Reviewed October 23, 2026. Healthcare demand varies by profession, specialty, and community. Use dated federal benchmarks alongside current employer offers; national forecasts are not counts of today's vacancies.
The BLS Physician Assistants outlook reports a May 2025 median annual wage of $135,880 and projects 21% employment growth from 2025 to 2035. These figures describe national occupational wages and projected employment—not guaranteed base pay or annual salary growth.
The BLS APRN pay table reports a May 2025 NP-specific median annual wage of $132,300. Do not substitute the combined APRN group wage for the NP figure.
HRSA workforce projections, released in December 2025 for 2023–2038, project a shortage of 141,160 physician full-time equivalents in 2038, including 70,610 primary care physician FTEs. Future modeled shortfalls are not current job-ad counts.
Compare the actual role's base pay, hours, call, productivity thresholds, benefits, malpractice terms, and onboarding. Check local occupational wages and household costs before interpreting a national median as an appropriate offer.
Confirm that the vacancy remains open and that the advertised compensation applies to your experience and schedule. For 1099 roles, separate gross receipts from expenses and benefits you must fund yourself.
Track qualified applicants, interview turnaround, accepted offers, credentialing milestones, time to clinical start, and retention. Define each measure consistently rather than relying on an unsupported national time-to-fill average.
Evaluate patient access, workload, support staffing, and turnover together. Technology can help with administrative work, but deployment should include privacy safeguards, clinical oversight, and measurement of errors and time saved.
No. The review was completed in 2026, but the cited BLS wage observations are from May 2025. The reference year remains attached to each figure.
No. A national forecast does not establish current vacancies in a specific city or specialty. Verify openings and requirements directly with the employer or recruiter.
No single ranking applies to every clinician. Compare profession, location, hours, experience, procedures, benefits, and the actual terms of the offer.