Physical Therapists
SOC 29-1123 · 2024-2034
Assess, plan, organize, and participate in rehabilitative programs that improve mobility, relieve pain, increase strength, and improve or correct disabling conditions resulting from disease or injury.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
The job this trains for
- Typical pay in California
- $127,666per year
- Projected openings
- 17,850
- Projected change
- +26%
- Usually needs
- Doctoral or professional degree
Bright Outlook — a U.S. Department of Labor designation
Rapid Growth
The Department's own designation, made from its national projections. It is not this project's assessment and it is not California's: every other figure on this page comes from California's projection, which can point the other way and for some occupations does.
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Speaking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Service Orientation
- Reading Comprehension
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $140,980 | 830 |
| Vallejo MSA (Solano County) | $140,148 | 180 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $139,961 | 1,210 |
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) | $139,586 | 560 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma MSA (Sonoma County) | $138,474 | 130 |
| San Rafael MD (Marin County) | $135,907 | 120 |
| Chico MSA (Butte County) | $134,940 | 80 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $133,697 | 1,070 |
| Napa MSA (Napa County) | $132,259 | 20 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville MSA (Santa Cruz County) | $131,859 | 80 |
| Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region (Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Inyo, Mariposa, Mono, and Tuolumne Counties) | $129,866 | 40 |
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region (Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties) | $129,147 | 90 |
| Merced MSA (Merced County) | $127,647 | 30 |
| Modesto MSA (Stanislaus County) | $127,647 | 230 |
| Salinas MSA (Monterey County) | $127,329 | 100 |
| Bakersfield-Delano MSA (Kern County) | $125,922 | 180 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara MSA (Santa Barbara County) | $124,627 | 170 |
| Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County) | $124,391 | 170 |
| Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties) | $123,703 | 320 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $123,456 | 1,260 |
| El Centro MSA (Imperial County) | $123,282 | 30 |
| North Coast Region (Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, and Mendocino Counties) | $122,943 | 60 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $122,937 | 3,310 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $120,570 | 310 |
| Hanford-Corcoran MSA (Kings County) | $120,026 | 10 |
| Yuba City MSA (Sutter and Yuba Counties) | $116,328 | 40 |
| Redding MSA (Shasta County) | $116,225 | 70 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $112,690 | 1,360 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $108,799 | 1,630 |
| Visalia MSA (Tulare County) | $104,433 | 140 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles MSA (San Luis Obispo County) | $102,410 | 110 |
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| The job this trains for | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physicians, All Other | $289,473 | 9,800 | +9.5% |
| Occupational Therapists | $127,995 | 10,780 | +26.7% |
| Emergency Medicine Physicians | Not reported | 1,730 | +10.9% |
| Registered Nurses | $144,197 | 228,840 | +13.5% |
| Nurse Practitioners | $173,237 | 26,610 | +52.2% |
Leads to — 3
AS Physical Education/Kinesiology
Contra Costa College · San Pablo · $4,047
AAT Kinesiology
Contra Costa College · San Pablo · $4,110
Physical Therapy Aide
L.A. Vocational Institute · Los Angeles · $2,675