10 Countries With The Highest Physiotherapist Salaries
The role of a physiotherapist is mainly help people affected by injury, illness or disability through movement and exercise, manual therapy, education and advice. They help and facilitate recovery. They can specialize in a number of different areas such as sport medicine, pediatrics and women’s health. There are three different areas of practice namely: musculoskeletal, neurological and cardiothoracic.
Below is a list of countries with the highest paid physiotherapists. (Salaries converted from local currencies to US dollars)
1. United States
Salary – $88,880
According to the data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment Statistics of 2018 the average annual wage of physical therapists is $88,880. Nevada is the highest paying with a mean annual wage of $107,920. Other top paying states are Alaska, New Jersey, New Mexico, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Texas and Massachusetts.
2. United Kingdom
Salary – $76,180
If you are working in an NHS hospital there is a defined career structure where you can work your way up from a physiotherapist to a specialist and finally to an advanced level. The jobs in the NHS consist of nine pay bands. The starting salaries for qualified physiotherapists which are in the band 5 range from £24,214 to £30,112. Senior physiotherapists can earn between £30,401 and £37,267 (band 6). Clinical lead physiotherapists fall in the band 8a category where they earn around £50,819 while consultant physiotherapists fall in band 8b where they make between £52,306 – £60,983. Those in private practice are able to achieve a salary of around £75,000 with the right skills and experience.
3. Switzerland
Salary – $82,200
Physiotherapists based in Switzerland are able to earn around CHF 6,500 per month or CHF78,000 a year.
4. New Zealand
Salary – $64,000
A physiotherapist based in New Zealand with up to six years experience usually earns NZ$47,000 – NZ$68,000 while one with more than six years experience usually earns NZ$68,000 – NZ$99,000.
5. Norway
Salary – $63,400
Norwegian physiotherapists earn between NOK 18,000 – 50,000 per month based on the years of experience.
6. Australia
Salary – $63,300
Australian physiotherapists undergo 4 years of study before practicing. The average salary for is AU$62,600 with salaries ranging from AU$47,700 – AU$85,500 based on the years of experience. They can also get a bonus pay of AU$ 0 – 8,600 annually, profit sharing of up to AU$1,200 and a commission of AU$970 – AU$92,300. Some of the best paying companies are Back In Motion, Healthstrong and Healthscope Limited.
7. Netherlands
Salary – $62,000
Dutch physiotherapists usually have a starting salary of around €2,000 per month and once one gains a number of years of experience it can rise to €4,600 per month.
8. Canada
Salary – $59,000
In Canada there are over 21,000 physiotherapists according to the 2012 National Household Survey. Most of them earn about CA$50,000 – CA$80,000 annually but those who are entrepreneurs running their own clinic can make more.
9. Ireland
Salary – $58,600
According to the consolidated salary scales report for the health sector, physiotherapists based in Ireland have a starting salary of €35,672 per year and once one gains many years of experience they can earn as much as €52,059 per year.
10. Germany
Salary – $51,300
Training as a physiotherapist in Germany is regulated by the Massage and Physiotherapy Act. It usually lasts three years and once completed the starting salary is usually between €2,100 – €2,700 gross and once one gains years of experience it can increase to €3,800 per month.