As healthcare facilities confront ongoing staffing shortages, compensation for advanced practice providers like PAs is growing. Compensation has increased by almost 5% since last year, according to recent reports

While PA salaries are seeing increases across the board, some specialties are seeing higher compensation than others. 

Here are the ten highest-paying PA specialties: 

  • Cardiothoracic surgery: $142,374
  • Emergency medicine: $141,050
  • Urgent care: $134,763
  • Dermatology: $134,163
  • Orthopedic surgery — general: $132,421
  • Vascular surgery: $129,117
  • Neurological surgery: $127,406
  • Cardiology — general: $127,317
  • General surgery: $127,067
  • Urology: $126,544

For a full list of specialties, see this list

These increases are an important trend to keep an eye on, in a time of increasing healthcare worker shortages. Especially as physician numbers continue to decline, advanced practice providers like PAs are more important than ever to ensure that patients continue to receive the best possible standard of care, and increasingly, their salaries are beginning to reflect that.

That can also be true of locum tenens physician assistant salaries, as more and more facilities rely on locums to fill their staffing gaps. Simply put: PAs are an incredibly valuable resource, and these compensation changes are a reflection of the value that they bring to their healthcare facilities.


If you’re ready to take the locums leap, our consultants are here to help you find a good match for you, and negotiate the best possible locums PA salary. And if you already are a locums PA, feel free to reach out to your consultant––they can advise you on how these trends affect your specialty, and advocate on your behalf with facilities.