Highest-paying states for physician assistants

Physician assistant (PA) is the best job in healthcare and best overall job, according to rankings from U.S. News & World Report. The highest paid 25% in the profession reported earnings of almost $131,000 while the lowest paid 25% reported earnings of nearly $93,000. The median salary for PAs is $112,260, and the profession boasts an unemployment rate of 0.7%. The field is also expected to grow 31% by 2029, compared  to a 10% expected growth for those in health diagnosing and treating practitioner roles.

The best-paying city for PAs is Salinas, California, where PAs earned a mean salary of $161,370; Salinas also ranked as the third-highest paying city for physicians. The top five also included Leominster, Massachusetts ($156,250); Waterbury, Connecticut ($154,550); Danbury, Connecticut ($147,500); and New Bern, North Carolina ($146,880).

The states with the highest mean salaries for PAs included Connecticut ($137,060), Washington ($129,520), New Jersey ($129,440), Alaska ($128,530), and California ($127,520). Notably, Alaska was the highest-paying state for physicians.

Source: U.S. News & World Report