Physical therapist assistants
SOC Code: 31-2021
Physical therapist assistants carries a 27% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $65,510 and +22.0% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 111,500 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 27% AI exposure, Physical therapist assistants sits 10 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 22% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
80/100
Physical therapist assistants, 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 C+ $65,510
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth A+ +22.0%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) B+ 27% 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 assistants in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Associate / award entry with a named growth shelf
Entry credential Associate / award covers 99 of 832 occupations; BLS places this one in Much faster (31/832). Mid-credential standing - thicker than graduate shelves, thinner than HS-dominated mass.
Where Physical therapist assistants 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 assistants sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
27% Among the lowest lower than 78% 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 assistants vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Physical therapist assistants 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 assistants'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 31-2021) 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 assistants 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 assistants. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Instruct, motivate, safeguard, and assist patients as they practice exercises or functional activities.
- 2. Document patient information, such as notes on their progress.
- 3. Observe patients during treatments to compile and evaluate data on their responses and progress and provide results to physical therapist in person or through progress notes.
- 4. Instruct patients in proper body mechanics and in ways to improve functional mobility, such as aquatic exercise.
- 5. Secure patients into or onto therapy equipment.
- 6. Confer with physical therapy staff or others to discuss and evaluate patient information for planning, modifying, or coordinating treatment.
- 7. Administer active or passive manual therapeutic exercises, therapeutic massage, aquatic physical therapy, or heat, light, sound, or electrical modality treatments, such as ultrasound.
- 8. Transport patients to and from treatment areas, lifting and transferring them according to positioning requirements.
- 9. Clean work area and check and store equipment after treatment.
- 10. Communicate with or instruct caregivers or family members on patient therapeutic activities or treatment plans.
Key Skills Required
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Social Perceptiveness
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
- Service Orientation
- Coordination
Knowledge Areas
- Customer and Personal Service
- Therapy and Counseling
- English Language
- Education and Training
- Psychology
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Computers and Electronics
- Biology
- Administrative
- Public Safety and Security
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Physical therapist assistants?
Physical therapist assistants has an AI exposure score of 27%, 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 assistants?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Physical therapist assistants is projected to grow by 22.0% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 111,500 workers.
What skills are needed for Physical therapist assistants?
Key skills for Physical therapist assistants include Active Listening, Speaking, Monitoring, and others. Typical entry-level education is Associate's degree.
How much do Physical therapist assistants earn?
The median annual wage for Physical therapist assistants is $65,510, 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 assistants?
The typical entry-level education for Physical therapist assistants is Associate's degree. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves None. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Physical therapist assistants?
Physical therapist assistants 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 assistants: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (27% here).
- Civil engineers · AI exposure 27%
- Clinical and counseling psychologists · AI exposure 27%
- Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders · AI exposure 27%
- Concierges · AI exposure 27%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+22.0% here).
- Actuaries · growth +21.8%
- Operations research analysts · growth +21.5%
- Medical and health services managers · growth +23.2%
- Physician assistants · growth +20.4%
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 assistants' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Physical therapist assistants 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).