Physical therapists
SOC Code: 29-1123
Physical therapists carries a 21% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $101,020 and +10.9% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 267,200 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 21% AI exposure, Physical therapists sits 16 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 8% of them. It ranks among the more AI-resilient roles in the dataset.
Career outlook score
91/100
Physical therapists, 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 A $101,020
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth A+ +10.9%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) A+ 21% 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 therapists in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Graduate credential among the thinner entry shelves
Physical therapists is in the Graduate band (113 of 832) with BLS pace Fast growth (67/832). Graduate entry is a minority shelf - pairing it with fast growth growth is the standing that separates this SOC from bachelor-dominated neighbors.
Where Physical therapists 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 therapists sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
21% Among the lowest lower than 92% 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 therapists vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Physical therapists 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 therapists'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 29-1123) 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 therapists 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 therapists. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Plan, prepare, or carry out individually designed programs of physical treatment to maintain, improve, or restore physical functioning, alleviate pain, or prevent physical dysfunction in patients.
- 2. Perform and document an initial exam, evaluating data to identify problems and determine a diagnosis prior to intervention.
- 3. Record prognosis, treatment, response, and progress in patient's chart or enter information into computer.
- 4. Instruct patient and family in treatment procedures to be continued at home.
- 5. Evaluate effects of treatment at various stages and adjust treatments to achieve maximum benefit.
- 6. Confer with the patient, medical practitioners, or appropriate others to plan, implement, or assess the intervention program.
- 7. Administer manual exercises, massage, or traction to help relieve pain, increase patient strength, or decrease or prevent deformity or crippling.
- 8. Obtain patients' informed consent to proposed interventions.
- 9. Test and measure patient's strength, motor development and function, sensory perception, functional capacity, or respiratory or circulatory efficiency and record data.
- 10. Direct, supervise, assess, and communicate with supportive personnel.
Key Skills Required
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Service Orientation
- Writing
- Monitoring
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Time Management
Knowledge Areas
- Customer and Personal Service
- Therapy and Counseling
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Psychology
- Education and Training
- English Language
- Biology
- Administration and Management
- Physics
- Sociology and Anthropology
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Physical therapists?
Physical therapists has an AI exposure score of 21%, 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 therapists?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Physical therapists is projected to grow by 10.9% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 267,200 workers.
What skills are needed for Physical therapists?
Key skills for Physical therapists include Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, and others. Typical entry-level education is Doctoral or professional degree.
How much do Physical therapists earn?
The median annual wage for Physical therapists is $101,020, 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 therapists?
The typical entry-level education for Physical therapists is Doctoral or professional 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 therapists?
Physical therapists 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 therapists: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (21% here).
- Athletes and sports competitors · AI exposure 21%
- Automotive body and related repairers · AI exposure 21%
- Automotive glass installers and repairers · AI exposure 21%
- Boilermakers · AI exposure 21%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+10.9% here).
- Semiconductor processing technicians · growth +10.9%
- Farm equipment mechanics and service technicians · growth +11.0%
- Industrial engineers · growth +11.0%
- Training and development specialists · growth +10.8%
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 45 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Physical therapists' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Physical therapists 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).