Even though the median salary for full-time physical therapists working in geriatric care has reached the $100,000 level, wage increases have not kept pace with inflation.
That's one of the findings in two related reports released Thursday by the American Physical Therapy Association. A combination of research and modeling reveals key demographic and income details of treatment professionals, highlighting recruitment and retention challenges.
APTA President Kyle Covington said, “APTA's latest Workforce and Earnings Report makes clear that even though the profession is growing, in demand, and making meaningful progress, it still faces significant challenges that require continued focus.”
The report said that despite demand growth since 2016, wages have not kept pace with inflation. Although the rate of therapists per 100,000 U.S. residents is increasing, APTA noted that the geographic distribution is uneven.
The number of physical therapists is decreasing in several states in the South and Southwest, and the percentage of physical therapists is also decreasing on the West Coast.
According to APTA, 52% of PTs in geriatric medicine work in skilled nursing or long-term care settings and report a median annual salary of $102,000. This puts it firmly in the middle of the eight sectors led by acute care hospitals, which have an average annual salary of $107,600.
However, salaries in skilled nursing settings can vary significantly. For example, when grouped by percentile, nursing home PT salaries were the second lowest in the 25% group and the third highest in the 75% group. The report's authors theorized that these differences may be due to a structure that allows for more supervision and management than other therapy workplaces.
“The majority of skilled nursing and long-term care facility employees report being managers (38%) or supervisors of other physical therapists (41%),” the income report states. “A significant proportion of employees in senior positions are likely to account for the income ranges observed in these settings.”
not stacked
A survey of APTA members found that few skilled nurse therapists hold post-professional credentials that could increase their pay. Just under 21% of respondents working in skilled nursing or long-term care are board certified, and about 5% have completed training. None of the respondents in this field had completed a fellowship or earned a Ph.D., Academic Ph.D., or Ed.D.
Geriatric diseases are largely ignored by PTs completing their training. In 2024, only 20 out of 995 residents were eligible for geriatric care facilities, compared to 580 for orthopedics, 160 for sports medicine, and 114 for neurology.
PTs working in nursing homes, long-term care, and inpatient rehabilitation facilities make up 6% of APTA membership, and PTAs in these facilities make up an additional 14.9%.
The group's report also looked at physical therapy assistants, with shortages reported more frequently in the Northeast and West.
Median hourly wages for assistants working in skilled nursing facilities/long-term care, acute care hospitals, and home care settings were approximately $5 to $7 more per hour than in private outpatient practices, the most common setting for assistants.
In encouraging news, APTA reported that enrollment in physical therapy assistant programs has increased slightly since 2022, after declining several years ago. APTA also reported an increase in the diversity of students enrolling and graduating from all training programs.
The rise of physical therapists, already one of the fastest growing professions in the United States, should help as demand increases. APTA previously reported that it expects a 5.2% shortage in 2022 to decline to 3.3% in 2037.
Still, of those in the organization's 2025 survey, 7.4% of PTs and 8.4% of assistants reported they planned to retire or leave the profession within the next two years. Additionally, 16.2% of PTs and 11% of PTAs said they planned to reduce their working hours within the next two years.
Both reports can be downloaded here.
