How much do Physical Therapist Assistants make in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA?

Percentile spread

For Physical Therapist Assistants, the published 10th percentile is $63,940 and the 90th percentile is $112,610. The difference is $48,670, which is 55.7% of the median. Ten percent of measured wages fall below the 10th percentile and ten percent fall above the 90th. How to read a percentile.

The middle half of the distribution, from the 25th percentile at $83,440 to the 75th at $98,750, covers $15,310.

The mean annual wage is $89,020, which sits above the median of $87,330. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.

National and state comparison

The Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA median is 27.7% higher than the national median of $68,380 for Physical Therapist Assistants. In 2024 national prices the local median is $79,466, which is 16.2% higher than that same national median. The national figure is already in national prices because the United States parity is 100.

It is 5.1% higher than the California median of $83,110.

Price-adjusted pay

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA is 109.896, with the United States at 100. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released those parities on February 19, 2026. Dividing the May 2025 median of $87,330 by that parity and multiplying by 100 puts Physical Therapist Assistants at $79,466 in national prices. The wage year and the price year are different. Compare this wage after prices.

Nearby metros

13 other metropolitan areas within 200 miles publish a annual median for Physical Therapist Assistants. Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA ranks 3rd of 14 on that median, counting itself. Distance is the great-circle mileage between Census Bureau internal points (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer Files, Core Based Statistical Areas, internal points (INTPTLAT, INTPTLONG).).

• San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA is 36 miles away, with a median of $97,190 and employment of 400. That median is 11.3% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $88,016, against $79,466 here.
• San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA is 55 miles away, with a median of $95,920 and employment of 1,040. That median is 9.8% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $82,966, against $79,466 here.
• Salinas, CA is 66 miles away, with a median of $84,850 and employment of 70. That median is 2.8% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $77,814, against $79,466 here.

Employment share

Physical Therapist Assistants accounts for 0.06% of wage-and-salary employment in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA (60 of 98,500). Nationally the occupation is 0.07% of employment (112,430 of 155,495,730). The local share is 0.84 times the national share. That ratio is the location quotient computed from these May 2025 employment counts. It is not copied from the location-quotient column in the BLS bulk file.