Physical Therapist Aides
Under close supervision of a physical therapist or physical therapy assistant, perform only delegated, selected, or routine tasks in specific situations. These duties include preparing the patient and the treatment area.
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Physical Therapist Aides. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $25,360 | $12.19 |
| 25th | $30,410 | $14.62 |
| 50th · Median | $35,240 | $16.94 |
| 75th | $38,810 | $18.66 |
| 90th | $47,780 | $22.97 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
Where does your number sit?
Compare an entered wage with the published thresholds for United States. Your entry stays on this page.
This compares wage amounts to published percentile thresholds. It does not estimate your personal percentile, adjust for your experience, or compare total compensation. Match the wage definition and occupation group before using the result.
What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Expand more title examples (3)
Typical tasks
- Clean and organize work area and disinfect equipment after treatment.
- Secure patients into or onto therapy equipment.
- Instruct, motivate, safeguard, or assist patients practicing exercises or functional activities, under direction of medical staff.
- Confer with physical therapy staff or others to discuss and evaluate patient information for planning, modifying, or coordinating treatment.
- Observe patients during treatment to compile and evaluate data on patients' responses and progress and report to physical therapist.
- Change linens, such as bed sheets and pillow cases.
Expand more tasks (13)
- Administer active or passive manual therapeutic exercises, therapeutic massage, or heat, light, sound, water, or electrical modality treatments, such as ultrasound.
- Transport patients to and from treatment areas, using wheelchairs or providing standing support.
- Perform clerical duties, such as taking inventory, ordering supplies, answering telephone, taking messages, or filling out forms.
- Schedule patient appointments with physical therapists and coordinate therapists' schedules.
- Arrange treatment supplies to keep them in order.
- Assist patients to dress, undress, or put on and remove supportive devices, such as braces, splints, or slings.
- Maintain equipment or furniture to keep it in good working condition, including performing the assembly or disassembly of equipment or accessories.
- Record treatment given and equipment used.
- Measure patient's range-of-joint motion, body parts, or vital signs to determine effects of treatments or for patient evaluations.
- Train patients to use orthopedic braces, prostheses, or supportive devices.
- Administer traction to relieve neck or back pain, using intermittent or static traction equipment.
- Fit patients for orthopedic braces, prostheses, or supportive devices, adjusting fit as needed.
- Participate in patient care tasks, such as assisting with passing food trays, feeding residents, or bathing residents on bed rest.
Skills used in this work
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Expand more skills (29)
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
Explore wages by location.
0 retained state and local wage references are available. Start with these selected locations, or search the full market directory for this career.
Local wage references are not retained for this occupation. The national view and employer evidence may still help.
Available links reflect retained source coverage for this career.
Find the next step that fits.
Look at current disclosed job ranges, explore supported employer salary evidence, or build a proposed hiring range with your own assumptions.