Internal Medicine Salary Figures For 2024 Explained

The average salary in internal medicine is around $282,000 per year on average.

Unfortunately, internal medicine physicians are among the doctors who are compensated the least for their work.

Internal medicine physicians may be considered generalists in the medical field.

Also known as internists, they have a broad knowledge of medicine with an elementary command of multiple specialties.

This makes them invaluable to the healthcare system and regularly sought after by many employers.

Suppose you are an internist looking for ways to boost your income.

In that case, this article will not only help you identify opportunities within your specialty but how to protect that income once you’ve successfully increased your salary.

Average Internal Medicine Salary

According to Medscape’s 2024 physician compensation survey, the average internal medicine physician in the United States earns $282,000 per year.

Only 49% of the surveyed internists felt fairly compensated. They hold the lowest rate of satisfaction with their choice of specialty compared to any other group of medical specialists interviewed in the survey.

Learn more about income protection. Start by reading our Full Guide to Disability Insurance for Physicians.

Factors That Affect an Internal Medicine Salary

As you can imagine, the amount of money an internist will make depends significantly on a few factors. These factors are the same for most physician salaries, with varying answers on how to optimize an income above the national average.

Years of Experience

The amount of experience an internal medicine physician has under their belt will greatly influence how much they can expect to earn for a base salary.

For an internal medicine doctor, the compensation increases with experience. This increase depends heavily on the type of practice a physician is working in.

Location

The cost of living and demand come into play when deciding where to look for internal medicine jobs.

The places in the United States with the highest salary report for an internal medicine physician in 2023 were:

1. Alaska, with an average salary of $402,000
2. Georgia, with an average salary of  $337,610
3. Mississippi, with an average salary of $325,090

Anchorage, Alaska, and Knoxville, Tennessee, are the cities with the highest pay for full-time internal medicine physicians.

Internal Medicine is a top specialty in Florida! Read our Guide to Practicing Medicine in Florida

Type of Practice

According to Medscape, in 2024, self-employed internal medicine physicians earned less than their employed counterparts.

Additionally, hospitals have the greatest demand and easier placement for internal medicine physicians compared to other employment opportunities.

It’s important to note the difference between hospitalists and internists:

• A hospitalist will only see their patients throughout their hospital stay.
• An internist will see their patients throughout their adult life.

Outpatient clinics and health systems will also hire internal medicine physicians instead of family medicine physicians to care for a larger portion of their adult patients.

Academic positions offer the lowest salary but less stress and hours overall.

Internal Medicine Physicians and Their Student Loan Debt

Internal medicine physicians will come out of medical school with a medical degree and, most likely, a student loan debt. This debt can begin to pile up with interest and large payments that take a big chunk out of a physician’s take-home pay.

There are several ways that you can optimize your student loan repayment and keep more of your salary in your pocket. These include adjusting your loan to an income-based repayment plan.

Learn more about your best repayment option by reading our full breakdown of medical school loans.

Subspecialties for Internal Medicine Doctors

Internists aren’t what you would call a specialized physician. They specialize in having a broad view of the health of their patients, with a set of general medical skills that allows them to respond to most medical situations.

With that in mind, there are some subspecialties within the internal medicine field. If you start out as an internal medicine physician but later decide to sub-specialize, you have many options to choose from that can earn you a higher salary.

• Allergy and Immunology: An allergist will be responsible for caring for any illness related to the malfunction of the immune system. This includes autoimmune diseases, skin conditions, asthma, and gastrointestinal responses due to allergies.
• Gastroenterology: Internists can sub-specialize in gastrointestinal medicine. This includes training on the entire gastrointestinal tract, nutrition, and malnutrition disorders.
• Endocrinology: Internal medicine physicians can subspecialize in endocrinology (the study of the endocrine system). This involves the diagnosis and treatment of any illness or malfunction of the metabolic and glandular systems.
• Cardiovascular disease: Some subspecialties under this umbrella include interventional cardiology, advanced heart transplant, and cardiac electrophysiology.
• Rheumatology: Rheumatologists deal with the joints and musculoskeletal systems in the body. You can expect to deal with a lot of rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, fibromyalgia, and lupus patients.
• Oncology and hematology: Oncology involves the diagnosis and identification of risks of cancer. This subspecialty is often combined with hematology to give the internist a more comprehensive range of diagnosable diseases. Hematology is the study of blood-related disorders.
• Nephrology: This subspecialty relates to the diagnosis and treatment of any disease or illness of the kidneys.

Related Reading: How Much Salary Should You Earn as a Hospitalist

Ways to Increase Your Income as an Internal Medicine Physician

If you are an internal medicine physician or are considering becoming one, you can take some steps to ensure that you make the most of your career.

Regardless of your specialty or area of medical expertise, there are four things that all physicians need to do to protect their assets and build wealth:

• You need to have a sound retirement plan.
• You need to devote some time to tax planning.
• You need to work with a financial planner or financial consultant to guide you in making the best investments.
• You must protect your income with disability insurance.

Whenever possible, build your patient network and open your own private practice as a primary care physician.

Don’t rent an office. Buy the whole building and rent out the other offices. This rental income will increase your revenue exponentially. Not to mention, this income may be taxed at a much lower rate than your physician’s salary.

When it comes to employees, take advantage of PAs and NPs to see more patients. Allow them to care for the regular visits and paperwork while you focus on the difficult cases.

If you can develop a niche or sub-specialize, you can charge even more per hour for your expertise and learn new procedures that are in high demand.

Market your practice at events that cater to patients with good health insurance. Also, consider outsourcing your billing to an external company to reduce costs and get paid faster.

Related: A Physician’s Guide to the Top Disability Insurance Companies

Final Thoughts

Overall, as an internal medicine doctor, you have many opportunities ahead of you. Although the highest concentration of your peers work in hospitals, your best bet is to own your practice.

By carefully planning your career path as an internal medicine physician, you can put your income above the national average of your specialty, and we can help.

Furthermore, you probably didn’t learn the business of gaining your best salary during your time at medical school or training, but we specialize in that.

In addition, we specialize in helping you with the knowledge and backup you need to protect your assets and your financial future. Let us help you thrive!