According to rankings from U.S. News & World Report, physician assistant is the best job in healthcare.
A version of this article was first published February 10, 2021, by HCPro's Credentialing Resource Center, a sibling publication to HealthLeaders.
Physician assistant (PA) is the best job in healthcare and best overall job, according to rankings from U.S. News & World Report.
The highest paid 25% in the profession reported earnings of almost $131,000 while the lowest paid 25% reported earnings of nearly $93,000. The median salary for PAs is $112,260, and the profession boasts an unemployment rate of 0.7%.
The field is also expected to grow 31% by 2029, compared to a 10% expected growth for those in health diagnosing and treating practitioner roles.
The best-paying city for PAs is Salinas, California, where PAs earned a mean salary of $161,370; Salinas also ranked as the third-highest paying city for physicians.
The top five also included Leominster, Massachusetts ($156,250); Waterbury, Connecticut ($154,550); Danbury, Connecticut ($147,500); and New Bern, North Carolina ($146,880).
The states with the highest mean salaries for PAs included Connecticut ($137,060), Washington ($129,520), New Jersey ($129,440), Alaska ($128,530), and California ($127,520). Notably, Alaska was the highest-paying state for physicians.
Source: U.S. News & World Report
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