avg pa salaries by state 2004

[deleted6669]

PA Salaries by State

The AAPA reported mean total income (MTI) from primary employer for clinically practicing PAs working at least 32 hours a week in its 2004 census report. ADVANCE compiled this chart using data from AAPA's 50 individual state reports.

Alaska $90,605
Nevada $88,565
Connecticut $86,908
California $86,596
Arkansas $85,901
Texas $83,753
Mississippi $83,029
Florida $82,372
Rhode Island $81,981
Louisiana $81,437
Oklahoma $81,381
Arizona $80,810
New Jersey $80,719
Tennessee $80,438
Georgia $80,426
Delaware $80,188
Michigan $78,806
Missouri $78,761
New Hampshire $78,602
Maryland $78,318
Hawaii $78,061
Massachusetts $77,951
Washington $77,869
Wisconsin $77,596
Idaho $76,900
New York $76,773
Iowa $76,478
Minnesota $76,378
Utah $76,352
Wyoming $76,285
Alabama $76,156
North Carolina $76,015
South Carolina $75,998
Nebraska $75,981
Illinois $75,925
Oregon $75,781
Maine $75,717
New Mexico $75,548
Virginia $75,491
Kentucky $75,155
Montana $74,985
Ohio $74,253
Colorado $72,852
South Dakota $72,679
Indiana $72,309
North Dakota $71,782
Kansas $71,754
Vermont $71,513
Pennsylvania $68,224
West Virginia $67,759

Source: American Academy of Physician Assistants

thought some of you might like this as an fyi.....

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[nev]

just a question...I dont want to start a fight in here...but do NPs get paid the same?

 

[PTOSIS]

it's kinda interesting that california which has some of the lowest physician salaries has some of the highest pa salaries

 

[deleted6669]

just a question...I dont want to start a fight in here...but do NPs get paid the same?

DEPENDS....the avg pa makes more than the avg np because pa's do more specialty and inpatient work which pays better, however a pa and an np in the same dept doing the same thing generally make the same salary......

 

[guetzow]

Keep in mind those are "Averages". Besides, the Doc averages are much higher. It's much more Germain to bemoan RN salaries in those same ranges; they don't even practice medicine "or" generate revenue (In general, of course). Or how about Hospital Administrators. Talk about a waste of money....

 

[fab4fan]

Nurses don't generate income per se, but if a hospital is known for understaffing its nurses/poor nursing care, pts. do vote with their feet. It's very difficult, if not impossible, for a hospital to recover from having a reputation for lousy nursing care.

I feel sorry for the nurses who have to deal with you, guetzow; your narcissism must make you a very difficult person to work with. You have no concept of how all members of the healthcare team are vital to delivering care to the pt. Try taking nurses out of the equation...who's going to take care of the patient? Elijah's ravens, maybe?

You give the credible PAs out there a bad name.

 

[hospPA]

I feel sorry for the nurses who have to deal with you, guetzow; your narcissim must make you a very difficult person to work with. You have no concept of how all members of the healthcare team are vital to delivering care to the pt. Try taking nurses out of the equation...who's going to take care of the patient? Elijah's ravens, maybe?

You give the credible PAs out there a bad name.

I don't even know what to say about that guy's comment, so I will say nothing.

RN's are a VERY valuable part of the healthcare team and saying that they are not is idiotic at best. No PA in their right mind would ever say that kind of crap in front of a nurse working in their office or on the wards.

I dislike when people give reputable PA's a bad name. Most of us are REPUTABLE and realize how the varying roles in the system are highly valuable.

Pat

 

[fab4fan]

I don't even know what to say about that guy's comment, so I will say nothing.

RN's are a VERY valuable part of the healthcare team and saying that they are not is idiotic at best. No PA in their right mind would ever say that kind of crap in front of a nurse working in their office or on the wards.

I dislike when people give reputable PA's a bad name. Most of us are REPUTABLE and realize how the varying roles in the system are highly valuable.

Pat

I know I've posted in the past that almost every interaction I had with a PA was bad; when I read guetzow's stuff it almost makes me wonder if he isn't one of the idiots I've run into.

But a couple weeks ago, I had a great experience with a PA; he was as professional as as one could ever want and really helped me with a really difficult situation that a doc essentially walked away from.

So I know there are good PAs out there, and I hope to have more positive experiences in the future.

 

[guetzow]

Ergo: Administrators and RNs Non-Revenue Generating, PAs = Revenue Generating. Pterribly Pturbed with Ptosis was comparing Docs salaries to PAs in a not-so-relevant fashion, as PA's generate revenues. "Non-Providers"(Non rfevenue -generating, in general) who command similar salaries, whomever they may be (Including overly sensitive RNs), are a much more germain locus of Ptoseeeees' frustration.

 

[fab4fan]

hospPA wrote:

RN's are a VERY valuable part of the healthcare team and saying that they are not is idiotic at best. No PA in their right mind would ever say that kind of crap in front of a nurse working in their office or on the wards.

Well, that leaves some people out here, Pat, since we're talking about PAs who are in their "right mind."

 

[Bandit]

we saw those same salary numbers when I was in PA school. My first year out I made over 100K. As I got back to my class mates over the years --not everyone makes that kind of money. Some earn much MORE. Those that made less---well, I really dont even know a PA earning less than 70 unless they are in primary care.

