Skip to salary data
Salaries

Physician Assistant.

Salt Lake City.

$128,000

median salary, 4% below the national average

$109,000 to $154,000. Last updated August 2026.

Close the job.

Get the job.

Data points to own the conversation.

If you are evaluating a Physician Assistant offer in Salt Lake City, UT, here is the reality: $109,000 to $154,000, with $128,000 as the midpoint. 4% below the national average. Surgical subspecialties and emergency medicine pay the highest PA salaries, often 20 to 30% above primary care. Do not accept the first number. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page.

Salary range.

25th Percentile

$109,000

per year

Median

$128,000

per year

75th Percentile

$154,000

per year

Where do you fall?

$109,000$154,000

Orbyt estimate for Physician Assistant in Salt Lake City, modelled from national occupation wages adjusted for local cost of living. The published government benchmark for this occupation is below.

Government benchmark for this occupation

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $134,490 for Physician Assistants (SOC 29-1071) in the Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT metropolitan area, based on 300 employed workers (May 2025 release).

10th percentile

$102,130

25th percentile

$120,620

Median

$134,490

75th percentile

$145,520

90th percentile

$172,550

Workers surveyed

300

BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Physician Assistants (SOC 29-1071) rather than Physician Assistant specifically. The Salt Lake City range at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.

View the BLS source for SOC 29-1071

Salary by experience.

The gap between entry and lead level is typically $115,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.

Entry (0-2 yrs)

$83,000

to $102,000

Mid (3-5 yrs)

$109,000

to $134,000

Senior (6-9 yrs)

$141,000

to $166,000

Lead (10+ yrs)

$160,000

to $198,000

Total compensation.

Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $34,000 to the total package.

Base

$128,000

Equity

$19,000

Bonus

$12,000

Signing

$3,000

Estimated total: $162,000

How Salt Lake City compares.

Salt Lake City, UT

$128,000

Cost of living: 2% below average

National Average

$133,000

Salt Lake City is $5,000 below

Physician Assistant salary by city.

Physician Assistant salary comparison across 10 cities
CityMedianRangeCOLAdjusted
San Francisco, CA$180,000$154,000 to $216,0001.35x$133,000
San Jose, CA$176,000$151,000 to $212,0001.38x$128,000
Seattle, WA$172,000$147,000 to $206,0001.24x$139,000
Honolulu, HI$166,000$142,000 to $200,0001.30x$128,000
New York, NY$165,000$142,000 to $199,0001.28x$129,000
Washington DC, DC$161,000$138,000 to $194,0001.25x$129,000
Newark, NJ$159,000$136,000 to $191,0001.18x$135,000
Boston, MA$156,000$134,000 to $187,0001.22x$128,000
San Diego, CA$156,000$133,000 to $187,0001.17x$133,000
Salt Lake City, UT$128,000$109,000 to $154,0000.98x$131,000

See all 81 cities for Physician Assistant →

Salary by role in Salt Lake City.

Salary comparison by role in Salt Lake City
RoleMedianRange
CTO$306,000$238,000 to $397,000
CEO$278,000$202,000 to $384,000
CFO$265,000$199,000 to $352,000
LLM Engineer$129,000$96,000 to $169,000
Physician Assistant$128,000$109,000 to $154,000
NLP Engineer$128,000$95,000 to $167,000
Veterinarian$128,000$100,000 to $165,000
Embodied AI Engineer$128,000$95,000 to $167,000

What you should know.

Here is what the Physician Assistant market actually looks like in Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City anchors the Silicon Slopes tech corridor, home to companies like Qualtrics, Pluralsight, and Domo. The region has attracted significant venture investment and tech relocations. Utah's business friendly environment, young educated workforce, and outdoor lifestyle make it a rising destination for tech professionals seeking affordability without sacrificing career growth. Surgical subspecialties and emergency medicine pay the highest PA salaries, often 20 to 30% above primary care. Geographic location matters significantly, with rural and underserved areas offering premium pay to attract talent. Experience in procedural skills and first-assist certification further boost compensation.

