Physical therapists do for the body what mental therapists do for the mind --- exercise it. Physical therapists help their patients regain control over torn, sore, diseased or recently repaired body parts and teach basic tasks such as lifting, raising arms, walking and standing up. In North Carolina, physical therapists earned slightly-below-average salaries overall, but were paid highly in certain pockets of the state.
Prerequisites
North Carolinians interested in earning salaries as physical therapists must pursue a longer-than-undergraduate educational path. The field requires either a master's degree or doctorate, depending on employer. Students traditionally begin with a bachelor's degree in pre-physical therapy, then transfer to one of the schools accredited by the American Physical Therapy Association Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. North Carolina is home to six institutions: Winston-Salem University, Duke University, Western Carolina University, East Carolina University, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Elon University. This schooling prepares prospective physical therapists to take the National Physical Therapy Examination, required to get their licenses.
Carolina to Country
North Carolina's approximately 4,340 physical therapists earned a statewide average salary of $74,480 as of 2009, slightly below the national average for the profession of $76,220, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The state, which has 100 counties, also had a wide range of salary percentiles. Physical therapists earning at North Carolina's highest 90th percentile averaged $96,230, while their opposites at the 10th percentile took in $55,750.
Highest Salaries
Physical therapists working in certain areas of North Carolina not only earned higher than the state's average salary, but also earned higher than the national average for their field. The city of Wilmington paid the highest average salary, at $83,070. Physical therapists in Jacksonville and Rocky Mount also earned higher-than-average pay, at $81,640 and $80,930 respectively. The Hickory-Lenoir-Morgantown offered an above-average 50th percentile salary of $76,800, but its 90th percentile salary of $113,460 was the highest in the state. Rocky Mount placed second with a 90th percentile salary of $112,900, followed by Greensboro-High Point, at $103,550.
Lowest Salaries
The city of Greenville earned the lowest place for average salaries for the physical therapy field, paying $63,230. Physical therapists in Raleigh-Cary didn't earn up to the state level either, receiving $69,590. But it was the city of Burlington which paid North Carolina's rock-bottom 10th percentile salaries, paying $43,150. Also low on the 10th percentile were Greenville at $44,940 and Raleigh-Cary at $51,880.
Tags: North Carolina, 10th percentile, 90th percentile, average salary, percentile salary, Physical therapists
