Average physician pay has declined by 2.4 percent in 2022, according to Doximity's "2023 Physician Compensation Report." These physician pay increases have not kept up with inflation rates, and many physicians are facing a reduction in income.
Here are 153 statistics on physician compensation and wealth:
Note: This report was compiled using data from Medscape's physician compensation report, physician wealth and debt report and Doximity's physician compensation report.
The average salary of physicians across 29 specialties, from highest to lowest:
- Plastic surgery: $619,000
- Orthopedics: $573,000
- Cardiology: $507,000
- Urology: $506,000
- Gastroenterology: $501,000
- Otolaryngology: $485,000
- Radiology: $483,000
- Oncology: $463,000
- Anesthesiology: $448,000
- Dermatology: $443,000
- Surgery (general): $412,000
- Critical care: $406,000
- Ophthalmology: $388,000
- Pulmonary medicine: $378,000
- Emergency medicine: $352,000
- Pathology: $339,000
- Obstetrics and gynecology: $337,000
- Neurology: $313,000
- Nephrology: $312,000
- Psychiatry: $309,000
- Physical medicine and rehabilitation: $306,000
- Allergy and immunology: $282,000
- Rheumatology: $281,000
- Internal medicine: $273,000
- Diabetes and endocrinology: $267,000
- Infectious diseases: $262,000
- Family medicine: $255,000
- Pediatrics: $251,000
- Public health and preventive medicine: $249,000
The 21 specialties that saw pay increases in 2023:
- Oncology: 13 percent increase
- Gastroenterology: 11 percent
- Anesthesiology: 10 percent
- Radiology: 10 percent
- Critical care: 10 percent
- Urology: 10 percent
- Psychiatry: 8 percent
- Plastic surgery: 7 percent
- Pulmonary medicine: 7 percent
- Neurology: 4 percent
- Diabetes and endocrinology: 4 percent
- Internal medicine: 4 percent
- ENT: 4 percent
- Cardiology: 4 percent
- Orthopedics: 3 percent
- Pediatrics: 3 percent
- Public health and preventive medicine: 3 percent
- General surgery: 2 percent
- Pathology: 2 percent
- Dermatology: 1 percent
- Infectious diseases: 1 percent
The six specialties that saw pay decreases in 2022:
- Ophthalmology: 7 percent
- Emergency medicine: 6 percent
- Physical medicine and rehabilitation: 5 percent
- Nephrology: 5 percent
- Allergy and immunology: 5 percent
- Rheumatology: 3 percent
The 10 metropolitan areas with the highest average physician compensation:
- Charlotte, N.C.: $430,890
- St. Louis: $426,370
- Oklahoma City: $425,096
- San Jose, Calif.: $418,600
- Minneapolis: $411,677
- Sacramento, Calif.: $411,257
- Phoenix: $409,185
- Indianapolis: $408,199
- Salt Lake City: $408,044
- Atlanta: $407,863
The 10 metropolitan areas with the lowest average physician compensation:
- Washington, D.C.: $342,139
- Baltimore: $346,260
- Boston: $347,553
- San Antonio: $347,692
- Raleigh, N.C.: $351,732
- Providence, R.I.: $354,342
- Virginia Beach, Va.: $354,587
- Denver: $357,010
- Philadelphia: $358,443
- Birmingham, Ala.: $361,483
Physicians' net worth in 2023:
- $5 million and over: 11 percent
- $2 million to $4,999,999 million: 29 percent
- $1 million to $1,999,999 million: 19 percent
- $500,000 to $999,999: 16 percent
- Under $500,000: 25 percent
The 10 specialties with the most physicians worth less than $500,000:
- Family medicine: 35 percent
- Rheumatology: 33 percent
- Public health and preventive medicine: 33 percent
- Physical medicine and rehabilitation: 32 percent
- Neurology: 30 percent
- Nephrology: 30 percent
- Pediatrics: 30 percent
- Internal medicine: 29 percent
- OB-GYN: 27 percent
- Dermatology: 27 percent
The 10 specialties with the most physicians worth more than $5 million:
- Plastic surgery: 31 percent
- Orthopedics: 28 percent
- Gastroenterology: 25 percent
- Urology: 23 percent
- Cardiology: 22 percent
- Ophthalmology: 18 percent
- Radiology: 17 percent
- Oncology: 17 percent
- Pathology: 14 percent
- OB-GYN: 14 percent
The amounts physicians are paying for their mortgages:
- $1 to $100,000: 20 percent
- $100,001 to $200,000: 7 percent
- $200,001 to $300,000: 9 percent
- $300,001 to $400,000: 8 percent
- $400,001 to $500,000: 8 percent
- $500,000 or more: 18 percent
- No mortgage/mortgage paid off: 30 percent
Where physicians saw financial losses:
- In bad investments or the stock market: 36 percent
- Practice issues (such as business problems, reimbursement changes, change in practice setting): 11 percent
- In real estate: 4 percent
- Job loss (myself or significant other/partner): 4 percent
- In a divorce: 3 percent
- In legal fees or a lawsuit: 3 percent
- Other: 5 percent
- Have not experienced any significant financial losses in the past year: 48 percent
Physician incentive bonuses in 2022:
- Orthopedics: $134,000
- Cardiology: $88,000
- Radiology: $80,000
- General surgery: $75,000
- Anesthesiology: $68,000
- OB-GYN: $57,000
- Emergency medicine: $37,000
- Psychiatry: $37,000
- Family medicine: $34,000
- Internal medicine: $33,000
- Pediatrics: $31,000
Physician compensation growth across employment settings:
- Single specialty group: $438,959 (-7 percent)
- Solo practice: $428,112 (+3 percent)
- Multispecialty group: $421,159 (-7 percent)
- Health system: $400,207 (+1.4 percent)
- Hospital: $398,954 (-1 percent)
- Industry/pharmaceutical: $392,534 (-8 percent)
- Health maintenance organizations: $387,393 (+3.4 percent)
- Academic: $347,013 (-9 percent)
- Government: $269,189 (+1.8 percent)
- Urgent care center: $264,727 (-1 percent)
Five specialties with the smallest gender pay gaps for physicians:
- Pediatric Rheumatology: Women earn 7.8 percent less
- Pediatric infectious disease: Women earn 10.1 percent less
- Pediatric hematology and oncology: Women earn 11.3 percent less
- Hematology: Women earn 12.1 percent less
- Pediatric cardiology: Women earn 12.5 percent less
Five cities with the highest average pay for female physicians:
- Minneapolis: $347,426
- Sacramento, Calif.: $341,107
- Tampa, Fla.: $339,595
- Buffalo, N.Y.: $335,505
- Charlotte, N.C.: $331,556
Five cities with the lowest average pay for women physicians:
- Baltimore: $262,109
- Louisville, Ky.: $276,509
- Providence, R.I.: $276,927
- Birmingham, Ala.: $278,488
- Memphis, Tenn.: $278,699