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Sanford Health
Thief River Falls, Minnesota

Physical Therapist Assistant

Physical Therapist AssistantNo nightsFull-Time

Listed compensation

$20.5-$33/hr

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

Ask the employer about the work setting, call expectations, weekend coverage and time off.

Posted 17m ago · Verified live

Job Description

Sanford Health, the largest rural health system in the United States, is dedicated to transforming the health care experience and providing access to world-class health care in America’s heartland.

Work Shift

Day (United States of America)

Scheduled Weekly Hours

40

Compensation

Salary Range: $20.50 - $33.00

Union Position

  • No
  • Department Details
  • Flexible schedule

Summary

Assists patients/residents/clients with therapy activities and exercises scheduled in a treatment plan, under the supervision of a physical therapist, to improve patients'/residents'/clients' quality of life and ability to perform daily activities.

Job Description

Provides, monitors and records therapy services to patients/residents/clients with physical, cognitive, developmental impairments, in line with related standard concepts, practices and procedures.

The physical therapist assistant selects, implements, and makes modifications to therapeutic activities and interventions that are consistent with demonstrated competency levels, patient's/resident's/client's goals, and the requirements of the practice setting and/or state licensure.

Contributes to this process by exchanging information with and providing documentation to the physical therapist about the patient's/resident's/client's responses to and communications during intervention.

Responsible for being knowledgeable about the patient's/resident's/client's targeted physical therapy outcomes and for providing information and documentation related to outcome achievement. Follows and adheres to accepted clinical practice guidelines of professional organization.

As needed, performs other related duties as requested. Based on facility needs and assigned locations, may focus on those receiving intervention in the post-acute, long term care and home health care environments.

Qualifications

Appropriate education level required in accordance with state licensure. Must also be a graduate through an approved American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) program as a Physical Therapist Assistant.

Must be licensed as a Physical Therapist Assistant in the state(s) of practice. Conforms to the supervision and licensing standards of the state(s) where services are provided. Basic Life Support (BLS) certification required within six months of employment. When applicable, may require valid driver's license.

Sanford is an EEO/AA Employer M/F/Disability/Vet.

If you are an individual with a disability and would like to request an accommodation for help with your online application, please call 1-877-949-5678 or send an email to talent@sanfordhealth.org.

Key Responsibilities

Assists patients with therapy activities and exercises under the supervision of a physical therapist to improve their quality of life. Monitors and records therapy services while documenting patient responses and progress toward clinical outcomes.

Qualifications

Education
Professional certificate or licensure

Key Skills

Physical therapy assistancePatient careClinical documentationPatient monitoringRehabilitationIntervention planning

Physical Therapist Career Context

In Minnesota, the Physical Therapy weighted monthly median benchmark on WeekdayDoc is ~$98k (268 salary observations; 812 listings), vs ~$94k nationally (12,948 salary observations; 63,515 listings). Monthly aggregates cover 2026-01-01 through 2026-11-01; these are not the modal's selected comparable-job medians.

The cost-of-living index for Minnesota is 98.6 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$56k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $56k in an average-cost state. 63.4% of Minnesota clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

What does the Physical Therapy market look like in Minnesota?
MeasureThis jobMarket
Work-life score6.2 / 10 · above average in physical therapist assistantranked against 4,946 Physical Therapist Assistant listingslisting-based score, 0–10
Minnesota vs national$98k median in Minnesota$94k nationally (+4%)268 state / 12,948 national salary observations
Cost-of-living adjusted pay~$56k in purchasing powerMinnesota index 98.6 (US = 100)BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)
Physical Therapy listings in Minnesota289 active21,770 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Sign-on & loan repaymentnot statedMinnesota Physical Therapist listings: 23% state a sign-on bonus (median $8k) · 18% offer loan repayment317 active listings, Nov 2026
New Physical Therapy listings7,764 in the last 30 days4,429 the 30 days before (+75%)U.S., first seen on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Physical Therapy pay trend+1.5% vs prior quarter—through Oct 2026
Sources: WeekdayDoc live listing index (4,946 Physical Therapist Assistant listings), BEA Regional Price Parities (2024); as of Nov 2026. Same values as the Weekday Verdict and Market Insights on this page.

Work-Life Balance Analysis

WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Physical Therapist Assistant at Sanford Health a 6.2 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as good. This places the position in the Above average in Physical Therapist Assistant — ranked against 4,946 active Physical Therapist Assistant listings on WeekdayDoc. Contributing factors include no night shifts.

Top PTA Jobs

10 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution

7 jobs
3
<$75k
2
$75k-80k
2
$80k-85k

Annual compensation range

Work-Life Balance Distribution

10 jobs
0
1-2
0
3-4
2
5-6
7
7-8
1
9-10

Higher = better work-life balance

#1

Physical Therapist Assistant | Adult Rehabilitation

Centra Care · Saint Cloud, Minnesota

$26.22-$39.32/hr
#2

Licensed Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA)

EmpowerMe Wellness · Burnsville, Minnesota

$31-$39/hr
#3

Physical Therapist Assistant

$25-$37.5/hr
#4

Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA)

$31.4-$37.44/hr
+ 8 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 4.8this job 6.2
Better work-life than 60% of Physical Therapist Assistant listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 4,946 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • No nights

Living in Thief River Falls

Median resident rent
$838/mo
Residents’ average commute
10 min
State income tax
Up to 9.8%
Sources & methodology

Sources: U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

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