Local market data · Physical therapy practices · Chicago
AI for physical therapy practices in Chicago
The Chicago metro area had 2,043 physical therapy practices in 2022, the 3rd most of 387 US metros and 4% of all in the country. They employed 20,120 people at an average of $47,500 a year. 80% have fewer than 10 staff, so the same few people answer the phone, book, follow up and do the paperwork. Those are the jobs AI tools take on today.
Talk through your clinic with the person who builds it
A free 30-minute call. You leave knowing which part of your physical therapy practice to hand to AI first, what we would build, and roughly how long it takes.
Physical therapy practices in Chicago vs the US
| Chicago metro | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Businesses | 2,043 | 50,883 |
| People employed | 20,120 | 464,527 |
| Average staff per business | 9.8 | 9.1 |
| Average yearly pay per employee | $47,500 | $47,078 |
| Share with fewer than 10 staff | 80% | 78% |
Pay here is about the same as the national average for physical therapy practices, so an hour of admin costs about what it does elsewhere. The average physical therapy practice here has 9.8 people on payroll, 8% higher than the US figure of 9.1.
How big physical therapy practices in Chicago are
Businesses with paid employees, by number of employees, March 2022.
Physical therapy practices by county in the Chicago area
Cook County has the most, with 998 of the metro's 2,043 (49%). Among the 10 big metros on this page, Chicago ranks 7th for average pay and 4th for the share of small firms.
| County | Businesses | Employees | Avg pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cook County | 998 | 10,507 | $44,954 |
| DuPage County | 281 | 3,837 | $47,176 |
| Will County | 272 | 2,356 | $62,995 |
| Lake County | 171 | 949 | $42,860 |
| Lake County | 95 | 996 | $44,439 |
| Kane County | 82 | 606 | $45,398 |
| McHenry County | 66 | 460 | $47,515 |
| Porter County | 27 | 177 | $47,876 |
| Kendall County | 21 | 93 | $45,495 |
| Grundy County | 14 | 66 | $39,409 |
| DeKalb County | 13 | 67 | $59,104 |
| Jasper County | 3 | 6 | $59,667 |
Census withholds pay where few firms would make it identifiable.
Where AI helps a physical therapy practice first
A physical therapy clinic can use AI for the work around the treatment: catching referrals quickly, getting the full plan of care onto the calendar, reminding patients about their home exercises, and trimming paperwork. Treatment decisions and clinical notes stay with your therapists. Start with the step where patients most often drop away.
What your team's admin hours cost in Chicago
Change any number. The starting values are the Chicago averages above; the hours and the share are yours to set.
Those hours cost you$92,000 a year
The share you would hand off$27,600 a year
Hours your team gets back1,200 a year
See what we would build for thisGuides for physical therapy practices, one job each
- Get more customers for physical therapy practices
- Never miss a call for physical therapy practices
- Follow up automatically for physical therapy practices
- Booking and scheduling for physical therapy practices
- More reviews for physical therapy practices
- Marketing and content for physical therapy practices
- Show up on Google and ChatGPT for physical therapy practices
- Cut admin and paperwork for physical therapy practices
- A dashboard that runs itself for physical therapy practices
Physical therapy practices in other big metros
| Metro | Businesses | Avg pay | Rank of 387 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 2,134 | $43,078 | 2nd |
| New York | 4,700 | $46,880 | 1st |
| Miami | 1,694 | $41,630 | 4th |
| Dallas | 1,031 | $53,882 | 6th |
| Houston | 657 | $48,865 | 13th |
| Atlanta | 933 | $50,924 | 7th |
| Washington | 910 | $50,945 | 8th |
| Philadelphia | 1,178 | $54,313 | 5th |
| Boston | 688 | $52,710 | 12th |
Where these numbers come from
From the U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022 (released 2024), industry code NAICS 621340 (Offices of physical, occupational and speech therapists), for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area (13 counties). It counts businesses with paid employees in March 2022, so solo owners with no payroll are not in it. Average pay is total yearly payroll divided by employees. The calculator uses 50 working weeks and 2,080 hours a year. Page checked 2026-11-12.
Find the hours your clinic can get back
A free 30-minute call. You leave knowing which part of your physical therapy practice to hand to AI first, what we would build, and roughly how long it takes.