Top 10 Highest Paying Specialties in the PA Profession in 2025

Cardiovascular/cardiothoracic surgery specialty tops 2025 compensation

June 2, 2026

By Sean Kolhoff

Physician associates practice in all medical specialties, ranging from family medicine and urgent care to transplant surgery and dermatology. The amount of money, or compensation, a PA earns can vary significantly by specialty. Compensation may be comprised of base pay and/or bonuses. Within the AAPA salary survey, base pay is collected as salaries, hourly wages, or guaranteed pay within a productivity model.

To assess the overall compensation of PAs by specialty, we annualized hourly wages to better compare the compensation for PAs paid hourly with those with a productivity pay model or a salary. In addition to the base pay, we added any bonus amount a PA received in 2025 to their reported compensation to produce their total compensation for the year. The PAs in the 10 specialties within Figure 1 had the highest median total compensation among all those surveyed in 2026.

The following sections detail the median compensation amount, median bonus, and hours worked for each specialty listed in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Top 10 Highest Paying Specialties for PAs in 2025

10. Internal medicine: General: Total Compensation $149,911
Approximately 4.9% of PAs are working in general internal medicine, and they have a median of 12 years of experience. In terms of compensation, the most common compensation method was salary (85%) and 59% received a bonus. Their median base compensation was $141,000 and their bonus was $7,000. They worked a median of 40 hours per week in 2025.

9. Psychiatry: Total Compensation $150,000
Approximately 2.5% of PAs work in psychiatry, and they have a median of 8 years of experience. In terms of compensation, most were paid a salary (82%) and 49% received a bonus. Their median base compensation was $140,000 and their bonus was $5,200. They worked a median of 40 hours per week in 2025.

8. Radiology: Total Compensation $150,000
Approximately 2.0% of PAs are working in radiology, and they have a median of 10 years of experience. In terms of compensation, the majority are paid a salary (96%) and 60% receive a bonus. Their median base compensation was $145,000 and their median bonus was $5,000. They worked a median of 40 hours per week in 2025.

7. Hematology & oncology: Total Compensation $150,000
Approximately 2.4% of PAs are working within hematology and oncology, and they have a median of 12 years of experience. In terms of compensation, the majority are paid a salary (93%) and 56% receive a bonus. Their median base compensation was $143,500 and their median bonus was $6,000. They worked a median of 40 hours per week in 2025.

6. Urgent care: Total Compensation $152,397
Approximately 4.6% of PAs are working in urgent care, and they have a median of 9 years of experience. In terms of compensation, the majority are paid a salary (58%) and 65% receive a bonus. When converted into an annual base compensation, the median pay in urgent care was $141,449 and their median bonus was $6,000. They worked a median of 40 hours per week in 2025.

5. Neurosurgery: Total Compensation $152,587
Approximately 2.4% of PAs are working within neurosurgery, and they have a median of 9 years of experience. In terms of compensation, the majority are paid a salary (90%) and 56% receive a bonus. Their median base compensation was $148,880 and their median bonus was $6,000. They worked a median of 40 hours per week in 2025.

4. Critical care: Total Compensation $154,378
Approximately 1.9% of PAs are working in critical care, and they have a median of 7 years of experience. In terms of compensation, the majority are paid a salary (80%) and 51% receive a bonus. Their median base compensation was $147,680 and their bonus was $6,000. They worked a median of 40 hours per week in 2025.

3. Emergency medicine: Total Compensation $160,000
Approximately 6.1% of PAs are working in emergency medicine, and they have a median of 10 years of experience. In terms of compensation, the majority are paid a salary (51%) and 55% receive a bonus. Their median base compensation was $150,000 and their bonus was $5,250. They worked a median of 39 hours per week in 2025.

2. Dermatology: Total Compensation $167,000
Approximately 3.2% of PAs are working in dermatology, and they have a median of 9 years of experience. In terms of compensation, most dermatology PAs are paid a salary (74%) and 67% receive a bonus. Their median base compensation was $142,000 and their bonus was $20,000. They worked a median of 38 hours per week in 2025.

1. Cardiovascular/cardiothoracic surgery: Total Compensation $184,072       
Approximately 1.8% of PAs are working in cardiovascular/cardiothoracic surgery, and they have a median of 14 years of experience. In terms of compensation, the majority are paid a salary (89%) and 49% receive a bonus. Their median base compensation was $172,600 and their bonus was $8,000. They worked a median of 40 hours per week in 2025.

Want more information on career opportunities in these specialties? The PA JobSource career exploration platform features an interactive map with tens of thousands of employers. PA JobSource also offers key community and professional insights to help PAs make the best possible career decisions, including median home price, median gross rent, and median compensation data from the AAPA Salary Report. Plus, you can directly message employers who are hiring now or open to networking, or let the AAPA team make a tailored introduction to employers who don’t have advertised openings.

Join today for access to the AAPA Digital Salary Report.

Sean Kolhoff, Ph.D., is AAPA’s Director of Research. He can be reached at [email protected]. If you have additional questions on PA JobSource, please contact [email protected].

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