How Much Doctors Make (By Specialty, State, and More)

Physicians in the U.S. earn an average of about $386,000 per year, according to Medscape’s 2026 Physician Compensation Report. Primary care physicians earn about $298,000, while specialists average $417,000. Physician compensation varies significantly by specialty, location, experience, practice setting, and other factors.

The medical profession compensation figures in this guide apply to doctors who have completed residency. During residency, physicians earn much less. The 2025 AAMC Survey of Resident/Fellow Stipends and Benefits found an average PGY-1 stipend of about $68,000. Resident stipends vary relatively little by specialty.

The cost of becoming a doctor and the years spent in training should be considered alongside your future earnings. While salary is an important part of planning your career, it shouldn't be the only factor you consider when choosing whether to pursue medicine or which specialty to enter.

In this guide, I break down how much doctors make by specialty and location, explain the factors that influence physician compensation, and explore other considerations when evaluating your future career.

Average Doctor Salary

The average doctor salary in the U.S. varies widely depending on specialty, location, years of experience, practice setting, and other factors. An entry-level doctor's salary can also differ significantly depending on the specialty and career path a physician chooses.

There is no official data showing a consistent salary difference between physicians with an MD and a DO. DO physicians are more likely to practice in primary care, but many also pursue specialties across medicine. Ultimately, specialty and other career factors have a bigger impact on physician compensation than whether you earn an MD or DO degree.

Quick note: Physicians are generally not paid by the hour in the U.S. While you can calculate an hourly equivalent from national averages, the result varies significantly by specialty, work schedule, and compensation model.

Salary by Specialty (Compensation Table)

Below is the average annual compensation for physicians across a range of specialties, based on Doximity’s 2025 Physician Compensation Report. Surgical and procedural specialties tend to rank among the highest-paying, while primary care and pediatric specialties generally have lower average compensation.

Pediatricians, for example, earned an average of about $265,000 per year, compared with over $679,000 for orthopedic surgeons and $749,000 for neurosurgeons.

These average annual income figures were pulled from Doximity’s most recent Physician Compensation Report (2025).

Intraspecialty Variations in Physician Salaries

Physicians in the same specialty can have very different levels of compensation.

Dermatologists earn an average of about $508,000 per year, but individual earnings can vary significantly within the specialty. An early-career dermatologist may also earn considerably less than an experienced physician in the same specialty. Psychiatrists can also have different salaries depending on whether they work in private practice, a hospital, or an academic medical center.

This variation is one reason an average specialty salary should be viewed as a general benchmark rather than a guarantee of what every physician in that specialty will earn.

Watch our free Residency Specialty Spotlight videos to explore the daily life of residents in various specialties and hear practical advice for navigating the match process in each specialty.

Salary by Location

Where you practice can have a big impact on how much you make. Cost of living also matters, since a higher salary may not go as far in an expensive metro area. While some large urban areas offer high physician compensation, smaller and lower-cost markets can also rank highly.

Below, I break down the U.S. metro areas where medical professionals earn the most and least, both before and after adjusting for cost of living.

U.S. Cities Where Doctors Make The Most

According to Doximity's 2025 Physician Compensation Report, these metropolitan areas had the highest average physician compensation in 2024:

• Rochester, Minnesota: $495,523
• St. Louis, Missouri: $484,883
• Los Angeles, California: $470,198
• San Jose, California: $469,878
• Sacramento, California: $460,671
• Phoenix, Arizona: $459,082
• Riverside, California: $455,986
• Minneapolis, Minnesota: $452,598
• San Francisco, California: $449,830
• Charlotte, North Carolina: $448,400

Doximity also adjusted physician compensation for cost of living, which changes the rankings considerably. Rochester remains at the top of the list, but the California metro areas drop out of the top 10. The metropolitan areas with the highest compensation after adjusting for cost of living were:

• Rochester, Minnesota
• St. Louis, Missouri
• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Omaha, Nebraska
• Kansas City, Missouri
• Charlotte, North Carolina
• Buffalo, New York
• Louisville, Kentucky
• New Orleans, Louisiana
• Salt Lake City, Utah

U.S. Cities Where Doctors Make The Least

The metropolitan areas with the lowest average physician compensation in Doximity's 2025 report were:

• Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina: $358,782
• Rochester, New York: $364,160
• Ann Arbor, Michigan: $373,154
• Charleston, South Carolina: $384,419
• Washington, D.C.: $386,731
• Providence, Rhode Island: $386,788
• San Antonio, Texas: $389,495
• Boston, Massachusetts: $390,799
• Baltimore, Maryland: $392,507
• Worcester, Massachusetts: $397,188

When adjusted for cost of living, the metropolitan areas with the lowest compensation were:

• Boston, Massachusetts
• Washington, D.C.
• Seattle, Washington
• Denver, Colorado
• San Francisco, California
• Baltimore, Maryland
• Providence, Rhode Island
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• New York, New York
• Portland, Oregon
  
  

The Gender Pay Gap in Medicine

The gender pay gap remains a significant issue in physician compensation. According to Doximity's most recent report, women physicians earned 26% less than men in 2024, even after adjusting for specialty, location, and years of experience. This is an increase from 23% in 2023. On average, women physicians earned $120,917 less than their male counterparts.

