The Starting Salary of a Physical Therapist in Massachusetts

Average Massachusetts Salary

The annual median wage for physical therapists in Massachusetts is $73,470 as of May 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Although median wages are high, physical therapists earnings may range quite noticeably between positions, with half of all physical therapists who practice in the state earning annual salaries between $61,720 and $83,990. The 10 percent with the highest salaries earn $97,110 or more each year.

The average hourly wage for all therapists, those who travel and those based in a hospital or other medical facility, is $35.32 as of May 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Half of all of Massachusetts' physical therapists earn between $29.67 and $40.38 an hour, and the 10 percent with the highest wages earn $40.38 or more each year.

Statewide averages don't perfectly apply to all therapists in Massachusetts, with salaries that vary by the city in which they practice. Therapists in Boston, with its higher cost of living than the rest of the state, earn average annual salaries above the state average, at $100,000 as of January 2011, according to Indeed.com. Salaries in other areas weren't as high. Therapists in Worcester earn average annual salaries of $78,501 as of January 2011, according to Salary.com, while those in Pittsfield receive $74,713 a year on average. In New Bedford, the average annual salary is $78,098.

Physical therapists who live in Massachusetts earn wages that are noticeably higher than the national average. Physical therapists' average annual salaries range between $58,151 and $75,698 around the country as of January 2011, according to PayScale. The average salary for therapists in Massachusetts reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is 110 percent of the salary reported in the middle of PayScale's range, $66,924.50.