Physician Assistant (PA-C) salary in Raleigh-Cary, NC
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The median annual wage for Physician Assistants (the closest BLS occupation to Physician Assistant (PA-C)) in Raleigh-Cary, NC was $124,300 in BLS OEWS May 2025. The middle half of workers earned between $114,100 and $138,120.
What does the published range tell you about an offer?
BLS reports wages for Physician Assistants (SOC 29-1071) in Raleigh-Cary, NC. The published annual P25 to P75 band is $114,100 to $138,120. Its width is $24,020, calculated from those two observations. These are wages for the mapped occupation, not a separate survey of Physician Assistant (PA-C). Percentiles are not seniority levels. They do not identify a starting rate, a senior rate or what a particular candidate will accept.
Which duties should you settle before setting pay?
Ask about clinical scope, privileges and call before comparing offers. A provider may weigh procedure mix, supervision and the production-pay formula as closely as the wage. State licensing and credentialing still need their own review. Locum receipts are not employee wages.
How does this area compare with the national observation?
The annual median for Physician Assistants (SOC 29-1071) is $124,300 here and $135,880 nationally. The area median is $11,580 below the national figure. This subtraction is not a cost-of-living adjustment or a relocation allowance.
What do the nearby comparison markets show?
Goldsboro, NC reports an annual median of $128,370 for Physician Assistants. The absolute gap is $4,070. Rocky Mount, NC reports an annual median of $116,930 for Physician Assistants. The absolute gap is $7,370. Each linked table retains its own area. These are occupation comparisons, not exact-title offers.
What can the industry rows tell you?
Outpatient Care Centers (NAICS 621400) has a national annual median of $153,500 for Physician Assistants. Home Health Care Services (NAICS 621600) has a national annual median of $147,870 for Physician Assistants. National industry comparisons are not local title estimates. A hospital and an outpatient practice can assign different work even when the SOC is the same.
What changed between the two releases?
Physician Assistants (SOC 29-1071) in Raleigh-Cary, NC had an annual median of $125,710 in BLS OEWS May 2024; the BLS OEWS May 2025 median is $124,300. The absolute difference is $1,410. These are separate survey snapshots, not a forecast or a raise to apply to your budget.
Is this base salary or total compensation?
Neither. OEWS includes commissions and production bonuses as well as base rates. It excludes overtime, shift differentials, on-call pay, nonproduction bonuses and employer benefits. Keep sign-on and retention payments separate when they are nonproduction bonuses. Travel per-diem reimbursements and contractor receipts are not a published employee salary. Do not add production pay twice.
What else should you ask about this pay table?
Physician Assistant (PA-C) maps to Physician Assistants (SOC 29-1071). BLS reports Physician Assistants as one occupation. It does not publish a separate estimate for Physician Assistant (PA-C), its setting or its engagement terms. The annual median in Raleigh-Cary, NC is $124,300. Similar titles can share this same SOC and therefore the same figures; that is not evidence that their duties or offers are identical.
Does BLS observe Physician Assistant (PA-C) separately?
Physician Assistant (PA-C) maps to Physician Assistants (SOC 29-1071). BLS reports Physician Assistants as one occupation. It does not publish a separate estimate for Physician Assistant (PA-C), its setting or its engagement terms. The annual median in Raleigh-Cary, NC is $124,300. Similar titles can share this same SOC and therefore the same figures; that is not evidence that their duties or offers are identical.
Can you turn the percentile band into junior and senior pay?
The published annual P25 to P75 band is $114,100 to $138,120. Its width is $24,020, calculated from those two observations. BLS percentiles describe the wage distribution, not years of experience. We do not assign an interpolated percentile, seniority premium or pay forecast.
What should you put in the hiring brief?
Ask about clinical scope, privileges and call before comparing offers. A provider may weigh procedure mix, supervision and the production-pay formula as closely as the wage. State licensing and credentialing still need their own review. Locum receipts are not employee wages. Tell us which tasks and scheduling terms you can change before using this wage comparison in a search.
What if a wage is missing or marked “or more”?
A missing cell stays unavailable. “Or more” appears only when the actual source marks that cell as top-coded; it is a lower bound, not an exact wage. Exact published numbers remain exact even when above a historical top-code amount. Tools label any fallback to a state or national row.
The PA comparison for Raleigh, NC uses 2024 Census reference points. Rural comparisons use unweighted county centers from fetched 2024 BLS definitions, or a disclosed state reference point if the group cannot be matched. These are not nearest-to-your-facility claims. Read the geography and wage definitions.
BLS occupation: Physician Assistants.
BLS reports Physician Assistants as one occupation. It does not publish a separate estimate for Physician Assistant (PA-C), its setting or its engagement terms.
Raleigh-Cary, NC versus the nation
Raleigh-Cary, NC median is $11,580 (8.5%) below the national median of $135,880.
