Health Workforce

Minnesota Physical Therapists Facts and Data 2004

The Office of Rural Health & Primary Care (ORHPC) asks physical therapists to answer questions about their employment status and the nature of their practices each year when they renew their licenses. Response to the survey is voluntary and does not affect license renewal.

NOTE: In the tables below, “urban” is defined to include seven Twin City metropolitan counties (Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington) and the cities of Duluth, Rochester and St. Cloud. All other parts of the state are defined as rural.

• Number of Physical Therapists

As of March 2004, 3,363 physical therapists held Minnesota licenses. Some of these were retired or not working as physical therapists, and others lived or practiced in other states.

The ORHPC received survey responses from 2,615 physical therapists who renewed licenses for 2004. The responses came from a total of 3,303 physical therapists who renewed licenses for 2004, yielding a 79 percent response rate.

At the time of license renewal, 2,441, or 93 percent, of survey respondents said they were working at least part time at a primary practice site in Minnesota.

The exact number of physical therapists practicing in Minnesota is not known. Not all of the 3,363 physical therapists holding Minnesota licenses in 2004 would have been working as physical therapists in Minnesota. An unknown number would have been working in other jobs or not working due to unemployment, illness, retirement or other reasons.

To estimate the numbers of physical therapists actually working in Minnesota, the ORHPC survey asks physical therapists about the location of their primary practice site and how many hours they work there. Ninety-three percent of respondents said they worked at least part time at a primary practice site in Minnesota. Applied to the actual number of licensees in 2004, this percentage produces an estimate of about 3,140 physical therapists practicing in Minnesota. If active Minnesota physical therapists were more likely than other licensed therapists to respond to the survey, the estimated number of active Minnesota physical therapists would be somewhat lower.

This estimate is somewhat lower than the 3,460 physical therapist jobs estimated by the Minnesota Department of Trade and Economic Development for the second quarter of 2004.

Using the July 1, 2004, population estimate for Minnesota, 3,140 physical therapists equate to 62 active physical therapists per 100,000 people.

Because of different data sources and definitions, this estimate of 62 active physical therapists is not directly comparable to other reported data. The Bureau of Health Professions in the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration reported that Minnesota had 2,700 practicing physical therapists in 2000, or 55 physical therapists per 100,000 people, exceeding the national number of 43.

All data reported below is for physical therapists who work at least part time at a primary practice site in Minnesota, according to the Office of Rural Health and Primary Care survey of physical therapists renewing licenses for 2004.

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• Gender by age and location of Physical Therapists active in Minnesota

Age/location	Respondents (N =)	Male	Female
All physical therapists	2,144	24.1%	75.8%
Under 35	678	63.6%	36.4%
35-44	724	62.6%	37.4%
45-54	515	84.1%	15.9%
55-64	208	97.5%	2.6%
65 and older	19	98.6%	1.4%
Urban locations	1,513	20.4%	79.6%
Rural locations	631	33.1%	66.9%

• Age of Physical Therapists active in Minnesota by location

Age	Statewide n=2,144	Urban n=1,513	Rural n=631
Less than 35	31.6%	29.5%	36.6%
35-44	33.8%	34.7%	27.5%
45-54	24.0%	24.9%	22.0%
55-64	9.7%	9.9%	9.2%
65 and older	.9%	1.0%	.6%
Total	100%	100%	100%

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• Physical Therapists Specialties

Forty-four percent of respondents reported specialized training in one or more physical therapy field.

Orthopedics	20%
Pediatrics	8%
Sports medicine	7%
Neurology	5%
Geriatrics	4%
Cardiopulmonary	2%
Other	15%

• Primary practice settings by location of Physical Therapists active in Minnesota

Type of Site	All Physical Therapists n=1,887	Urban n=1,321	Rural n=566
Office/clinic	27.9%	31.5%	19.6%
Hospital – inpatient	15.5%	18.8%	8.0%
Hospital – outpatient	19.4%	10.0%	41.3%
Rehab agency/clinic	9.7%	11.1%	6.5%
Home health agency	6.6%	8.1%	2.1%
Long term care facility	11.0%	9.3%	15.0%
Educational institution	5.5%	5.8%	4.8%
Other	6.0%	6.1%	6.0%

• Gender by type of primary practice site of Physical Therapists active in Minnesota

Type of Site	N	Male	Female
Office/clinic	527	32.3%	67.7%
Hospital – inpatient	293	11.9%	88.1%
Hospital – outpatient	366	30.1%	69.9%
Rehab agency/clinic	183	24.0%	76.0%
Home health agency	119	21.8%	78.2%
Long term care facility	207	15.9%	84.1%
Educational institution	103	7.8%	92.2%
Other	114	24.6%	74.5%