California has the highest hourly mean wage for physician assistants in the U.S., and Oklahoma has the highest hourly mean wage for PAs after adjusting for cost of living, according to data published May 15 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Below are the mean annual and hourly wages for PAs in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., based on May 2025 salary data published by the bureau. Becker’s also calculated mean hourly wages adjusted for each state’s cost of living using 2025 cost-of-living index data from World Population Review.
Nationally, PAs earned an annual mean wage of $141,280, according to the BLS.
| State | Annual Wage | Hourly Wage | Cost of Living Index (2025) | PA hourly mean wage, adjusted by cost of living |
| Alabama | $110,864 | $53.30 | 88.6 | $60.16 |
| Alaska | $148,075 | $71.19 | 124.9 | $57.00 |
| Arizona | $140,858 | $67.72 | 110.7 | $61.17 |
| Arkansas | $118,435 | $56.94 | 89.6 | $63.55 |
| California | $169,104 | $81.30 | 142.3 | $57.13 |
| Colorado | $139,568 | $67.10 | 102.7 | $65.34 |
| Connecticut | $146,931 | $70.64 | 112.7 | $62.68 |
| Delaware | $143,832 | $69.15 | 101.9 | $67.86 |
| District of Columbia | $146,224 | $70.30 | 138.8 | $50.65 |
| Florida | $134,472 | $64.65 | 102.2 | $63.26 |
| Georgia | $112,091 | $53.89 | 92.5 | $58.26 |
| Hawaii | $146,786 | $70.57 | 185.0 | $38.15 |
| Idaho | $132,538 | $63.72 | 99.9 | $63.78 |
| Illinois | $131,893 | $63.41 | 94.7 | $66.96 |
| Indiana | $144,269 | $69.36 | 91.0 | $76.22 |
| Iowa | $139,880 | $67.25 | 89.7 | $74.97 |
| Kansas | $127,234 | $61.17 | 88.8 | $68.89 |
| Kentucky | $119,995 | $57.69 | 92.5 | $62.37 |
| Louisiana | $130,291 | $62.64 | 92.3 | $67.87 |
| Maine | $134,680 | $64.75 | 113.0 | $57.30 |
| Maryland | $139,734 | $67.18 | 115.4 | $58.21 |
| Massachusetts | $146,494 | $70.43 | 141.2 | $49.88 |
| Michigan | $132,142 | $63.53 | 90.1 | $70.51 |
| Minnesota | $147,638 | $70.98 | 94.6 | $75.03 |
| Mississippi | $106,829 | $51.36 | 87.3 | $58.83 |
| Missouri | $137,717 | $66.21 | 89.0 | $74.39 |
| Montana | $140,587 | $67.59 | 95.5 | $70.77 |
| Nebraska | $132,808 | $63.85 | 92.6 | $68.95 |
| Nevada | $135,803 | $65.29 | 100.2 | $65.16 |
| New Hampshire | $150,155 | $72.19 | 111.4 | $64.80 |
| New Jersey | $162,094 | $77.93 | 115.1 | $67.71 |
| New Mexico | $134,659 | $64.74 | 93.7 | $69.09 |
| New York | $155,147 | $74.59 | 125.1 | $59.62 |
| North Carolina | $130,021 | $62.51 | 97.8 | $63.92 |
| North Dakota | $130,936 | $62.95 | 91.4 | $68.87 |
| Ohio | $136,573 | $65.66 | 94.3 | $69.63 |
| Oklahoma | $138,694 | $66.68 | 86.0 | $77.53 |
| Oregon | $155,293 | $74.66 | 111.8 | $66.78 |
| Pennsylvania | $125,174 | $60.18 | 97.2 | $61.91 |
| Rhode Island | $146,640 | $70.50 | 110.6 | $63.74 |
| South Carolina | $120,723 | $58.04 | 94.7 | $61.29 |
| South Dakota | $131,914 | $63.42 | 91.9 | $69.01 |
| Tennessee | $117,291 | $56.39 | 90.3 | $62.45 |
| Texas | $135,845 | $65.31 | 92.1 | $70.91 |
| Utah | $132,538 | $63.72 | 102.2 | $62.35 |
| Vermont | $152,526 | $73.33 | 113.6 | $64.55 |
| Virginia | $142,626 | $68.57 | 100.8 | $68.03 |
| Washington | $164,424 | $79.05 | 114.1 | $69.28 |
| West Virginia | $128,835 | $61.94 | 88.3 | $70.15 |
| Wisconsin | $136,739 | $65.74 | 97.7 | $67.29 |
| Wyoming | $137,322 | $66.02 | 93.7 | $70.46 |
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