PA Salary Increase to $108,610 According to BLS Report
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports the 2019 median salary for PAs at $108,610. This is an increase from $104,760 the previous year.
The BLS report was last modified April 2019 and was based on wages reported May 2018. PAs working in outpatient care centers earned the highest salaries at $115,560. This is much different compared to the AAPA report, which showed occupational medicine/work site having the highest PA salaries; and outpatient clinics near the bottom.
This increase in PA salary is similar to what we have seen with other reports; with PAs earning about 3% increase in wages.
This report includes production bonuses as a part of wages, but does not include non-production bonuses. The NCCPA report is based off total wages, and the AAPA report is broken down into base salary and bonus. These differences in reporting of PA salaries are important to keep in mind as you review the data.
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Salary reports can be helpful in negotiations to help show how much other PAs are earning; however they rarely tell the whole story. Much of PA compensation can be based on other benefits beyond a base salary. If you are going to negotiate your salary it’s best to use multiple reports. Also, keep in mind the other benefits that are offered.
According to the report, ten percent of PAs are earning over $151,850. What the report does not show, is the other benefits for a PA with that salary. With the median where it is, that means ten percent of PAs are earning less than $69,120 and those PAs could have a generous retirement plan or health insurance, which is not represented in a base salary.
The bottom line to this report is that PA salaries continue to increase and the job outlook is growing faster than the average job. If you’re looking at salary and job opportunities the PA career still shows a lot of promise.
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