Physician salary by specialty and state
Low-end, average, median and top-10% annual wages for 33 clinical occupations across 53 states, from U.S. Department of Labor data (May 2025) — employer-reported, not self-reported. Open a specialty for its state-by-state breakdown, or a state for every specialty in it.
Ranked by median annual wage
| # | Occupation | Low (10th) | Average | Median | Top 10% | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pediatric Surgeon salary | $215,410 | $502,050 | $559,030 | $726,660 | 1,190 |
| 2 | Cardiologist salary | $107,190 | $454,940 | $496,010 | $712,130 | 17,290 |
| 3 | Radiologist salary | $89,010 | $381,530 | $420,860 | $594,410 | 26,770 |
| 4 | Surgeon salary | $80,320 | $373,930 | $414,010 | $655,320 | 25,140 |
| 5 | Anesthesiologist salary | $101,460 | $360,570 | $391,490 | $557,130 | 38,760 |
| 6 | Orthopedic Surgeon salary | $84,170 | $373,570 | $358,550 | $659,290 | 14,100 |
| 7 | Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon salary | $86,250 | $346,490 | $352,220 | $622,640 | 4,910 |
| 8 | Emergency Medicine Physician salary | $103,610 | $317,480 | $335,550 | $495,910 | 32,880 |
| 9 | Dermatologist salary | $102,810 | $323,530 | $328,730 | $578,560 | 11,370 |
| 10 | Pathologist salary | $92,540 | $285,420 | $312,400 | $449,970 | 11,110 |
| 11 | Ophthalmologist salary | $100,180 | $304,650 | $300,080 | $489,710 | 8,950 |
| 12 | Obstetricians and Gynecologist salary | $94,680 | $279,040 | $292,910 | $437,300 | 21,260 |
| 13 | Psychiatrist salary | $84,060 | $269,940 | $281,870 | $446,520 | 27,980 |
| 14 | Physician salary | $69,170 | $262,040 | $265,930 | $452,360 | 342,720 |
| 15 | General Internal Medicine Physician salary | $73,570 | $267,200 | $256,560 | $475,430 | 67,150 |
| 16 | Neurologist salary | $83,370 | $267,630 | $248,560 | $450,780 | 10,590 |
| 17 | Family Medicine Physician salary | $76,830 | $255,820 | $244,180 | $428,550 | 107,510 |
| 18 | Nurse Anesthetist salary | $155,250 | $248,320 | $236,590 | $339,500 | 51,840 |
| 19 | Pediatrician salary | $91,470 | $212,110 | $210,040 | $338,500 | 39,390 |
| 20 | Dentist salary | $86,250 | $191,350 | $170,950 | $319,630 | 124,390 |
| 21 | Podiatrist salary | $66,010 | $175,480 | $160,300 | $309,670 | 9,680 |
| 22 | Pharmacist salary | $99,290 | $140,920 | $140,910 | $174,230 | 321,970 |
| 23 | Optometrist salary | $74,870 | $141,550 | $136,570 | $202,180 | 42,790 |
| 24 | Physician Assistant salary | $99,380 | $141,280 | $135,880 | $190,280 | 162,150 |
| 25 | Nurse Practitioner salary | $101,340 | $137,300 | $132,300 | $174,420 | 323,040 |
| 26 | Physical Therapist salary | $77,140 | $105,280 | $102,760 | $135,140 | 267,330 |
| 27 | Occupational Therapist salary | $71,690 | $101,280 | $100,330 | $131,950 | 162,450 |
| 28 | Speech-Language Pathologist salary | $62,900 | $98,170 | $97,870 | $134,160 | 183,390 |
| 29 | Registered Nurse salary | $68,940 | $101,420 | $97,550 | $137,470 | 3,379,720 |
| 30 | Audiologist salary | $64,610 | $97,740 | $95,780 | $133,120 | 13,660 |
| 31 | Chiropractor salary | $43,460 | $90,520 | $79,200 | $146,080 | 39,630 |
| 32 | Dietitians and Nutritionist salary | $49,090 | $77,130 | $76,400 | $103,720 | 77,570 |
| 33 | Acupuncturist salary | $38,830 | $87,020 | $76,040 | $161,470 | 7,830 |
Average physician salary by state
Each state’s physician occupations weighted by how many clinicians BLS counts in them. Read the occupation count alongside the average: BLS publishes a different subset of specialties in each state, and a state where only the best-paid specialties clear the reporting threshold shows a high average for that reason alone. Nationally the same calculation gives $282,608 across 17 occupations and 804,160 physicians.