Doximity also found that men reported higher average compensation than women across all specialties, but the size of the gap varied by specialty. Those with the largest percentage differences were:

• Pediatric Nephrology (16.5%)
• Allergy & Immunology (16.3%)
• Ophthalmology (16%)
• Plastic Surgery (15.6%)
• Gastroenterology (15.6%)

The specialties with the smallest percentage differences were:

• Neurosurgery (11.3%)
• Physical Medicine/Rehab (11.4%)
• Infectious Disease (11.5%)
• Endocrinology (11.8%)
• Oncology (12%)

The Medscape Physician Compensation Report found a similar disparity, although its methodology and figures differ. In its latest survey, male physicians reported about $102,000 more in average compensation than female physicians, which represents a 31% advantage for men. The gap was larger among specialists than among primary care physicians.

Other Factors Impacting Pay

Several factors beyond specialty and location can affect how much a physician earns:

• Ownership: Physicians who become partners or owners of a practice may have greater earning potential than employed physicians, but they also take on the risks and costs of running a business.
• Performance: Compensation can be tied to factors such as productivity, patient volume, quality measures, and patient outcomes, depending on the physician's employment or compensation model.
• Inflation: Rising costs can affect physicians' real income, particularly when compensation doesn’t increase at the same rate. Some physicians even pursue additional work to supplement their income.
• Reimbursements: Physician compensation is also affected by how much insurers and government programs pay for medical services. Medicare updates its Physician Fee Schedule annually, but reimbursement increases don't always keep pace with the costs of practicing medicine.
• Race and Ethnicity: Compensation disparities also exist across racial and ethnic groups. AAMC research on academic medicine found that, in most cases, white men received higher median compensation than men of other races and ethnicities and women of all racial and ethnic groups.
• Medical School Debt: Student debt can significantly affect a physician's finances, particularly during residency and the early years of practice. The amount you borrow for medical school can influence how quickly you are able to build savings.

If you're still choosing where to attend, our guides to the top medical schools in the U.S. and best premed schools can help you compare your options based on factors beyond cost, including academic, research, and career opportunities.

Read Next: Is a 3-Year Medical School Right for You?

Remember: Money Isn’t Everything

Salary is an important consideration when choosing a medical specialty, but it shouldn't be the only one. Your specialty will shape your training, daily responsibilities, work environment, schedule, and long-term career. Consider the following factors alongside earning potential.

Medical Training Requirements

Residency length varies significantly by specialty. Pediatrics and family medicine typically require three years of residency, while neurosurgery requires seven. Residency programs can also differ in structure, with categorical, preliminary, and advanced programs offering different training pathways.

Longer training means spending more years earning a resident's salary before beginning your career as an attending physician. Consider how much time you're willing to spend in training and whether the additional years are worthwhile for the type of medicine you want to practice.

Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance can have a major impact on your satisfaction as a physician. Some specialties mean predictable schedules and primarily outpatient care, while others require long hours, overnight shifts, weekends, or frequent on-call responsibilities.

When comparing specialties, think about the kind of schedule and lifestyle you want alongside the salary you hope to earn.

Medical Practice Environments

Your work environment can vary considerably depending on your specialty and practice setting. You might work in a private practice, hospital, academic medical center, outpatient clinic, or other healthcare setting.

Consider whether you would prefer a fast-paced hospital environment, a more predictable outpatient setting, an academic career, or another type of practice.

Patient Care

Different specialties involve very different relationships with patients. Some physicians may see dozens of patients during a typical day, while others spend more time with individual patients or work primarily in procedural or surgical settings. Think about how much direct patient interaction you want and what types of patients and medical conditions you find most interesting.

There is also the consideration of being “on-call.” A specialty like dermatology is largely outpatient-based, with little on-call activity. However, specialties like cardiology may be tied to the hospital and demand regular “on-call” hours.

Specialty Competitiveness

Some specialties are much more competitive to match into than others. Dermatology, plastic surgery, and orthopedic surgery have traditionally been among the most competitive specialties. When considering a specialty, look beyond its earning potential and consider how difficult it may be to secure a residency position.

Strong academic performance, clinical experience, research, and other accomplishments can help applicants stand out when applying to competitive residency programs. Understanding a specialty's competitiveness can help you set realistic expectations and plan your residency application strategy accordingly.

Long-Term Interests and Passions

Your interests should play a major role in choosing a specialty. Think about the types of conditions you want to treat, procedures you enjoy, patients you want to work with, and whether you're interested in research, teaching, or other areas of medicine.

If you're interested in academic medicine or healthcare research, consider whether you want research and teaching to be a significant part of your career. Some specialties and career paths offer more opportunities for publications, presentations, conferences, and academic work.

A higher salary may be appealing, but it won't necessarily make you happy if you don't like the work. Choose a specialty that fits with both the kind of medicine you want to practice and the type of career you want to build.

Read Next: Exploring Medical Specialties by Personality Type

Compare Residency Length to Earning Potential

The length of your residency can have a financial impact beyond the number of years you spend in training. During residency, you earn a resident's salary, so longer programs delay when you can begin earning your full physician salary. If you have student loan debt, those extra years may also affect how quickly you start paying it down.

The tradeoff is that specialties with longer training may also offer substantially higher compensation once you become an attending. When comparing specialties, consider the financial tradeoff between spending additional years in training and the potential earnings afterward.

FAQs

Get Personalized Guidance on Your Path to Medicine

Choosing a medical specialty is a major decision, and salary is only one factor to consider. If you’re weighing specialties, considering residency options, or planning your path to becoming a physician, MedSchoolCoach can help you understand your options and plan your next steps.