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Average Physician Salaries In The U.S.

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The top dogs of medicine are earning rather nicely as of 2024. According to this survey of licensed practitioners in the U.S., some doctors are earning nearly $800,000 per year.

And while that’s all really good, what about the average physician? What are their salaries looking like lately?

While it is true that doctors earn in the top percentile, that doesn’t mean the numbers are the same across the board. In fact, most family physicians don’t even earn half the amount mentioned above.

When you factor in the costs of running a practice, loan paybacks, and taxes, your salary suddenly feels less substantial.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Say you’re a medical student searching for a career path. Other than the obvious reasons we all enter the medical field, such as providing care and contributing to medicine, among many different reasons, you’d also want to know what options pay the best. So today, let’s break down the average physician salaries in the U.S.

  • The average salary of doctors in the country
  • What specialties are paying top dollar
  • Are salaries for physicians increasing or decreasing?

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What Are Doctors Earning In The U.S.

Currently, the median pay for physicians across the U.S. is $363,000 annually. Data shows that this is an increase from last year when the average salary was capped at $352,000.

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It’s important to remember that this number varies. In reality, physicians of different qualifications and specialties take very different figures home. The pay disparity between primary care and specialists demonstrates that.

Primary care doctors earned $241,837 but specialists were averaging at a much higher number, taking home $382,000 or more, based on the specialty.

But that’s to be expected. Specialists offer different services compared to their primary care peers, and their training and expertise mean a consultation will cost more.

Take neurosurgeons, for example. One of the most demanding specialties to crack into, neurosurgery pays for the hard work put into it, with neurosurgeons earning $763,908 per annum. And this number will only keep rising, with neurosurgery gaining a 10% pay increase only last year.

Meanwhile, some high-paid specialties are losing steam. Orthopedics is actually the highest-paid specialty in medicine for this year, at a whopping $543,000. But it’s lost momentum lately, earning 3% less than before.

We see this up and down a lot in medicine, with certain fields being more lucrative than others. So far, the top five are orthopedics, plastic surgery, cardiology, gastroenterology, and urology, with their average pay just shy of the $500k bracket. 

But when you talk to family physicians and other primary care doctors, they aren’t making that kind of money. General medicine makes $225,000, and family medicine only nets you a $5k increase on that.

Physicians’ salaries have increased by at least 3%. But that increase doesn’t reflect how long the money actually lasts them. Even a six-figure salary doesn’t feel enough between taxes, pay cuts, and the general economy.

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Why Is The Salary So Varied?

Most people don’t go into medicine thinking they’ll become billionaires. That is just a ridiculous stereotype, and there are far better ways to get rich quickly that won’t land you in debt.

Instead, doctors choose to do medicine because they want to help the community around them, and give back to those in need. But for how much they put in, they aren’t being rewarded back as generously as you’d imagine.

Sure, the wages are higher, but so is the general dissatisfaction among doctors regarding their work environment. This is generally a product of an overworked system with not enough doctors, i.e., the current physician shortage in the country.

We’ve already discussed how there isn’t a general salary figure consistent across the board and that some doctors earn different wages for the same work. But gender disparity in medicine also exists, meaning female doctors earn even less than the median wage that their male colleagues get.

Obviously, you’ll earn more if you’re the boss of you, which is why self-employed physicians are often better off than those on a contract. But that isn’t always possible, especially when working at a pre-established hospital rather than starting a clinic from scratch is more cost-effective.

Sure, some physicians are earning a good chunk of money. But you need to only speak to your local family doctor to realize that money is nearly insufficient to keep things functioning, let alone be fulfilling enough.

As discussed, family medicine practitioners aren’t paid the same amount as specialists. Fair enough, since specialists have to study further and put in more work to get residencies, so their skill set demands a higher wage.

But consider how a doctor who owns a family clinic has to manage their finances. There are bills to pay, rents due, not to mention loan paybacks because medical school is the most expensive degree in the U.S.

For the average physician, there isn’t a lot left over. 

Doctors usually start their careers much later than other careers, which also means they retire later. So, physicians dedicate their entire lives to medicine and then some.

It’s not like specialists strike it rich overnight, either. Their hours are long, and the training is grueling, not to mention it’s expensive to apply for residencies in the first place. So, they aren’t ‘living large’ until a long time has passed.

But the truth is, even with the bigger paychecks, doctors are underpaid compared to just how much time and effort they put into the field. According to the Washington Post’s Census Bureau data, the hours spent to become a doctor, if measured in difficulty, are comparable with firefighters.

Discussing doctors’ desire for fair wages feels taboo because medicine is meant to be an altruistic field of work. But while people get into medicine to help people, it isn’t wrong for them to ask for fair wages for their work.

Conclusion

Medicine is a prestigious field that requires more than luck to get into. While the $300k+ median salary is a comfort in this economy, the work required to achieve that point is a lot more than most people bargain for.

And that doesn’t mean you’ll be earning the same amount, either. $300k is the average, but you might be on the lower end of said average.

Still, if you can grind through medical school, residency, the hectic work-life balance, and more, then the money you will earn isn’t too bad. But is it worth it to you, personally? That’s something you have to consider.

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When: November 13 | 8 am PT | 11 am ET



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6 thoughts on “Average Physician Salaries In The U.S.”

  1. Subscribe to get more great content like this, an awesome spreadsheet, and more!
  2. What was the point of this article? Certainly not the provision of data, which was wrong, certainly not for any useful commentary or insight.

    Reply
  3. I’d love to meet the neurosurgeon making only $343,000. Not sure where they get these numbers from but they’re off by a couple multiples for that one.

    Reply

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