According to the Vermont Department of Labor, as of 2014 physical therapist assistants in the state earned an average salary of $51,930. PTAs with salaries that fell within the top ten percent (typically highly experienced) earned an average of $61,780 that year.
Vermont’s entry-level PTAs earned an average of $41,680 as of 2014.Vermont is recognized for offering particularly high starting salaries for PTAs. Vermont-based PTAs with salaries that fell within the bottom ten percent (typically entry-level) earned nearly $10,000 more than the national average for PTAs in this bracket.
The Vermont Department of Labor rated physical therapist assisting as the fifth fastest growing occupation in the state, projecting a 26% increase in the number of jobs for PTAs in the state between 2012 and 2022.
How PTAs Benefit from Growth in Vermont’s Healthcare Industry
Vermont has a higher concentration of workers in the healthcare industry than the national average according to a 2010 analysis conducted by the New England Board of Higher Education. Additionally, the number of healthcare jobs in Vermont increased by 10.4% between 2010 and 2015 according to the state’s Department of Labor.
The largest employers of physical therapist assistants in the country are healthcare businesses that fall under the category of ambulatory health care services. The primary employers of PTAs are specialty care clinics such as sports and orthopedic medical clinics, while nursing care facilities, home health care services, and general physician’s offices also fall within the top five.
The Vermont Department of Labor predicts an extremely high level of growth in the ambulatory healthcare sector between 2012 and 2022. The number of jobs in this area should increase by 64% during this ten-year period and provide additional avenues of employment for physical therapist assistants. In fact, this sector added 300 new jobs in Vermont between August 2014 and August 2015 alone.
How Location Affects the Salaries of Physical Therapist Assistants in Vermont
Salary information for physical therapist assistants as published by the Vermont Department of Labor revealed significant differences in the salaries of PTAs throughout the state as of 2014. This difference was especially pronounced for physical therapist assistants in the 90th percentile (typically highly experienced):
For comparison, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a high level of detail on the salaries of physical therapist assistants in the nonmetropolitan area of Southern Vermont as of 2014: