Physical therapist aides
SOC Code: 31-2022
Physical therapist aides carries a 23% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $34,520 and +2.8% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 45,600 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 23% AI exposure, Physical therapist aides sits 14 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 11% of them. It ranks among the more AI-resilient roles in the dataset.
Career outlook score
46/100
Physical therapist aides, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage F $34,520
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth C- +2.8%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) A 23% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Physical therapist aides in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Open entry with non-declining BLS pace
Physical therapist aides keeps an HS / some college bar (333 of 832) and sits in Average (378 of 832). Lower formal gates with a non-shrinking employment line - skill and AI desks matter more than credentials here.
Where Physical therapist aides sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Physical therapist aides sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
23% Among the lowest lower than 89% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Physical therapist aides vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Physical therapist aides is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Physical therapist aides's Medium automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score below 40% reflects tasks anchored in physical dexterity, unstructured environments, or high-touch human interaction that current AI cannot reliably replicate.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 31-2022) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Physical therapist aides be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Physical therapist aides. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Clean and organize work area and disinfect equipment after treatment.
- 2. Secure patients into or onto therapy equipment.
- 3. Instruct, motivate, safeguard, or assist patients practicing exercises or functional activities, under direction of medical staff.
- 4. Confer with physical therapy staff or others to discuss and evaluate patient information for planning, modifying, or coordinating treatment.
- 5. Observe patients during treatment to compile and evaluate data on patients' responses and progress and report to physical therapist.
- 6. Change linens, such as bed sheets and pillow cases.
- 7. Administer active or passive manual therapeutic exercises, therapeutic massage, or heat, light, sound, water, or electrical modality treatments, such as ultrasound.
- 8. Record treatment given and equipment used.
- 9. Transport patients to and from treatment areas, using wheelchairs or providing standing support.
- 10. Measure patient's range-of-joint motion, body parts, or vital signs to determine effects of treatments or for patient evaluations.
Key Skills Required
- Active Listening
- Monitoring
- Service Orientation
- Reading Comprehension
- Social Perceptiveness
- Coordination
- Writing
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
Knowledge Areas
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Computers and Electronics
- Therapy and Counseling
- Psychology
- Public Safety and Security
- Administrative
- Education and Training
- Telecommunications
- Administration and Management
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Physical therapist aides?
Physical therapist aides has an AI exposure score of 23%, indicating a medium level of automation risk. The majority of tasks in this role require human judgment, creativity, or physical presence that AI cannot easily replicate.
What is the job outlook for Physical therapist aides?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Physical therapist aides is projected to grow by 2.8% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 45,600 workers.
What skills are needed for Physical therapist aides?
Key skills for Physical therapist aides include Active Listening, Monitoring, Service Orientation, and others. Typical entry-level education is High school diploma or equivalent.
How much do Physical therapist aides earn?
The median annual wage for Physical therapist aides is $34,520, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Physical therapist aides?
The typical entry-level education for Physical therapist aides is High school diploma or equivalent. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Short-term on-the-job training. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Physical therapist aides?
Physical therapist aides roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
Medium automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. Most tasks require human judgment and are resistant to automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Physical therapist aides: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (23% here).
- Automotive service technicians and mechanics · AI exposure 23%
- Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers · AI exposure 23%
- Electric motor, power tool, and related repairers · AI exposure 23%
- Helpers--carpenters · AI exposure 23%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+2.8% here).
- Rail car repairers · growth +2.8%
- Reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks · growth +2.8%
- Emergency medicine physicians · growth +2.7%
- Family medicine physicians · growth +2.7%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 7 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Physical therapist aides' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Physical therapist aides side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).