Best Metros for Physical Therapists in 2026: New York Leads, California Pays More

Across the top 10 metros in LaborCove’s 2026 rankings for physical therapists, two patterns stand out: national pay levels provide one benchmark, and California metros are highly visible in the top results. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ ranks #1 overall with the highest LaborCove Geography Score in the list, while several California metros show markedly higher median salaries than the national median. At the same time, New York-Newark-Jersey City has a larger employment count than any of the other listed metros. Together, these differences suggest that pay levels and employment counts vary meaningfully even among the highest-ranked markets. The national projected employment growth rate of 10.9% provides additional context: LaborCove’s rankings highlight where physical therapists are currently concentrated and how those markets compare on salary, but projected growth remains a national figure rather than a metro-specific forecast. The following sections walk through the top metros, focusing on what the supplied salary, employment, and LaborCove Geography Score data can reveal.

For physical therapists, the national median annual salary of $102,760 sets a useful benchmark when looking at metro‑level data. Every top‑10 metro listed here has a median salary above that national figure, but they do so by different margins. National employment for physical therapists stands at 267,330, showing how the top metros fit into a much larger national workforce. The national projected employment growth rate of 10.9% describes expected change for the occupation across all areas combined, not for individual metros. Because no metro‑level projected growth data are supplied, the comparisons that follow focus on how each top‑ranked metro currently scores on median salary, employment, and LaborCove Geography Score relative to one another and to the national salary benchmark.

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ holds the #1 rank among metros for physical therapists in LaborCove’s 2026 results, with a Geography Score of 75.93. That score is higher than the Geography Scores reported for any of the other nine listed metros. Its median annual salary of $107,650 is above the national median salary of $102,760. While several California metros have higher median salaries, New York-Newark-Jersey City combines that above‑national pay level with the largest employment count in the top 10. Employment for physical therapists in New York-Newark-Jersey City is 21,240, which is larger than the employment counts reported for any of the other listed metros. This aligns with the separate note that 21,240 is the largest employment market in the supplied geographic data.

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA ranks #2 overall with a Geography Score of 61.49 and a median salary of $141,980. Both of these values differ notably from national benchmarks: the median salary is higher than the national median of $102,760, while the Geography Score trails New York-Newark-Jersey City’s 75.93. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont’s employment count of 3,140 is smaller than New York-Newark-Jersey City’s 21,240. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ranks #3 with a Geography Score of 60.01 and a median salary of $139,000. Its median salary is also higher than the national median of $102,760 and lower than San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont’s $141,980. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara’s employment count of 1,460 is less than San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont’s 3,140. These two Bay Area metros illustrate how high wages do not automatically correspond to the top overall Geography Score. Both have higher salaries than New York-Newark-Jersey City but rank below it on the LaborCove score.

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA ranks #4 with a Geography Score of 56.66. Its median salary of $108,170 is higher than the national median of $102,760 and higher than New York-Newark-Jersey City’s $107,650. The metro’s employment count of 9,750 is smaller than New York-Newark-Jersey City’s 21,240 but larger than San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont’s 3,140 and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara’s 1,460. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN holds the #8 rank with a Geography Score of 50.88. Its median salary of $105,720 is higher than the national median but lower than Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim’s $108,170. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin’s employment count of 7,880 is smaller than Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim’s 9,750 but larger than San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont’s 3,140 and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara’s 1,460. Together, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin show that metros with larger employment counts do not always sit at the very top of the Geography Score rankings, even when their salaries are above the national median.

Several smaller California metros in the top 10 have high median salaries alongside relatively modest employment counts. Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA ranks #5 with a Geography Score of 52.00 and a median salary of $140,100. This salary is higher than the national median of $102,760 and lower than San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont’s $141,980. Santa Rosa-Petaluma’s employment count of 290 is smaller than the employment counts in the large metros such as Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (9,750) and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin (7,880). Vallejo, CA ranks #7 with a Geography Score of 51.39 and a median salary of $141,530, which is higher than the national median and higher than Santa Rosa-Petaluma’s $140,100 but slightly lower than San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont’s $141,980. Vallejo’s employment count of 300 is smaller than New York-Newark-Jersey City’s 21,240 and smaller than Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim’s 9,750. Chico, CA ranks #9 with a Geography Score of 50.33 and a median salary of $134,970. This salary is higher than the national median and lower than Vallejo’s $141,530. Chico’s employment count of 180 is smaller than Santa Rosa-Petaluma’s 290. Napa, CA rounds out the top 10 with a Geography Score of 50.18 and a median salary of $138,540. Napa’s median salary is higher than the national median and higher than Chico’s $134,970 but lower than Vallejo’s $141,530. Napa’s employment count of 50 is smaller than Chico’s 180, Santa Rosa-Petaluma’s 290, and Vallejo’s 300. These smaller California metros highlight that high salaries can appear in markets with relatively small employment counts, and that within this group there are still noticeable pay and score differences.

Within the top 10 metros for physical therapists in LaborCove’s 2026 results, every listed metro offers a median salary above the national median of $102,760, but the combination of salary, employment, and Geography Score varies substantially. New York-Newark-Jersey City stands out for its #1 rank and the highest Geography Score in the group, along with the largest employment count. Several California metros, including San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Vallejo, Santa Rosa-Petaluma, Chico, Napa, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, and Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, appear throughout the top 10 with salaries that are above the national median and, in many cases, above New York-Newark-Jersey City’s pay level. When using these rankings, it can be helpful to look at both salary and employment counts together, while remembering that the national projected employment growth rate of 10.9% does not break down to the metro level in the supplied data. LaborCove’s Geography Score and rankings summarize the available metrics, but individual decisions will still depend on circumstances beyond the scope of this dataset.

LaborCove builds its metro rankings for physical therapists using authoritative labor‑market sources combined with the proprietary LaborCove Geography Score. For each metro, the available data include median annual salary, employment, and the Geography Score, along with an overall rank. The Geography Score is designed to summarize multiple labor‑market dimensions into a single comparable value. In this article, we use that score strictly as supplied, without inferring how much any one factor contributes to the final number. All projected employment growth figures cited here apply to the occupation nationally, not to individual metros. Because no metro‑level projected growth rates are supplied, the rankings should be interpreted as a snapshot of current salary and employment patterns rather than as a forecast of local hiring conditions. As with any aggregated ranking, LaborCove’s metro results are a starting point. Physical therapists should weigh these numbers alongside personal factors such as preferred setting, commute, and non‑work priorities, which fall outside the scope of the supplied data.