Occupations · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
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 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 29-1123.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 75% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $105,470 | 15,750 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | $104,200 | 8,360 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $117,000 | 8,150 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $97,100 | 5,710 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $103,860 | 5,480 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $101,470 | 4,860 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $104,860 | 4,670 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $108,190 | 4,570 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | $111,070 | 3,840 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | $100,300 | 3,580 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $98,870 | 3,430 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $103,790 | 3,210 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: Doctoral or professional degree · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Plan, prepare, or carry out individually designed programs of physical treatment to maintain, improve, or restore physical functioning, alleviate pain, or prevent physical dysfunction in patients.
- Perform and document an initial exam, evaluating data to identify problems and determine a diagnosis prior to intervention.
- Record prognosis, treatment, response, and progress in patient's chart or enter information into computer.
- Confer with the patient, medical practitioners, or appropriate others to plan, implement, or assess the intervention program.
- Evaluate effects of treatment at various stages and adjust treatments to achieve maximum benefit.
- Instruct patient and family in treatment procedures to be continued at home.
- Administer manual exercises, massage, or traction to help relieve pain, increase patient strength, or decrease or prevent deformity or crippling.
- Obtain patients' informed consent to proposed interventions.
- Direct, supervise, assess, and communicate with supportive personnel.
- Test and measure patient's strength, motor development and function, sensory perception, functional capacity, or respiratory or circulatory efficiency and record data.
- Review physician's referral and patient's medical records to help determine diagnosis and physical therapy treatment required.
- Identify and document goals, anticipated progress, and plans for reevaluation.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2020-08
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2020-08
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning. 1 entries that were only relabelled between releases are left out.
Now listed 7
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| physiotherapist | 2264.3 | exact |
| osteopath | 3259.4 | close |
| kinesiologist | 2269.3 | close |
| physiotherapy assistant | 3255.4 | broader |
| sport therapist | 3423.2.4 | broader |
| advanced physiotherapist | 2264.1 | broader |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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