Entry-level PAs earn $95,000 to $105,000 in their first role. Mid-career PAs with specialty experience reach $120,000 to $135,000. Senior PAs in surgical specialties or leadership positions can command $145,000 to $165,000 with additional administrative responsibilities. In Salt Lake City, cost of living sits near the national average, so the numbers you see are roughly what you keep.

Base salary is not the full picture. PAs commonly receive productivity bonuses, CME allowances of $2,000 to $5,000 annually, malpractice insurance, and relocation assistance. Hospital systems often add shift differentials for nights, weekends, and call coverage. And on the tax side: utah has a flat 4.65% state income tax. Salt Lake City imposes no additional city income tax. The moderate rate combined with affordable living costs results in strong net compensation. When someone quotes you $128,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.

On negotiation: Reference Silicon Slopes growth when negotiating. Local employers are increasingly matching 85 to 95% of Seattle or Bay Area salaries to compete for tech talent. The range for Physician Assistants in Salt Lake City runs from $109,000 to $154,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.

Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL). COL: BEA Regional Price Parities (2025). Data verified by Justin Bartak, Founder & Chief AI Officer. Last verified July 1, 2026. Full methodology

Interactive

Is your offer competitive?

Enter your Physician Assistant offer to see where you stand in Salt Lake City.

$

25th

$109,000

Median

$128,000

75th

$154,000

Considering a related role?

  • An LLM Engineer in Salt Lake City earns $129,000 (1% more)
  • The highest-paying role in Salt Lake City is CTO at $306,000

Common questions.

Surgical PAs earn 20 to 30% more than primary care PAs on average. Orthopedic and cardiothoracic surgery PAs often exceed $140,000, while family medicine PAs typically fall in the $105,000 to $120,000 range.

Many PAs receive productivity bonuses tied to relative value units or patient encounters. These bonuses can add $5,000 to $20,000 annually, particularly in high-volume practices where PAs manage their own patient panels independently.

Relevant certifications can add 5 to 15% to a Physician Assistant's base salary in Salt Lake City. Specifically, surgical subspecialties and emergency medicine pay the highest pa salaries, often 20 to 30% above primary care. In a market where the range spans $109,000 to $154,000, certifications often bridge the gap between the median and the top of the range.

In Salt Lake City, large enterprises typically pay Physician Assistants 10 to 20% more in base salary than small companies, but startups often compensate with equity that can exceed base salary value. PAs commonly receive productivity bonuses, CME allowances of $2,000 to $5,000 annually, malpractice insurance, and relocation assistance. The $109,000 to $154,000 range reflects this entire spectrum.

Salt Lake City anchors the Silicon Slopes tech corridor, home to companies like Qualtrics, Pluralsight, and Domo. The region has attracted significant venture investment and tech relocations. For Physician Assistants specifically, surgical subspecialties and emergency medicine pay the highest pa salaries, often 20 to 30% above primary care, which signals sustained demand. The current compensation range of $109,000 to $154,000 reflects a market that is competing for talent.

Salt Lake City's economy is driven by Technology & SaaS, Healthcare, Financial Services, and Outdoor Recreation. Physician Assistants are hired across these sectors, though compensation can vary 15 to 25% between industries. Company size and funding stage also influence total packages significantly.

Physician Assistant salary in other cities.

Other salaries in Salt Lake City.

Jump to nearby roles and cities most relevant to Physician Assistants in Salt Lake City.

Related tools.

Do you work as a physician assistant in Salt Lake City?

Your individual figure is never published. Submissions appear only as aggregate percentiles, and nothing is shown for a role and city until at least five people have reported. It is stored against your account, which is what keeps the dataset clean.

Add your salary

Cite this data

Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.

"Physician Assistant Salary in Salt Lake City, UT." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/physician-assistant/salt-lake-city

Want this data on your site? Embed the salary widget. One script tag, free forever.

Share

LinkedInX

Was this helpful?

You have the data.

Now own the conversation.

Start tracking your offers

Related tools

Salary CalculatorTake-Home PayTotal CompensationInterview PrepResume ScoreOrbyt JobsIntelligence API