Cash Pay Physical Therapy for Clinical & Financial Success

In the year 2000, a Physical Therapist with a 4-year Bachelor’s degree and 14K-60K in debt was making $7,892 MORE than a Doctor of Physical Therapy in 2023 with 7 years of schooling and 157K-265K in debt.

In 2024, The average outpatient PT salary in Denver, CO, the closest city to me, was around $80,000, which is close to most other areas for outpatient. The setting requiring the highest level of skill as a PT pays the least, go figure. Since the APTA appears to really make an effort to f#ck up as much sh!t in our profession as humanly possible, this should surprise zero people.

Average Cost of a Bachelor’s Degree in 2000 (DPT degrees did not exist yet)
• Average Public = $14,004
• Average Private = $61,880
• https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college-by-year

Average Cost of a Bachelor’s Degree in 2023
• Average Public = $39,000
• Average Private = $140,992
• https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college-by-year

Average Cost of a Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree in 2023
• Average Public = $118,371, plus $39,000 for undergrad = $157,371
• Average Private = $124,664, plus $140,992 for undergrad = $265,656
• https://www.capteonline.org/globalassets/capte-docs/aggregate-data/capte-2023-pt-fact-sheet.pdf

Average Bachelor of Physical Therapy Salary in 2000
• $57,540
• https://www.bls.gov/oes/bulletin_2000.pdf (Bottom of page 11)

Average Doctor of Physical Therapy Salary in 2023
• $99,710
• https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes291123.htm

Adjusted only for inflation, $57,540 in 2000 = $107,602 in 2024
• https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm

$107,602 - $99,710 = $7,892

Yes, this is the math: With twice the education and like 400X the cost, we are currently making $7,892 dollars LESS per year than we made 24 years ago, on average.

For reference, when you sign your loan repayment terms upon graduation, the government website gives you a minimum salary you should make for your loans to NOT be a significant financial burden. The number it gave me was $180,000, just about double your max possible career-long yearly earning potential in outpatient, and $50,000 more than the average PT salary across all fields in 2023, which was 99K.

At $80,000 a year, you are making $38 an hour. You make significantly more than that working as a middle manager at a gas station, zero education required. In Denver in 2023, the average labor cost for a mechanic to work on your car was $138/hour.

So, if you are working your ass off for $38 an hour, which not a single PT in the country should accept, in an 8-hour day you make $307 before taxes. I made significantly more than that when I worked as a fly-fishing guide in Alaska.

The absolute minimum cash price any DPT should charge for an hour-long treatment is $150.

Working 13 hours/week @ $150 at $150/hour = $104,000/ year.

That's $5,000 more than the average PT makes working 40 hours/week, working 1/3 the hours!

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Our mission is to empower doctors & other medical practitioners with the clinical & business expertise needed to provide exceptional care that improves the health and well-being of their patients, & their bank accounts.

Clinical skills alone aren’t enough. So we also focus on equipping medical professionals with the business acumen and support necessary to establish and grow profitable, patient-centered cash-pay practices. These practices not only enhance patient outcomes, but also offer a pathway to greater financial independence and stability for practitioners and their families.

Ultimately, our goal is to help clinicians build fulfilling careers that support their families, strengthen their financial future, and make a lasting impact on their communities. Together, we can break free from outdated, restrictive systems and create a new model of healthcare, one that prioritizes health, professional success, and personal stability.

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