Physician assistant salary in the Boston area
For physician assistants, the BLS May 2025 row in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH lists a $147,520 mean annual employee wage and a $142,410 median. These are wage estimates, not a promised offer or total compensation.
Boston area wage snapshot
| Measure | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Mean annual wage | $147,520 |
| Median annual wage | $142,410 |
| Employment estimate | 3,550 |
| Wage relative standard error | 1.4% |
Employee wages annualized at 2,080 hours. Not total compensation, guaranteed pay or a salary range. RSE measures estimate uncertainty, not your pay spread.
View official BLS wage data for this areaWhat the Boston area row can tell you
BLS covers Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH as one metropolitan area. The published mean is $147,520, which is above the median of $142,410; BLS does not say why. The employment estimate of 3,550 counts employee jobs, not open positions. The wage relative standard error is 1.4%, which describes how uncertain the estimate is. It is not a pay percentile.
The Massachusetts state mean for physician assistants is $146,480, so this metro mean is 0.7% above the state figure. The metro is part of the state estimate, so the two overlap.
Metro figures cover wage and salary employees only. Locum, 1099 and per diem pay can look very different, and benefits, call pay and bonuses are not included. Compare a written offer on hours, scope and benefits instead of reading these two wages as a salary range.
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. How Saile salary pages work.
Keep comparing
Browse all salary guides · Physician side-gig guides · Report your pay
See how much your staffing agency is making off you
Compare what the facility pays your agency with what the agency pays you. Then report your rate privately so we can look into the gap.
See the agency spread
Bill rate (hospital pays agency) - Pay rate (agency pays you) = Agency spread
These calculator inputs stay in your browser and are not submitted.Hiring clinicians for your facility? Book a Demo
More ways to work. One Saile profile.
Explore telemedicine, AI-lab clinician work, consulting, per diem, locums and full-time opportunities. Matching depends on specialty, credentials and location.
How Boston compares
Rank within this role group
Mean wage rank: 6 of 50; employment rank: 4 of 50. Rank = one plus metros with a larger estimate; ties share rank. This site’s group, not all US metros.
Versus highest-mean New York City ($163,570): $16,050 (9.8%) below; versus lowest-mean Birmingham ($108,080): $39,440 (36.5%) above.
Dollar gap = metro mean minus comparator mean; percent = difference divided by comparator, times 100. Absolute gaps shown.
National comparison
BLS OEWS national mean: $141,280; Boston is $6,240 (4.4%) above it, using the same gap formulas.
Same-state context
Massachusetts mean: $146,480; employment: 4,470. Metro share = 3,550 divided by 4,470, multiplied by 100 = 79.4%. Overlapping estimates; multi-state ratios are not resident shares.
Same metro, other roles
Family medicine physician mean in Boston: $264,900; Internal medicine physician mean in Boston: $233,800; Nurse practitioner mean in Boston: $155,480
What to check before using this number
The $142,410 median trails the mean by $5,110; neither measure defines your contract.
Wage RSE is 1.4%, lower than the group's 2.3% median; it measures uncertainty, not a pay percentile.
Against 945 at the group median, Boston reports 3,550 employee jobs, a larger estimate, not openings.
Mean–median = mean minus median. Group median = middle sorted value (average of middle pair); unavailable RSE excluded.
Licensing in Massachusetts: physician state licensing guidance; PA Compact guidance. Check the relevant board and facility for your role.
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 metro/state rows; wages, not total compensation.
Physician assistant salary questions in the Boston area
What is the average physician assistant salary in the Boston area?
BLS May 2025 estimates a mean annual employee wage of $147,520 and a median of $142,410 for physician assistants in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH. The mean is the average; the median is the midpoint. These are employee wages, not total compensation, a guaranteed offer or a salary range.
What is the hourly pay equivalent in the Boston area?
Dividing the annual wage estimates by 2,080 hours gives about $70.92 per hour for the mean and $68.47 for the median, rounded to cents. This is an arithmetic equivalent, not a quoted locums, per-diem or telemedicine rate.
How many physician assistants work in the Boston area?
BLS estimates 3,550 physician assistants employed as wage and salary employees in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH. This counts employee jobs, not open positions or current vacancies.
How does the Boston area pay compare with Massachusetts?
The Massachusetts state mean for physician assistants is $146,480, so this metro mean is 0.7% above the state figure. The metro is part of the state estimate, so the two overlap.
How reliable is this metro estimate?
The wage relative standard error for this row is 1.4%. RSE describes how uncertain the estimate is. It is not a pay percentile or a negotiating band.
Where does Boston rank for physician assistant mean wages?
Boston ranks 6 of 50 by mean wage and 4 of 50 by employment in this site's role group. Rank = one plus metros with larger estimates; ties share rank. This is not every US metro.
Which other Massachusetts metros can I compare with Boston?
Worcester: $149,490 mean wage. Mapped to Massachusetts; metro/state estimates overlap.
Find physician assistant gigs on Saile
Supplement your income or find a full-time job. Explore telemedicine, AI-lab clinician work, consulting, local per-diem, locums and full-time opportunities in Saile. Free to download and search; matching depends on your specialty, credentials and location.
Download Saile Medical