Physicians play a central role in delivering care, and in today’s market – where a crisis of medical talent looms large – physician recruiters need an accurate view of how physicians are compensated.
We recently released the third annual Doximity Physician Compensation Report, which draws on the responses of more than 90,000 licensed U.S. doctors to produce the most comprehensive view of physician compensation available. Here are a few highlights from the report – which you can download in its entirety at the end of this article.
Nationally, physician wages plateaued between 2017 and 2018, for the first time in recent years.
Last year, the national average compensation for physicians increased by 4%, however this year, wages remained stagnant overall.
Similar to years prior, metro areas with a lower average compensation tended to have more academic institutions. Not surprisingly, the presence of large medical schools in an area also ensures a strong pipeline of well-qualified doctors competing for a relatively fixed number of medical positions, which may have a dampening effect on compensation.
The five metro areas where physicians are paid the HIGHEST average annual salary:
- Milwaukee, WI
- New Orleans, LA
- Riverside, CA
- Minneapolis, MN
- Charlotte, NC
The five metro areas where physicians are paid the LOWEST average annual salary:
- Durham, NC
- Providence, RI
- San Antonio, TX
- Virginia Beach, VA
- New Haven, CT
The gender pay gap: After years of examination, the gender wage gap is demonstrating a downward trajectory
This year we again evaluated the differences between how male and female physicians were paid. In 2017, U.S. women physicians on average earned 27.7 percent less, or in dollar terms, the average female doctors made $105,000 less than what the average male doctor earned. In 2018, just one year later, the gender pay gap dropped to 25.2 percent, and the average female doctor made $90,490 less than the average male counterpart.
The five metro areas where female physicians were paid the HIGHEST average annual salary in 2018:
- Milwaukee, WI
- Bridgeport, CT
- Seattle, WA
- Minneapolis, MN
- Riverside, CA
The five metro areas where female physicians were paid the LOWEST average annual salary in 2018:
- Providence, RI
- Durham, NC
- Louisville, KY
- Virginia Beach, VA
- Austin, TX
Physician compensation varies by medical specialty
In general, medical specialties with more advanced training tend to demand higher salaries. However, not all specialties enjoy significantly higher average compensation.
The five medical specialties with the HIGHEST average compensation:
- Neurosurgery
- Thoracic Surgery
- Orthopedic Surgery
- Radiation Oncology
- Vascular Surgery
The five medical specialties with the LOWEST average compensation:
- Pediatric Infectious Disease
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Pediatrics
- Pediatric Hematology & Oncology
- Family Medicine
Physician compensation varies by employment type
For the first time in decades, fewer than half of U.S. physicians now own their own practice. These trends result from hospitals increasing market presence and penetration. As more physicians join larger physician groups and health systems, it is important to understand differences in average compensation by employment type.
The average physician compensation ranked by employment type:
- Single-Specialty Group
- Solo Practice
- Multi-specialty Group
- Health System/IDN/ACO
- Industry / Pharmaceutical
- Hospital
- Health Maintenance Organization
- Academic
To see the salary numbers associated with the above cities/specialties, and to see more findings from Doximity's 2019 Physician Compensation Report, click the button below and download the full report.
