Where Do You Want to Practice?

What's makes a state a desirable place to practice physical therapy?

The answer of course depends in part on what you value. How important is salary? Quality of life? Future job prospects? Regulatory restraints? Demographic characteristics (such as age and health) of the state's residents? And so on.

Many rankings of "best states," in fields ranging from health care to retirement, use some combination of these factors. PT in Motion's analysis uses dozens of data sources to build on 8 criteria:

Well-being and future livability
Literacy and health literacy
Employment and employment prospects
Business and practice friendliness
Technology and innovation
Physical therapist (PT), physical therapist assistant (PTA), and student engagement with APTA
Compensation and cost of living
Health and financial disparities

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State of American Well-being 2016. Gallup-Healthways. http://www.well-beingindex.com/. Accessed August 16, 2017.
Witters D. Utah Poised to Be the Best U.S. State to Live in. Gallup. August 7, 2012. http://www.gallup.com/poll/156449/utah-poised-best-state-live.aspx. Accessed August 6, 2013.
Lewis K, Burd-Sharps S. The Measure of America 2013-2014. The Milken Institute.www.measureofamerica.org/measure_of_america2013-2014. Accessed August 16, 2017.
Drug Overdose Death Data. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/statedeaths.html. Accessed August 17, 2017.
National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences. http://nces.ed.gov/naal/. Accessed August 17, 2017.
DeNavas-Walt C, Proctor BD. Income and Poverty in the United States: 2013. September 16, 2014. United States Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/library/publications/2014/demo/p60-249.html. Data: http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/incpovhlth/2013/state.xls. Accessed August 17, 2017.
File T, Ryan C. Computer and Internet Use in the United States: 2013. US Department of Commerce. United States Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/history/pdf/2013computeruse.pdf. Accessed August 17, 2017.
2011-2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. US Census Bureau. https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_15_5YR_S1501. Accessed July 2, 2017.
2011-2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. US Census Bureau. https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_15_5YR_S1501. Accessed July 2, 2017.
National Health Literacy Mapping to Inform Health Care Policy (2014). Health Literacy Data Map. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 2014. http://healthliteracymap.unc.edu/#. Accessed August 17, 2017.
Puente L. 2016 Thumbtack.com small business friendliness survey: Methodology & Analysis. 2016. https://www.thumbtack.com/survey#/2016/1/states. Accessed August 15, 2017.
America's Top States for Business 2016: A scorecard on state economic climate. CNBC. http://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/12/americas-top-states-for-business-2016-the-list-and-ranking.html. Accessed August 14, 2016.
Levels of Patient Access to Physical Therapist Services in the States. American Physical Therapy Association. May 2016. http://www.apta.org/uploadedFiles/APTAorg/Advocacy/State/Issues/Direct_Access/DirectAccessbyState.pdf. Accessed August 1, 2018.
Multistate practice privileges to become a reality in 3 states. PT in Motion News. June 22, 2018. http://www.apta.org/PTinMotion/News/2018/06/22/LicensureCompactStart/?_zs=RWPfV1&_zl=SEiv4. Accessed August 1, 2018.
State Telehealth Laws and Reimbursement Policies. The National Telehealth Policy Resource Center, Center for Connected Health Policy. February 2015. http://cchpca.org/state-telehealth-laws-and-reimbursement-policies-report. Accessed August 17, 2015.
America's Top States for Business 2018: A scorecard on state economic climate. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/10/americas-top-states-for-business-2018.html CNBC. Accessed August 1, 2018.
Percent of All Eligible and Critical Access Hospitals that have Demonstrated Meaningful Use of Certified Health IT. CMS EHR Incentive Program data. April 2015. http://dashboard.healthit.gov/index.php. Accessed August 17, 2015.
Klowden K, Keough K, Barrett J. 2014 State Technology and Science Index. The Milken Institute. 2014. http://statetechandscience.org/state-tech-and-science-report-2014.pdf. Accessed August 17, 2015.
2017 PT/PTA Market Share by State. http://www.apta.org/MembershipDevelopment/Statistics/. Accessed August 1, 2018.
Occupational Employment Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2017. SOC code 291123 Physical Therapists. Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm. Accessed July 29, 2018.
Cost of Living Data Series 2018. Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. https://www.missourieconomy.org/indicators/cost_of_living/. Accessed July 29, 2018.
Health Disparities Profiles: 2014 Edition. Washington, DC:DHHS Office on Women's Health. 2014. http://www.womenshealth.gov/quickhealthdata. Accessed August 17, 2015.
Women's Health and Mortality Chartbook: 2014Edition. Washington, DC: DHHS Office on Women's Health. 2014. http://www.womenshealth.gov/quickhealthdata. Accessed August 17, 2015.
2010-2014 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. American FactFinder, US Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/searchresults.xhtml. Accessed August 4, 2016.