Salary data · Iowa

Physical therapist salary in Iowa

Physical therapists in Iowa earn a mean of $94,780 a year and a median of $97,560, 10.0% below the national mean of $105,280. That ranks 48th of the 51 states with a published estimate.

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$94,780

Mean annual wage

about $46 an hour

$97,560

Median annual wage

48th of 51

State rank

by mean wage

2,530

PTs employed

BLS estimate

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025 estimates. These are estimates for physical therapists already employed in Iowa, not offers; the hourly figure divides the annual mean by 2,080 hours. Setting, specialty and caseload move an individual offer well above or below them. Updated October 22, 2026.

By metro

Physical therapist pay by metro in Iowa

Metro estimates from the same survey, highest mean first. Each city links to its full therapy workforce page.

Metro	Mean	Median	Employed
Davenport	$102,270	$99,410	280
Iowa City	$96,190	$94,480	180
Des Moines	$94,850	$97,790	740
Waterloo	$94,550	$97,180	120
Cedar Rapids	$91,140	$94,520	220

Source: BLS OEWS metropolitan estimates. Suppressed cells show n/a.

The market

How many physical therapists work in Iowa

2,700 physical therapists hold an active individual NPI with a practice address in Iowa, 83.4 per 100,000 residents, and 141 new ones enrolled in the last twelve months. A high wage with few clinicians per capita usually means employers are competing for people; a low one in a crowded market means the opposite.

Source: NPPES monthly file, October 2026 (CMS, public domain), as of October 2026.

Licensed in another state?

Iowa is a PT Compact member and is issuing compact privileges: physical therapists and physical therapist assistants licensed in another member state can obtain a privilege to practice in Iowa without applying for a new state license.

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Open roles

PT openings in Iowa

No public PT listing in Iowa right now. Most of our searches are confidential and never posted, so tell us what you want and we will match you quietly.

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