 

[primadonna22274]

Guetzow: it's germane. Seems to be your new word.
I'm in Oregon and my pay is on par with state average. As expensive as Oregon has become, though, it should be more. I'm in FP which historically pays low for PAs (NPs and MD/DOs too, for that matter). However, whether I negotiated a crappy contract (I didn't, I just don't get paid the big bucks) is neither here nor there.
I love my job. I work with a great team of physicians and nurses who put outstanding patient care first. That said, I still have to work an extra day a week in urgent care to make a comfortable living after my student loans and mortgage are paid. Would I like to make more? Yes. Would I like to work less and make what I do between two jobs? Yes. But it's not all about money. I could leave primary care and go into a surgical specialty which would easily pay me $100k or more but I would probably be miserable and on call. Ick.
Work to live, not live to work.
Lisa

 

[ockhamsRzr]

Guetzow: it's germane. Seems to be your new word.

Um, no, you're wrong. Guestzow was referring to Michael Jackson's brother.

 

[guetzow]

Exactly. I do that well, but without call. Not all specialties require it. Take derm, for example(Not my specialty). Easier job to get for da ladies. You may consider it, Lisa. It's really not necessary to work that extra day...

 

[adamdowannabe]

Live to work...means you are stoked about your job, you live so you can do what you do; life wouldn't be complete w/o your work.

Work to live: you have to work just to support yourself, regardless of the career... minimum wage people are work to live people...miserable life:

Or you can live to enjoy....and work to pay for it!

BTW I'm in week #2, sitting in Pharm class, it's the intro...talking about pharmikokinetics, and metabolizing factos...Yeehaw

 

[hospitalistpac]

I was a little surprised that I am in the second lowest paying state. But, then I realize it is all supply and demand.
Pennsylvania has the second highest number of PA schools (14), with New York having the most at 20. Alaska has zero PA programs and Nevada only has one.
Since I graduated from my Phila PA program, I have seen three more local universities offer PA programs.
I imagine that the glut of new grads being created in Pennsylvania is driving down the average salary.
But I still bet PAs in the Phila metro area have a higher overall salary than the pocono mountain PA.

 

[guetzow]

More applicants for Metro jobs drives down salaries (Because of 'desireability' of location). Exception to this is(Can be) specialty practice. It's a catch-22. Metro is more desireable culturally, but also has much higher cost of living. I think smaller cities, or something within a few hours drive of larger metro is a good compromise. Moving to such a location gave me more negotiability in my current job, as my employer had the impression that he was in an undesireable area (Non-metro).

 

[albaniandoc]

I am suprised at the salaries for PAs. I thought they made much more than that. As an RN with a BSN and a specialty certification, I made 70G last year with no problem. I would not even consider going to PA school for another 10G a year. I would much rather just go to CRNA school and double my income.
On a side note, some PAs I work with are nice, some are just plain d***ks. The one I work with on daily basis is a complete d***k. He is very rude and thinks he is the best. It's always like he's got something to prove that he is equal with the docs. He always gets in trouble for parking in the docs parking spaces. He thinks he has the right to be par with the docs.
On the other end of the spectrum another PA is the nicest guy I have met.

I had to laugh at this guy that wrote that nurses are worthless. He must be the biggest idiot. I would call you P.I.A instead of PA. Do you know that the nurse workforce comprises 1/3 of every hospital. It is the biggest expense to any corporation. The biggest problem today is shortage of nurses. It is very hard for a hospital to strive without good nurses. And once that reputation is out the whole hospital business suffers.
The only thing I can say to you is good luck with your career, you are gonna need it.

 

[guetzow]

There are many PA's that make upwards of 100K(Just like some NPs), however, with the glut of new programs, soon demand will be outstripped by supply(And the salaries will fall further...). Most PA's don't think they are docs. In fact, we are trained to be very aware of the distinction. I have, as have many of my collegues, encountered hostility from RNs who tell us what to write, even with protocols and after consulting with our docs. Who's playing doc in that scenario? Unfortunately, the arrogance of which you speak can be readily found in both communities (RN and PA). I submit, that if you chose a PA specialty that had many billable office services (Other than the visit charge), you too, could easily make upwards of 100K. Most of the 'averages' listed, are just that. They tend to be dragged down by primary care, which inhabits the lower end of the salary spectrum.

 

[deleted6669]

I don't know any em p.a.'s who make less than 100k/yr with most making 120-160k.
it is primary care that drags those #s down as most specialty pa's make at least 80-90k to start.

 

[primadonna22274]

Yeah guys, I think you're right. You know what I mean anyway.
Adam, you finding any time to cook out there in PA school??
*Sigh* Back to work...making less $$ than I should....
Guetzow: I like derm but I would get bored.
E: I've never worked in ER. I like urgent care but of course it's not the same thing.
My main problem with $$ is I like where I work, I just wish they'd pay me more. About time to make my case again.
L

Live to work...means you are stoked about your job, you live so you can do what you do; life wouldn't be complete w/o your work.

Work to live: you have to work just to support yourself, regardless of the career... minimum wage people are work to live people...miserable life:

Or you can live to enjoy....and work to pay for it!

BTW I'm in week #2, sitting in Pharm class, it's the intro...talking about pharmikokinetics, and metabolizing factos...Yeehaw

 

[JustaPA]

Nurses don't generate income per se, but if a hospital is known for understaffing its nurses/poor nursing care, pts. do vote with their feet. It's very difficult, if not impossible, for a hospital to recover from having a reputation for lousy nursing care.

In general I have to agree with this statement. However, if you happen to live in a rural area that is served by only one hospital you have no choice. Or if you do have a second hospital but the one that has all the technology also has an attitude about itself you still have no real other choice.