |
| Occupational Therapists | Learning Strategies | 0.76 | 0.981 |
| Nurse Midwives | Active Learning | 0.87 | 0.978 |
| Midwives | Social Perceptiveness | 0.88 | 0.976 |
| Critical Care Nurses | Operations Monitoring | 1.00 | 0.973 |
| Chiropractors | Science | 0.87 | 0.970 |
| Dermatologists | Science | 1.00 | 0.956 |
| Optometrists | Science | 1.13 | 0.954 |
| Coroners | Science | 1.00 | 0.949 |
| Orthoptists | Science | 0.87 | 0.948 |
Software to learn next
Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Physical Therapists, excluding software Physical Therapists already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.
| Software | Similar jobs using it | Lift |
|---|---|---|
| Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR | 8 of 20 | 20.5x |
| MicroFour PracticeStudio.NET EMR | 6 of 20 | 34.6x |
| Amkai AmkaiCharts | 5 of 20 | 33.0x |
| Medscribbler Enterprise | 5 of 20 | 33.0x |
| StatCom Patient Flow Logistics Enterprise Suite | 5 of 20 | 33.0x |
| Epic Systems | 9 of 20 | 6.6x |
| Texas Medical Software SpringCharts EMR | 5 of 20 | 28.8x |
| Cerner Millennium | 5 of 20 | 25.6x |
| SynaMed EMR | 5 of 20 | 25.6x |
| NextGen Healthcare Information Systems EMR | 5 of 20 | 23.1x |
Skills
From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.
| Skill | Type | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.38 |
| Active Listening | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Speaking | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Service Orientation | Transferable skill | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Social Perceptiveness | Transferable skill | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Critical Thinking | Essential skill | 4.00 | 3.88 |
| Writing | Essential skill | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Monitoring | Essential skill | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Transferable skill | 3.75 | 3.88 |
| Time Management | Transferable skill | 3.62 | 3.75 |
| Instructing | Transferable skill | 3.38 | 3.62 |
| Complex Problem Solving | Transferable skill | 3.38 | 3.38 |
| Coordination | Transferable skill | 3.25 | 3.75 |
| Active Learning | Essential skill | 3.12 | 3.25 |
| Learning Strategies | Essential skill | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Systems Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Systems Evaluation | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Persuasion | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.12 |
| Negotiation | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 3.12 |
| Operations Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Science | Essential skill | 2.62 | 2.75 |
| Operations Monitoring | Transferable skill | 2.25 | 2.12 |
| Mathematics | Essential skill | 2.12 | 2.62 |
| Quality Control Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Operation and Control | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.75 |
| Troubleshooting | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.75 |
| Management of Material Resources | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.50 |
| Management of Financial Resources | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.12 |
| Technology Design | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 1.62 |
| Equipment Selection | Transferable skill | 1.75 | 0.88 |
| Programming | Transferable skill | 1.62 | 0.88 |
| Equipment Maintenance | Transferable skill | 1.38 | 0.62 |
| Repairing | Transferable skill | 1.38 | 0.62 |
| Installation | Transferable skill | 1.12 | not rated |
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Customer and Personal Service | 4.61 | 5.59 |
| Therapy and Counseling | 4.59 | 5.20 |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 4.57 | 4.62 |
| Psychology | 4.11 | 5.19 |
| Education and Training | 3.98 | 5.13 |
| English Language | 3.98 | 4.14 |
| Biology | 3.70 | 3.50 |
| Administration and Management | 3.20 | 3.19 |
| Physics | 3.20 | 3.13 |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 3.12 | 3.39 |
| Administrative | 3.08 | 3.82 |
| Personnel and Human Resources | 2.87 | 2.78 |
| Law and Government | 2.78 | 2.66 |
| Computers and Electronics | 2.77 | 2.85 |
| Public Safety and Security | 2.72 | 2.27 |
| Mathematics | 2.65 | 3.08 |
| Communications and Media | 2.64 | 2.78 |
| Sales and Marketing | 2.62 | 2.94 |
| Chemistry | 2.42 | 2.71 |
| Economics and Accounting | 2.36 | 2.04 |
| Mechanical | 2.09 | 1.70 |
