Physical Therapist Salary in Arizona
Arizona gives travel PTs a mix of large metro health systems, growing suburban markets and smaller communities where coverage can be harder to fill. Current Advantis Medical contracts have a median weekly pay of $2,351, while the statewide staff median is $103,220 per year. Phoenix may offer more choices, but Tucson, Prescott, Yuma and other markets can become more competitive when demand rises. Arizona’s flat 2.5% income tax keeps the tax picture relatively simple, while housing, drive time and setting help determine which assignment offers the best overall value.
What Is the Physical Therapist Salary in Arizona?
Arizona staff physical therapists earn a median of $49.62 per hour and $103,220 per year, according to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025). That statewide figure includes PTs working across hospitals, outpatient clinics, home health and other settings, so it is best used as a general staff-pay benchmark. Travel contracts work differently and are posted as weekly packages. The live Arizona rates below show what Advantis Medical travel PT opportunities are paying now.
What Is the Travel Physical Therapist Salary in Arizona?
The current median across 38 open Advantis Medical PT contracts in Arizona is $2,351 per week. The chart also shows the lowest and highest posted rates, giving you a better view of the current range than the median alone. Arizona rates can change as urgent openings fill or new assignments become available, especially when the job mix shifts between Phoenix, Tucson and smaller markets.
How Travel PT Pay in Arizona Compares With Staff Pay
Arizona's staff median makes a weekly staff-versus-travel comparison especially useful. This calculator converts the BLS median annual staff wage to a weekly equivalent, then compares it with the live travel weekly rate shown above. Adjust the travel rate or switch states to test another scenario.
Select a state to compare the travel weekly rate with the weekly equivalent of the median staff Physical Therapist wage and see current contracts in that state.
Open contracts in
Live weekly rates for Physical Therapy assignments currently accepting interest.
See all jobs inThe staff weekly figure is calculated by dividing the selected state's BLS OEWS May 2025 median annual wage for Physical Therapists by 52. It is a weekly equivalent for comparison, not an observed or guaranteed weekly staff paycheck. Travel figures use the selected gross weekly rate.
This is a gross-pay comparison only. Travel and staff compensation are structured differently. It does not include taxes, employer-paid benefits, overtime, shift differentials, bonuses, housing or travel expenses, paid or unpaid time off, or time between assignments. Results are for general comparison only and are not job offers, guaranteed earnings, or take-home-pay calculations.
Highest Current Travel PT Salary by Arizona City
Phoenix often has the widest selection of Arizona PT jobs, but the highest weekly rate may appear in Tucson, Prescott, Yuma or another market with a more urgent need. This ranking shows the strongest current posted rate in each qualifying city, so you can quickly see where higher-paying contracts are available now.
What Your Arizona PT Pay Is Really Worth
Arizona’s statewide cost of living sits close to the national average, but that does not mean every assignment comes with the same budget. The statewide two-bedroom benchmark is $1,706 per month, compared with $1,839 in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler. That $133 difference may look modest, but actual furnished housing and commute costs can widen the gap. Arizona also applies a flat 2.5% individual income tax.
Use these benchmarks alongside the live weekly rate, guaranteed hours and housing near the facility. Pay and job counts update with Advantis inventory, while the tax and housing figures refresh when their source data change.
Arizona PT Licensing at a Glance
Arizona gives eligible PTs two potential paths to practice: a compact privilege or a full state license. The state participates in the PT Compact, and the current compact privilege fee is $45 because Arizona does not add a separate state fee. Arizona does require its jurisprudence exam for the initial privilege and renewal. Whichever path applies to you, complete the state requirements and facility credentialing before treating an assignment start date as final.
Planning information, not legal or licensure advice. Confirm current requirements with the state board and PT Compact.
How Do Travel PT Stipends Work?
A travel contract doesn't pay you one number. It pays an hourly wage, which is taxed, plus stipends for housing and meals, which may not be, and that split is why two packages with the same gross can leave you with different amounts.
In most packages the stipend is a fixed weekly amount, so picking up overtime typically adds taxable wage rather than more stipend. The exact structure depends on the contract.
How to qualify for tax-free stipends
Stipend eligibility generally depends on three conditions, and documenting them is the traveler’s responsibility, not the agency’s.
- You keep a tax home
- A permanent residence you actually pay for and return to between assignments.
- You’re paying twice
- Covering a place back home and a place near the assignment at the same time.
- The work is temporary
- Generally expected to last a year or less. Assignments expected to run longer, or that stretch on in one area, are typically treated as indefinite.
When these conditions are not met, stipends are generally treated as taxable wages, so the same gross contract amount can leave less after taxes. Individual outcomes depend on facts and circumstances. Read more in our guide to how a tax home works.
Estimate only, to show the shape of the difference. It assumes a 22% federal bracket plus 7.65% in payroll tax on the wage portion; state income tax may change the result. Example figures for illustration, not offers. Many agencies align stipend amounts with U.S. General Services Administration per-diem rates for the assignment locality. Whether any stipend is excluded from your taxable income depends on your own circumstances. General information only, not tax advice.
Top-Paying Travel PT Jobs in Arizona
The Arizona contracts below are ordered by current weekly pay. A higher rate may reflect an urgent start, a harder-to-fill location or a setting with different caseload and travel expectations. Open the full listing to compare the schedule, guaranteed hours and assignment details.
What Affects a Travel Physical Therapist Salary in Arizona
Arizona travel PT pay often reflects how quickly a facility needs coverage and how difficult the role is to fill. A smaller market may post more than Phoenix when the available candidate pool is limited, while acute care, outpatient, skilled nursing and home health assignments each bring different workload expectations. For home health, ask about the territory, mileage reimbursement, paid drive time and how visits are scheduled.
Housing and travel distance matter too. A higher rate can lose some of its advantage if the assignment requires expensive short-term housing or a long daily drive. Compare the entire package, including guaranteed hours, cancellation terms and the work itself, before choosing between Arizona offers.
Arizona travel PT salary questions, answered
How much do physical therapists make in Arizona?
What is the current travel physical therapist salary in Arizona?
Why do two Arizona travel PT contracts with similar titles pay differently?
Which Arizona cities currently have the highest travel PT pay?
Where can travel PT pay go furthest in Arizona?
What do I need to start a travel PT assignment in Arizona?
Can I use the calculator to compare travel and staff pay?
Open travel PT contracts are paying a median of $2,351 per week right now.
Explore current assignments by location, setting, shift and weekly pay, then let us know which opportunities interest you.
More Arizona PT Jobs & Resources
Explore PT salary and licensing resources, then compare PT jobs in top markets.

