In May 2014, the United States Department of Labor found physician assistants in Kansas were awarded an average annual salary of $94,580 and an average hourly wage of $45.47. These generous pay figures earned physician assistants a place among the state’s top 50 highest-paying occupations that year.
Manhattan, Kansas was singled out as a particularly high-salaried city for physicians in 2014. In fact, it was the sixth highest paying metropolitan area in the country for physician assistants. At that time, physician assistants working here earned an average annual salary of $128,880 and an average hourly wage of $61.96.
Employment Expectations for Physician Assistants in Kansas
In 2012, the United States Department of Labor found that 980 physician assistants were actively employed throughout Kansas. By 2022, this number is expected to jump to 1,260, which indicates an employment growth rate of 29%. This employment projection means physician assistants can look forward to roughly 50 job openings each year during this ten-year period.
Physician assistants looking to maximize their job prospects should consider searching for positions in nonmetropolitan region of Kansas where there is a shortage of physicians to serve as primary care providers, resulting in clinics hiring more PAs. This area held the fourth highest number of physician assistants among all other nonmetropolitan areas in the country. In that year, physician assistants practicing here received an average annual salary of $94,040 and an average hourly wage of $45.21.
According to the Kansas Department of Labor, the following employers listed the most online job advertisements for physician assistants statewide in September 2015:
- Via Christi Health
- U.S. Army Medicine Civilian Corps
- Wamego Health Center
- MedExpress
- PrairieStar Health Center
- Witchita Urology Group
- Horizons Mental Health Center
- LifePoint Hospitals, Inc.
- IPC Healthcare
- Hutchinson Clinic
Physician Assistant Salaries by Experience Level and Location
In 2014, the United States Department of Labor found entry-level physician assistants in Kansas earned a modest average annual salary of $65,900 and an average hourly wage of $31.68. On the other hand, more accomplished mid-career professionals were granted a more sizable annual average salary of $91,300 and an average hourly wage of $43.89. The most experienced physician assistants in state achieved an even more impressive average annual salary of $134,800 and an average hourly wage of $134,800.
Physician assistants with the freedom of mobility are more likely to score high-salaried jobs since pay averages often differ across county lines. For instance, in 2014, the Kansas Department of Labor released the average annual salaries for physician assistants working in the following counties:
- Riley County: $153,479
- Geary County: $100,917
- Johnson County: $99,766
- Shawnee County: $89,249
- Sedgwick County: $84,149
- Douglas County: $82,996
- Leavenworth County: $81,089
In 2014, the United States Department reported that physician assistants working in the state’s capital of Topeka took home an average annual salary of $91,360 and an average hourly wage of $43.92. Yet, those employed in Wichita collected an average annual salary of $83,210 and an average hourly wage of $40.00 (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014):