Raleigh-Cary, NC
- P10 to P90 published range
- P25 to P75 middle range
- P50 median
| Point | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $105,730 |
| 25th percentile | $114,100 |
| Median | $124,300 |
| 75th percentile | $138,120 |
| 90th percentile | $156,000 |
| Mean (average) | $127,620 |
United States
- P10 to P90 published range
- P25 to P75 middle range
- P50 median
| Point | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $99,380 |
| 25th percentile | $120,670 |
| Median | $135,880 |
| 75th percentile | $163,980 |
| 90th percentile | $190,280 |
| Mean (average) | $141,280 |
For Physician Assistants in Raleigh-Cary, NC, BLS reports a median of $124,300; the middle half of workers earned between $114,100 and $138,120 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Raleigh-Cary, NC
- P10 to P90 published range
- P25 to P75 middle range
- P50 median
| Point | Hourly wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $50.83 |
| 25th percentile | $54.86 |
| Median | $59.76 |
| 75th percentile | $66.40 |
| 90th percentile | $75.00 |
| Mean (average) | $61.36 |
United States
- P10 to P90 published range
- P25 to P75 middle range
- P50 median
| Point | Hourly wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $47.78 |
| 25th percentile | $58.02 |
| Median | $65.33 |
| 75th percentile | $78.84 |
| 90th percentile | $91.48 |
| Mean (average) | $67.92 |
For Physician Assistants in Raleigh-Cary, NC, BLS reports a median of $59.76; the middle half of workers earned between $54.86 and $66.40 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
What BLS wages include and exclude
OEWS includes commissions and production bonuses. It excludes overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and employer benefits. It is neither pure base salary nor total compensation.
Included
- Base rates
- Commissions
- Cost-of-living allowances
- Deadheading pay
- Guaranteed pay
- Hazard pay
- Incentive pay
- Longevity pay
- Over-the-road pay (Mileage)
- Piece rates
- Portal-to-portal rates
- Production bonuses
- Tips
Excluded
- Attendance bonuses
- Back pay
- Clothing allowances
- Discount
- Draw
- Holiday bonus
- Holiday premium pay
- Jury duty pay
- Meal and lodging payments
- Merchandise discounts
- Non-production bonuses
- On-call pay
- Overtime pay
- Perquisites
- Profit-sharing payments
- Relocation allowances
- Severance pay
- Shift differentials
- Stock bonuses
- Tool/equipment allowances
- Tuition repayment
- Uniform allowance
- Weekend premium pay
- Year-end bonuses
Employment: 1,220 jobs. Location quotient: 1.58.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, BLS OEWS May 2025. SOC 29-1071 Physician Assistants, Raleigh-Cary, NC. Published 2026-05-15. BLS release tables (find this SOC and area). Release notes. Methodology and retrieval dates. CSV
How has published pay changed since the last BLS release?
These are separate BLS estimates, not a wage growth forecast. Survey coverage and area boundaries can change. The table places the published median for Physician Assistants in Raleigh-Cary, NC from BLS OEWS May 2024 next to BLS OEWS May 2025. A top-coded value is a floor, not an exact median.
| Pay basis | BLS OEWS May 2024 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| annual | $125,710 | $124,300 |
| hourly | $60.44 | $59.76 |
Prior release: 2024-05, published 2025-04-02. Current release: 2025-05, published 2026-05-15. A top-coded value is a floor, not an exact median.
What does this pay include, and what does it leave out?
OEWS counts base rates, guaranteed pay, commissions and production bonuses. It describes employee wages, not pure base salary or total compensation. Employer benefits and self-employed earnings are outside these wage estimates. For physicians and other providers, production bonuses and commissions belong in BLS wages.
Do not add them twice. Partnership distributions and contractor receipts are not a separate rate published by OEWS.
Overtime, shift differentials and on-call pay are excluded. If this job has a call rota or extra shifts, spell out those payments rather than treating the BLS median as the whole package.
Meal and lodging payments and relocation allowances are excluded. A travel per diem for those costs is not part of this wage. Keep it separate from the pay comparison.
Non-production bonuses are excluded. A sign-on or retention payment that is not tied to production should be discussed separately. BLS does not publish an amount to add for that payment.
BLS pay definitions. These notes do not add an estimated bonus or premium.
Nearby metros
- Physician Assistant (PA-C) in Asheville, NC
- Physician Assistant (PA-C) in Burlington, NC
- Physician Assistant (PA-C) in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
- Physician Assistant (PA-C) in Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
- Physician Assistant (PA-C) in Fayetteville, NC
- Physician Assistant (PA-C) in Goldsboro, NC
- Physician Assistant (PA-C) in Greensboro-High Point, NC
- Physician Assistant (PA-C) in Greenville, NC
- Physician Assistant (PA-C) in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC
- Physician Assistant (PA-C) in Jacksonville, NC
- Physician Assistant (PA-C) in Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC
- Physician Assistant (PA-C) in Rocky Mount, NC
- Physician Assistant (PA-C) in Wilmington, NC
- Physician Assistant (PA-C) in Winston-Salem, NC