The Top 10 Highest Paying Specialties in the PA Profession in 2021

Cardiovascular/Cardiothoracic Surgery Specialty Tops 2021 Compensation

June 8, 2022

By AAPA Research

The PA profession includes clinicians who work in more than 60 specialties, ranging from family medicine and urgent care to transplant surgery and dermatology. The amount of money, or compensation, a PA earns can vary significantly by specialty. Compensation may be comprised of base pay and/or bonuses.

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Within the AAPA Salary survey, base pay is collected in the form of salaries, hourly wages, or guaranteed pay within a productivity model. To assess the overall compensation of PAs by specialty, we calculated annualized hourly wages, including compensation for PAs paid hourly, those with a productivity pay model, and those paid a salary. In addition to the base pay, we included the bonus amount that they received in 2021 to produce their total compensation. The clinicians in the 10 specialties within Figure 1 reported the highest amounts of median total compensation.

Note: In February 2022, PAs completed the Professional Fulfillment Index. The percent of PAs who met the threshold burnout (work exhaustion + interpersonal disengagement) are included. The figure is based on the top 10 highest paying specialties. Other specialties may have higher rates of burnout but are not included within this figure.

We also explored the percent of each specialty experiencing symptoms of burnout. Overall, 52.3% of the PA profession is experiencing a sense of burnout. However, there are some differences between specialties. A greater percentage of PAs in emergency medicine and critical care reported symptoms of burnout in February 2022, while a lower percentage in plastic surgery and other surgical specialties reported the same. The following sections detail the median compensation amount, median bonus, hours worked, and percentage of PAs who reported symptoms of burnout in February 2022 for each specialty listed in Figure 1.

10. Plastic surgery: Total Compensation $122,000

Approximately 1.1% of PAs are working within plastic surgery, and they have a median of 5 years of experience. In terms of compensation, the majority (84.5%) are paid a salary and 53.6% received a bonus. Their median base salary was $115,000 and their bonus was $5,000. They worked a median of 41 hours per week in 2021. In February 2022, 33.3% of the PAs in this specialty were experiencing symptoms of burnout.

9. Radiology: Total Compensation $122,350

Approximately 1.6% of PAs are working within radiology, and they have a median of 8 years of experience. In terms of compensation, the majority (97.5%) are paid a salary and 58.2% received a bonus. Their median base salary was $120,000 and their median bonus was $3,750. They worked a median of 45 hours per week in 2021. In February 2022, 42.9% of the PAs in this specialty were experiencing symptoms of burnout.

8. Urgent care: Total Compensation $123,517

Approximately 7% of PAs are working within urgent care, and they have a median of 6 years of experience. In terms of compensation, the majority (52.5%) are paid hourly and 64.4% received a bonus. Their median hourly wage was $61.00 and their median bonus was $5,000. They worked a median of 40 hours per week in 2021. In February 2022, 54.5% of the PAs in this specialty were experiencing symptoms of burnout.

7. Neurosurgery: Total Compensation $124,000

Approximately 2.7% of PAs are working within neurosurgery, and they have a median of 5 years of experience. In terms of compensation, the majority (90.5%) are paid a salary and 55.3% received a bonus. Their median base salary was $118,000 and their median bonus was $5,000. They worked a median of 45 hours per week in 2021. In February 2022, 51.4% of the PAs in this specialty were experiencing symptoms of burnout.

6. Critical care: Total Compensation $124,886

Approximately 2.3% of PAs are working within critical care, and they have a median of 5 years of experience. In terms of compensation, the majority (77.9%) are paid a salary and 58.1% received a bonus. Their median base salary was $117,832 and their median bonus was $5,000. They worked a median of 40 hours per week in 2021. In February 2022, 63.4% of the PAs in this specialty were experiencing symptoms of burnout.

5. Occupational medicine: Total Compensation $125,600

Approximately 1.2% of PAs are working within occupational medicine, and they have a median of 14 years of experience. In terms of compensation, the majority (75.6%) are paid a salary and 49.6% received a bonus. Their median base salary was $120,000 and their median bonus was $5,000. They worked a median of 40 hours per week in 2021. In February 2022, 42.1% of the PAs in this specialty were experiencing symptoms of burnout.

4. Surgical subspecialties (other): Total Compensation $127,775

Approximately 1.3% of PAs are working within other surgical subspecialties – such as oral maxillofacial, podiatric, or gynecological oncology – and they have a median of 7 years of experience. In terms of compensation, the majority (89.8%) are paid a salary and 53.1% received a bonus. Their median base salary was $120,000 and their median bonus was $3,445. They worked a median of 40 hours per week in 2021. In February 2022, 32.0% of the PAs in this specialty were experiencing symptoms of burnout.

3. Emergency medicine: Total Compensation $129,146

Approximately 7.5% of PAs are working within emergency medicine, and they have a median of 6 years of experience. In terms of compensation, the majority (54.2%) are paid hourly and 56.3% received a bonus. Their median hourly wage was $70.00 and their median bonus was $6,000. They worked a median of 38 hours per week in 2021. In February 2022, 61.8% of the clinicians in this specialty were experiencing symptoms of burnout.

2. Dermatology: Total Compensation $146,000

Approximately 2.9% of PAs are working within dermatology, and they have a median of 8 years of experience. In terms of compensation, the majority (64.4%) are paid a salary and 56.5% received a bonus. Their median base salary was $110,000 and their median bonus was $22,000. They worked a median of 40 hours per week in 2021. In February 2022, 43.2% of the PAs in this specialty were experiencing symptoms of burnout.

1. Cardiovascular/cardiothoracic surgery: Total Compensation $147,200

Approximately 2.0% of PAs are working within cardiovascular/cardiothoracic surgery, and they have a median of 7 years of experience. In terms of compensation, the majority (90.9%) are paid a salary and 48.7% received a bonus. Their base salary was $140,000 and their bonus was $7,500. They worked a median of 50 hours per week in 2021. In February 2022, 47.6% of the PAs in this specialty were experiencing symptoms of burnout.

*Only specialties with 100 or more respondents nationwide are included. Median total compensation includes PAs who worked more than 32 hours and were paid a base salary, an hourly wage, or had productivity pay. Hourly wage data was annualized. Total compensation includes bonuses awarded in 2021.

Sean Kolhoff, Ph.D., is a senior research analyst at AAPA. Contact him at [email protected].

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