Physician assistant salary in the Philadelphia area
$139,080 is the annual employee-wage mean for physician assistants in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD; BLS May 2025 reports the median separately at $135,640. These are wage estimates, not a promised offer or total compensation.
Philadelphia area wage snapshot
| Measure | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Mean annual wage | $139,080 |
| Median annual wage | $135,640 |
| Employment estimate | 3,390 |
| Wage relative standard error | 2% |
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 Philadelphia area row can tell you
BLS covers Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD as one metropolitan area. The published mean is $139,080, which is above the median of $135,640; BLS does not say why. The employment estimate of 3,390 counts employee jobs, not open positions. The wage relative standard error is 2%, which describes how uncertain the estimate is. It is not a pay percentile.
The Pennsylvania state mean for physician assistants is $125,160, so this metro mean is 11.1% 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.
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How Philadelphia compares
Rank within this role group
Mean wage rank: 20 of 50; employment rank: 5 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): $24,490 (15.0%) below; versus lowest-mean Birmingham ($108,080): $31,000 (28.7%) 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; Philadelphia is $2,200 (1.6%) below it, using the same gap formulas.
Same-state context
Pennsylvania mean: $125,160; employment: 9,020. Metro share = 3,390 divided by 9,020, multiplied by 100 = 37.6%. Overlapping estimates; multi-state ratios are not resident shares.
Same metro, other roles
Family medicine physician mean in Philadelphia: $283,480; Internal medicine physician mean in Philadelphia: $191,410; Nurse practitioner mean in Philadelphia: $139,700
What to check before using this number
Read $139,080 beside $135,640: the mean is $3,440 (2.5%) above the median, not evidence of why wages differ.
The group median wage RSE is 2.3% versus 2.0% here; lower RSE means different relative uncertainty, not a negotiation band.
Employment of 3,390 is above the 945 group median; these are employee jobs, not vacancies.
Mean–median = mean minus median. Group median = middle sorted value (average of middle pair); unavailable RSE excluded.
Licensing in Pennsylvania: 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 Philadelphia area
What is the average physician assistant salary in the Philadelphia area?
BLS May 2025 estimates a mean annual employee wage of $139,080 and a median of $135,640 for physician assistants in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD. 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 Philadelphia area?
Dividing the annual wage estimates by 2,080 hours gives about $66.87 per hour for the mean and $65.21 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 Philadelphia area?
BLS estimates 3,390 physician assistants employed as wage and salary employees in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD. This counts employee jobs, not open positions or current vacancies.
How does the Philadelphia area pay compare with Pennsylvania?
The Pennsylvania state mean for physician assistants is $125,160, so this metro mean is 11.1% 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 2%. RSE describes how uncertain the estimate is. It is not a pay percentile or a negotiating band.
Where does Philadelphia rank for physician assistant mean wages?
Philadelphia ranks 20 of 50 by mean wage and 5 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 Pennsylvania metros can I compare with Philadelphia?
Pittsburgh: $120,080 mean wage. Mapped to Pennsylvania; metro/state estimates overlap.
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