| Philosophy and Theology | 2.04 | 2.24 |
| Telecommunications | 1.93 | 1.24 |
| Foreign Language | 1.91 | 1.43 |
| Production and Processing | 1.67 | 1.31 |
| Engineering and Technology | 1.66 | 1.19 |
| Transportation | 1.52 | 1.19 |
| Geography | 1.38 | 0.72 |
| Building and Construction | 1.37 | not rated |
| Design | 1.34 | 0.79 |
| Fine Arts | 1.31 | not rated |
| Food Production | 1.07 | not rated |
| History and Archeology | 1.06 | not rated |
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Oral Expression | 4.00 | 4.62 |
| Oral Comprehension | 4.00 | 4.25 |
| Written Comprehension | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.88 | 4.12 |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.88 | 4.12 |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.88 | 4.12 |
| Written Expression | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Information Ordering | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Speech Clarity | 3.75 | 3.62 |
| Speech Recognition | 3.75 | 3.62 |
| Near Vision | 3.25 | 3.62 |
| Fluency of Ideas | 3.25 | 3.12 |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 3.25 | 3.00 |
| Static Strength | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Finger Dexterity | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Trunk Strength | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Selective Attention | 3.12 | 2.88 |
| Category Flexibility | 3.00 | 3.50 |
| Originality | 3.00 | 3.12 |
| Manual Dexterity | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Far Vision | 3.00 | 2.88 |
| Flexibility of Closure | 2.88 | 3.12 |
| Multilimb Coordination | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Visualization | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Extent Flexibility | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Perceptual Speed | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Time Sharing | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Memorization | 2.75 | 2.88 |
| Number Facility | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Speed of Closure | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Control Precision | 2.75 | 2.62 |
| Dynamic Strength | 2.75 | 2.62 |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 2.62 | 2.75 |
| Stamina | 2.62 | 2.12 |
| Gross Body Coordination | 2.50 | 2.25 |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 2.38 | 2.12 |
| Auditory Attention | 2.12 | 2.12 |
| Gross Body Equilibrium | 2.12 | 2.00 |
| Wrist-Finger Speed | 2.12 | 1.88 |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Depth Perception | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Rate Control | 2.00 | 1.12 |
| Reaction Time | 2.00 | 1.12 |
| Speed of Limb Movement | 1.88 | 1.50 |
| Response Orientation | 1.62 | 0.75 |
| Explosive Strength | 1.50 | 0.75 |
| Spatial Orientation | 1.12 | not rated |
| Dynamic Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
| Glare Sensitivity | 1.00 | not rated |
| Night Vision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Peripheral Vision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Sound Localization | 1.00 | not rated |
Software used
Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.
- MEDITECH software hot
- Microsoft Excel hot
- Microsoft Office software hot
- Microsoft Outlook hot
- Microsoft Word hot
- eClinicalWorks EHR software hot
- Advantage Software Physical Therapy Advantage
- Biometrics video game software
- Cedaron Dexter Evaluation & Impairment Rating
- Clinicient Insight
- Exercise routine creation software
- Hands On Technology TheraWriter.PT
- MediGraph
- Medical condition coding software
- Medical procedure coding software
- Patient charting software
- Prognosis Innovation Healthcare ChartAccess
- Recordkeeping software
- Rehab Documentation Company ReDoc Suite
- SpectraSoft AppointmentsCS
Where it concentrates
Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.
| Metro area | Employment | Location quotient | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homosassa Springs, FL | 170 | 2.75 | $103,510 |
| Bay City, MI | 120 | 2.11 | $93,450 |
| Victoria, TX | 140 | 2.07 | $102,520 |
| Traverse City, MI | 240 | 2.06 | $101,640 |
| Wichita Falls, TX | 190 | 2.00 | $93,250 |
| Rochester, MN | 410 | 1.96 | $100,140 |
| Winchester, VA-WV | 220 | 1.93 | $102,670 |
| Jonesboro, AR | 190 | 1.82 | $100,010 |
| Missoula, MT | 210 | 1.82 | $83,970 |
| Morgantown, WV | 210 | 1.82 | $96,010 |