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Cottage Health
Santa Barbara, California

Physical Therapist II

Physical TherapistIncludes callFull-Time

Listed compensation

$109K–$166K

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

Ask the employer about the work setting, weekend coverage, nights and shift pattern and time off.

Posted 2mo ago · Verified live

Job Description

Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital seeks a Physical Therapist II for their Outpatient department responsible for interpreting, organizing, applying and modifying as necessary prevention and wellness strategies and medically prescribed physical therapy to inpatients and/or outpatients.

The Physical Therapist II plans and implements programs to meet individual needs and provides patient care consistent with the Scope of Practice Standards and Code of Ethics of the American Physical Therapy Association, and the California Board of Physical Therapy. Responsibilities include:

  • Leader in applying the Cottage Health (CH) Values of excellence, integrity, and compassion in patient care. A Level II clinician provides care in a skilled and effective manner, utilizing learned technical, interpersonal, and critical thinking skills.
  • Competency skills include the ability to provide care in a safe environment utilizing appropriate communication with sensitivity to special populations.

This includes patients with diverse cultural backgrounds, age, developmental issues and physical impairments.

Qualifications

All job qualifications listed indicate the minimum level necessary to perform this job proficiently.

Education

  • Minimum: Graduation from an accredited school of Physical Therapy (Master’s Degree, or Bachelor’s Degree with equivalent experience).

Certifications, Licenses, Registrations

  • Minimum: License applicant for state of California (currently holds out-of-state license) or licensed as a Physical Therapist in the State of California, American Heart Association (AHA) Basic Life Support (BLS) certified.
  • Pediatric Specialty Clinics or Outpatient Therapy treating CCS clients: CCS paneling application submitted within 6 months of employment or within 6 months of meeting minimum requirements to apply.
  • Cardiac Rehab: American Heart Association (AHA) Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification
  • Preferred: Valid CA Driver’s License.

Technical Requirements

  • Minimum: Knowledge of physical therapy techniques and modalities. Knowledge of body mechanics, including procedure for handling and moving patients.

Basic computer skills for chart review and documentation in electronic medical record.

Years of Related Work Experience

  • Minimum: Required 6 months of work as a therapist.

Cottage Health is a leading acute care hospital system, located on the central coast of California, widely known for our superior patient care, innovation, medical research and education. Our health system operates primarily in Santa Barbara, CA, since 1888, and consists of three acute care hospitals, a Rehabilitation Hospital, multiple clinics and a multi-site Urgent Care system.

Our mission is to serve the central coast communities with excellence, integrity, and compassion. Every day we touch thousands of lives in many different ways, resolute in our mission to put patients first. We take pride in helping our patients get back to living their lives - in the places they love.

Cottage Health is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Cottage Health applicants are considered solely based on their qualifications, without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, age, gender, transgender, gender expression and identity, national origin, ancestry, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, military status or any other classification protected by law.

This policy applies to all aspects of the relationship between Cottage Health and an applicant or employee. Cottage Health is committed to upholding discrimination-free hiring practices.

We strive to cultivate an environment where exceptional people bring diverse perspectives and find belonging, support and connection to their work.

Any Cottage Health applicants who require assistance or reasonable accommodations during the application process may request the need for accommodation with the Recruiter.

*Pay for non-physician positions is determined based on related years of experience and internal equity. Eligible employees may also receive additional forms of compensation, including shift differentials, on-call pay, incentive pay, and bonus opportunities, where applicable. Manager and above positions may participate in Cottage Health’s annual management incentive program. Physician compensation is determined based upon specialty and may include bonus potential.

For more information on our comprehensive Total Rewards offerings, please visit cottagehealth.org.

If you're already a Cottage Health employee, please apply on this link only.

Key Responsibilities

Responsible for implementing and modifying prevention, wellness, and medically prescribed physical therapy for inpatients and outpatients. The role involves planning individual care programs consistent with APTA and California Board of Physical Therapy standards.

Key Skills

Electronic Medical RecordsInterpersonal CommunicationClinical Documentation

Physical Therapist Career Context

Of the 47 active Physical Therapy listings this role was benchmarked against, 45% have no call, 79% require no weekends.

In California, the Physical Therapy weighted monthly median benchmark on WeekdayDoc is ~$117k (1,036 salary observations; 3,651 listings), vs ~$93k nationally (10,394 salary observations; 56,600 listings). Monthly aggregates cover 2026-01-01 through 2026-10-01; these are not the modal's selected comparable-job medians.

The cost-of-living index for California is 110.7 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$137k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $124k in an average-cost state. 63.6% of California clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Top Physical Therapist Jobs

34 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution34 jobs · 22 employers

5
<$100k
17
$100k-115k
4
$115k-130k
6
$130k-145k
2
$145k+

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks32 jobs · 22 employers

401k / retirement match
91% this job
CME allowance
72%
Sign-on bonus
63%
Loan repayment
25%
Relocation assistance
16%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Physical Therapist (PT) Home Health | $150,000 Annual Salary (Redding)

Home Care Providers Group · Yuba City, California

$150k-$160k
#2

Physical Therapist (Central Valley PACE - Modesto)

Golden Valley Health Centers · Stockton, California

$139k-$150k
#3

Physical Therapist - Studio City

$90k-$140k
#4

Physical Therapist - West Hollywood

$90k-$140k
+ 32 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 4.8this job 3.0
Better work-life than 30% of Physical Therapy listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 22,195 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • Includes call

Living in Santa Barbara

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$1.91M
Typical market rent
$3,692/mo
Residents’ average commute
17 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
108.8
State income tax
Up to 13.3%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

City-level figures. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.

Cottage Health logo

About Cottage Health

Hospitals and Health Care
Santa Barbara, California
1,001-5,000 employees

Benefits & Perks

Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
Retirement Plan
Shift Differentials
On-Call Pay
Incentive Pay
Bonus Opportunities