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in-pacents PA Salary

2019 PA Salary Report Comparison

What is the 2019 Salary of a Physician Assistant

There are multiple reports that show the salary of a PA; however each PA salary report varies with how the data is gathered and what salary data is included. These reports can be a great tool for PAs looking for a new job, or PAs wanting to negotiate a raise.

Keep in mind that the reports show an average salary; there are some PAs that make well over this amount, and on the other hand there are some PAs that make much less than this amount. Every job comes with additional benefits and when evaluating a potential position it is important to keep the total package in mind and not get fixated on salary alone.

If you plan to use any of the reports for negotiation purposes it is best to use other reports to help corroborate the data. The two main reports I like to reference are the NCCPA and AAPA reports, but there are other reports that can help you determine the 2019 salary of a PA.

NCCPA PA Annual Report

Current PA Salary – $110,567

The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants is the certifying body for PAs. The data for the report is collected at the end of the year. The most recently released 2018 NCCPA report was collected as of December 31, 2018.

The PA salary data is collected from NCCPA profiles of certified PAs. When PAs log into their profile on the NCCPA website they are asked a number of questions. This data is gathered to make the report. Some PAs might not answer all the questions, or have only partially completed their profiles at the time the data was collected, however this is still a large sample size. The data is collected by a rolling collection and is reported based on total gross income from all PA positions.

The 2019 NCCPA Annual Report included 117,280 of 131,152 certified PAs, and showed the average income for certified PAs to be $110,567. The highest paying specialties were dermatology and critical care. The lowest paying specialties included adolescent medicine and pediatrics.

PA Salary Report Pros

  • Large sample size – Since this report is collected from the NCCPA profiles of certified PAs it includes most PAs.
  •  Breakdown of salaries for different specialties – The report looks at PA salaries by specialty, not just PAs as a whole.

PA Salary Report Cons

  • Not as comprehensive as other PA salary reports – It looks at practice setting and specialty, but as far as the breakdown of base salary, bonus and benefits it does not go in depth.
  • The data is collected in a rolling cycle – It might not be based on the most recent year’s salaries.

AAPA PA Salary Survey

Current PA Salary – $107,500

The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) is the national professional society for PAs. The AAPA conducts an annual survey on PA salaries and releases a report later in the year.

There is usually a low response rate; however the 2019 salary report showed a slight increase from the previous year with 13,099 PAs responding to the survey. The data is collected from the previous calendar year, so the 2019 survey is based on 2018 salaries.

The median salary for PAs for the 2019 AAPA annual salary report was $107,500, a small increase compared to the previous year. The salary in the AAPA report is based on base salary alone; with separate information on bonus and production compensation.

The AAPA salary survey is the most comprehensive salary report for PAs. It breaks the data down by state, and even shows data for benefits including; time off, insurance, retirement, etc.

PA Salary Report Pros

  • Comprehensive data – Shows data by state and specialty.  Reports the breakdown of salary into base and bonus. Includes benefits, such as time off, insurance, retirement, etc.
  • Data collected is from the prior year (It should be the most up to date), and not averaged over multiple years.

PA Salary Report Cons

  • Small sample size – quite possibly the 100,000+ PAs who did not respond to the survey are making so much money they don’t have time to respond to the survey or they might be the ones that aren’t making much so they don’t want to share.
  • Only available to AAPA members for free, non-members can purchase a copy.

BLS PA Employment Statistics

Current PA Salary – $108,610

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics is a source for salary information for all types of careers. The data is collected from employers over 2-3 years and is averaged. The salary includes incentive pay and production bonus. The BLS reported the 2019 salary for PAs to be $108,610.

The BLS report is an employer-reported survey and covers a wide range of employment settings.

PA Salary Report Pros

  • Large sample size – As these surveys go out nationally and is done by the employer the information covers most PA’s salary
  • Collected from employers – The BLS reports are collected from employers and are not a self-reported survey, which means there is less chance of self-inflation of the numbers

PA Salary Report Cons

  • Out-dated data – The data is averaged over three years, so it includes data from past years and not just the current year
  • Salary based on gross compensation – It is helpful to see compensation split into base salary and bonus, but this report is based on total compensation
  • No data on salary by specialties

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Melnic PA Salary Report

New Graduate PA Salary – $104,000
10 Years of Experience PA Salary – $152,565

Melnic is a nationwide search firm for PAs and NPs that has been conducting an annual salary survey. They use the survey to produce a salary guide to help during the job search. They have the lowest response rate of all the reports with only 2030 APRN’s and PAs responding to the survey. The salaries are listed based on years of experience. The 2019 salary guide showed new graduate PAs earned a salary of $104,000 and PAs with 10 years of experience earned $152,565.

PA Salary Report Pros

  • Shows salary based on years of experience
  • Based on previous year’s salary and not averaged over multiple years

PA Salary Report Cons

  • Small sample size
  • Self-reported

ZipRecruiter PA Salary Report

Current PA Salary – $106,391

ZipRecruiter is an online job search. It provides salary data based on job listings. ZipRecruiter uses an algorithm based on job title, location and hiring company to come up with salary estimates for listed positions.

The average base salary was $106,160 as of July, 2019. The website allows you to see estimated salaries based on location.

PA Salary Report Pros

  • Can view salary estimates based on location

PA Salary Report Cons

  • Salaries are estimates based on other job listings and not actual salaries
  • Does not give a breakdown of compensation

Overview of Current 2019 PA Salary Reports

Using multiple Physician Assistant salary reports to determine current PA salary is important, as each one collects data differently and gives different information.

The NCCPA report might be the most accurate as it has the highest response rate, reaching over 90% of certified PAs. The downside is that it does not have in-depth data on PA compensation.

For an in-depth overview of PA compensation you should look at that AAPA salary survey. The survey does a great job of breaking compensation down into base salary, bonus and production pay. It also gives salary data based on state and specialty, as well as other information, such as the buying power of your salary based on region of employment.

The differences in salaries that are reported might be because of timing of when the data was collected, or how it was collected. The AAPA report was collected in February and based on compensation earned the prior year. The NCCPA report is collected on a rolling cycle. These differences can affect the amount that PAs are reporting.

The NCCPA showed the highest 2019 salary for PAs at $110,567, but the reported salary is base salary and bonus combined. The lowest reported salary was from ZipRecruiter, but it uses data based on job postings. If most people are negotiating salaries higher than what is listed on a posting it would make this number low. Taking all this into account the listed PA salaries are within a few thousand dollars, which in the grand scheme is fairly close.

One thing all of the reports have in common is that PA salaries have been increasing compared to prior years. I’m not sure if they are keeping up with inflation, but with the growing demand there are plenty of opportunities for PAs. If you’re looking for a new job, or just entering the job market know what you’re worth and use multiple salary reports to help negotiate your salary.

What do you think of the data? Does your PA salary reflect what is seen in the reports? Please comment below the original post, sign up to receive future posts by email and share with your friends!