A new clinic will be opening up as part of a partnership between Missouri State University and Mercy Springfield Hospital. This clinic will offer various types of care to patients who are uninsured, and includes a large physical therapy department. Professionals from Mercy Springfield will be staffing the new clinic, but PTA students from Missouri State will get a chance to work alongside staff to gain hands on clinical training.
With many new opportunities like this one, in addition to competitive salaries, Missouri has a lot to offer physical therapist assistants.
Job Growth and Salary Expectations for Physical Therapist Assistants in Missouri
According to the Missouri Department of Economic Development, as of 2012 there were 1,870 licensed physical therapist assistants working in Missouri. The number of PTAs in the state is expected to reach 2,320 by the end of 2022, an increase of 24 percent. This growth rate is equivalent to approximately 90 job openings per year.
Physical therapist assistant salaries vary based upon experience level. For example, a newly licensed physical therapist assistant can earn an average salary of about $32,400, while PTAs with about 1-5 years of experience earn about $51,300.
Highly experienced physical therapist assistants in Missouri (top ten percent) earned an average salary of $69,600 according to the Missouri Department of Economic Development’s 2012 report.
Salaries for Physical Therapist Assistants in Missouri’s Major Metro and Non-Metro Areas
Approximately 1,130 PTAs worked in the St. Louis area as of 2014, the most in the state. Other areas with a high concentration of physical therapist assistants include Kansas City, where 520 were employed, and Springfield, home to 180 licensed physical therapist assistants as of 2014.
According to reports issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2014, the highest average physical therapist assistant salary in Missouri was found in the Cape Girardeau-Jackson area, where licensed PTAs earned an average of $53,390 annually. Kansas City had the second highest average, at $51,340. The North Missouri nonmetropolitan area had the third highest average salary for physical therapist assistants in the state, with PTAs here earning an average of $51,760 per year.
For more details on PTA salaries in Missouri, see the table below provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014):