Best Physical Therapist Assistant programs in California, ranked by enrollment
Assist physical therapists in providing physical therapy treatments and procedures.
29 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 720 people a year. The job pays a median of $83,110 in California across about 9,400 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in California that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
1 programs in California that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in California (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own California page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 51.0806In California → | 720 | 100.0% | 29 | $29,507 | $11,000 |
Top 25 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 20 of the 29 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Institute of Technology Clovis, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 65 | Physical Therapy Assistant | $27,458 | 73% | $24,518 | — |
| 2 | CBD College Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 58 | Physical Therapy Assistant | $52,829 | 82% | $20,729 | — |
| 3 | Universal Healthcare Careers College Los Angeles, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 56 | Physical Therapy Assistant | $21,444 | 91% | $33,518 | — |
| 4 | Stanbridge University Irvine, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 49 | Physical Therapy Assistant | $50,198 | 62% | $25,244 | 10% |
| 5 | American Career College - Anaheim Anaheim, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 44 | Physical Therapy Assistant | $28,853 | 70% | $28,590 | — |
| 6 | American Career College - Ontario Ontario, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 39 | Physical Therapy Assistant | $25,702 | 66% | $31,076 | — |
| 7 | American College of Healthcare and Technology Riverside, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 29 | Physical Therapy Assistant | $21,250 | 65% | $16,950 | — |
| 8 | Pima Medical Institute - San Marcos San Marcos, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 27 | Physical Therapy Assistant | $31,915 | 71% | $31,880 | — |
| 9 | Concorde Career College - San Diego San Diego, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Physical Therapy Assistant | $30,842 | 76% | $25,970 | 100% |
| 10 | Cerritos College Norwalk, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 25 | Physical Therapy Assistant | — | 31% | — | — |
| 11 | Unitek College Fremont, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 25 | Physical Therapy Assistant | $32,827 | 73% | $27,021 | — |
| 12 | College of the Sequoias Visalia, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 23 | Physical Therapy Assistant | $57,242 | 39% | — | — |
| 13 | Loma Linda University Loma Linda, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 23 | Physical Therapy Assistant | $60,043 | — | — | — |
| 14 | Concorde Career College - North Hollywood North Hollywood, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 21 | Physical Therapy Assistant | $30,568 | 78% | $25,019 | 100% |
| 15 | Mendocino College Ukiah, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Physical Therapy Assistant | — | 25% | — | — |
| 16 | Sacramento City College Sacramento, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Physical Therapy Assistant | $48,969 | 33% | — | — |
| 17 | San Diego Mesa College San Diego, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Physical Therapy Assistant | — | 35% | — | — |
| 18 | Carrington College - Pleasant Hill Campus Pleasant Hill, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Physical Therapy Assistant | $61,881 | 59% | $32,161 | — |
| 19 | Ohlone College Fremont, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Physical Therapy Assistant | — | 52% | — | — |
| 20 | Bakersfield College Bakersfield, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Physical Therapy Assistant | — | 21% | — | — |
| 21 | Casa Loma College - Los Angeles Sherman Oaks, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Physical Therapy Assistant | $56,092 | 73% | $28,846 | 43% |
| 22 | College of the Desert Palm Desert, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Physical Therapy Assistant | — | 31% | — | — |
| 23 | Concorde Career College - Garden Grove Garden Grove, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Physical Therapy Assistant | $26,287 | 84% | $23,570 | 97% |
| 24 | Shasta College Redding, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Physical Therapy Assistant | — | 23% | — | — |
| 25 | California Baptist University Riverside, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Physical Therapy Assistant | — | 62% | $26,940 | 85% |
All 29 schools in California
Every school in California with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Institute of Technology | Clovis | Private for-profit | 65 | 1 |
| CBD College | Los Angeles | Private not-for-profit | 58 | 1 |
| Universal Healthcare Careers College | Los Angeles | Private for-profit | 56 | 1 |
| Stanbridge University | Irvine | Private for-profit | 49 | 1 |
| American Career College - Anaheim | Anaheim | Private for-profit | 44 | 1 |
| American Career College - Ontario | Ontario | Private for-profit | 39 | 1 |
| American College of Healthcare and Technology | Riverside | Private for-profit | 29 | 1 |
| Pima Medical Institute - San Marcos | San Marcos | Private for-profit | 27 | 1 |
| Concorde Career College - San Diego | San Diego | Private for-profit | 26 | 1 |
| Cerritos College | Norwalk | Public | 25 | 1 |
| Unitek College | Fremont | Private for-profit | 25 | 1 |
| College of the Sequoias | Visalia | Public | 23 | 1 |
| Loma Linda University | Loma Linda | Private not-for-profit | 23 | 1 |
| Concorde Career College - North Hollywood | North Hollywood | Private for-profit | 21 | 1 |
| Mendocino College | Ukiah | Public | 18 | 1 |
What physical therapist assistants earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $68,380. California pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in California
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Physical Therapist Assistants page.
How to become a Physical Therapist Assistant
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- Associate's degree
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in California
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 1 majors mapped to Physical Therapist Assistants1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 51.0806Physical Therapy Assistant
Common questions
Answers for people weighing physical therapist assistants programs in California.
What degree do you need to become a Physical Therapist Assistant?+
Associate's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Physical Therapy Assistant, which awarded 720 degrees in California in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Physical Therapist Assistant?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services. Together they graduate about 720 people a year in California.
How much do physical therapist assistants earn in California?+
The median is $83,110 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 21.5% above the U.S. median of $68,380. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for physical therapist assistants growing?+
BLS projects a +22.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 19,800 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
29 institutions in California reported graduates from at least one of the 1 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do physical therapist assistants work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA), Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA), Licensed Physical Therapist Assistant (LPTA), Certified Physical Therapist Assistant (CPTA) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 31-2021.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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