| # | State | Average | vs U.S. | Physicians | Occupations | All specialties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Dakota | $387,579 | +37.1% | 1,780 | 8 | 21 |
| 2 | Minnesota | $357,494 | +26.5% | 16,490 | 15 | 31 |
| 3 | Montana | $356,747 | +26.2% | 1,200 | 4 | 18 |
| 4 | Wisconsin | $356,708 | +26.2% | 14,100 | 15 | 30 |
| 5 | Washington | $329,470 | +16.6% | 12,910 | 14 | 30 |
| 6 | Georgia | $327,324 | +15.8% | 21,800 | 11 | 30 |
| 7 | Indiana | $322,931 | +14.3% | 17,850 | 16 | 30 |
| 8 | Maine | $321,736 | +13.8% | 2,740 | 7 | 23 |
| 9 | Alaska | $321,640 | +13.8% | 1,590 | 8 | 21 |
| 10 | New Hampshire | $319,363 | +13.0% | 3,180 | 12 | 27 |
| 11 | Wyoming | $319,103 | +12.9% | 630 | 4 | 16 |
| 12 | Vermont | $309,238 | +9.4% | 1,610 | 11 | 24 |
| 13 | Louisiana | $308,323 | +9.1% | 6,400 | 8 | 23 |
| 14 | Guam | $305,830 | +8.2% | 40 | 1 | 4 |
| 15 | Tennessee | $303,260 | +7.3% | 13,100 | 13 | 28 |
| 16 | Florida | $301,908 | +6.8% | 39,910 | 13 | 30 |
| 17 | Oregon | $301,143 | +6.6% | 7,380 | 7 | 22 |
| 18 | Nebraska | $295,804 | +4.7% | 4,920 | 13 | 27 |
| 19 | South Dakota | $294,533 | +4.2% | 1,300 | 8 | 21 |
| 20 | Ohio | $292,751 | +3.6% | 33,670 | 14 | 30 |
| 21 | New Mexico | $291,346 | +3.1% | 3,670 | 8 | 23 |
| 22 | Oklahoma | $288,420 | +2.1% | 5,900 | 10 | 25 |
| 23 | Arizona | $287,729 | +1.8% | 14,190 | 9 | 28 |
| 24 | Kentucky | $285,884 | +1.2% | 8,800 | 11 | 30 |
| 25 | Iowa | $285,869 | +1.2% | 4,600 | 13 | 28 |
| 26 | Hawaii | $285,799 | +1.1% | 2,870 | 5 | 18 |
| 27 | Rhode Island | $281,115 | −0.5% | 2,810 | 9 | 24 |
| 28 | Colorado | $281,053 | −0.6% | 7,420 | 11 | 26 |
| 29 | South Carolina | $280,338 | −0.8% | 9,370 | 12 | 27 |
| 30 | Mississippi | $278,853 | −1.3% | 1,730 | 7 | 23 |
| 31 | New York | $274,620 | −2.8% | 70,670 | 17 | 33 |
| 32 | Virginia | $273,652 | −3.2% | 13,880 | 8 | 28 |
| 33 | Alabama | $272,305 | −3.6% | 4,920 | 5 | 23 |
| 34 | Idaho | $270,065 | −4.4% | 3,300 | 9 | 24 |
| 35 | Texas | $265,229 | −6.1% | 59,780 | 15 | 31 |
| 36 | Massachusetts | $263,138 | −6.9% | 18,700 | 9 | 26 |
| 37 | Utah | $262,400 | −7.2% | 5,590 | 9 | 24 |
| 38 | Pennsylvania | $262,073 | −7.3% | 34,100 | 11 | 26 |
| 39 | West Virginia | $261,116 | −7.6% | 4,390 | 12 | 26 |
| 40 | California | $259,874 | −8.0% | 50,630 | 10 | 28 |
| 41 | Kansas | $259,815 | −8.1% | 6,240 | 6 | 21 |
| 42 | North Carolina | $259,092 | −8.3% | 22,320 | 12 | 28 |
| 43 | New Jersey | $255,178 | −9.7% | 20,980 | 11 | 29 |
| 44 | Maryland | $251,840 | −10.9% | 17,360 | 11 | 30 |
| 45 | Connecticut | $249,329 | −11.8% | 10,020 | 10 | 27 |
| 46 | Nevada | $249,100 | −11.9% | 3,670 | 6 | 22 |
| 47 | Delaware | $243,079 | −14.0% | 2,520 | 6 | 17 |
| 48 | Missouri | $235,104 | −16.8% | 8,780 | 6 | 25 |
| 49 | Illinois | $230,937 | −18.3% | 29,210 | 11 | 28 |
| 50 | Michigan | $226,244 | −19.9% | 24,300 | 13 | 30 |
| 51 | Arkansas | $208,417 | −26.3% | 6,170 | 12 | 25 |
| 52 | District of Columbia | $184,798 | −34.6% | 3,260 | 8 | 20 |
| 53 | Puerto Rico | $130,794 | −53.7% | 3,110 | 5 | 14 |
Why these numbers differ from salary surveys
Most physician salary sites run on compensation their users report about themselves. Nobody — not the site, not you — can check whether those figures are accurate, representative, or even real. These come from the federal survey that employers are asked to complete about wages they actually pay, published by the Department of Labor with its methodology in the open.
The trade-off is scope rather than accuracy: the survey measures wages, so physicians who own their practice or take partnership distributions fall outside it. Where that is common, treat the published figure as a floor.