Regardless of your specialty or what city you work in, most physicians are curious about how their salary stacks up against the competition.
Whether you’re thinking about practicing in a new state or wondering if your signing bonus is on par with what it should be, know the facts to protect yourself and your annual earnings.
Spending hours pouring through hundreds of pages in pricey compensation reports is usually the only way to find this information — but we did the legwork for you.
We have created our first annual physician compensation report to save you both time and money looking for the data and statistics you want to know
Physicians’ salaries vary by region, specialty, gender, and a variety of other factors. From year to year, we see increases in certain regions, increases in salary for certain specialties, and increasing bonuses in areas where the demand for physicians is the highest.
We’ve broken down the compensation trends for physicians by specialty, region, gender, and by bonus incentives to provide insight into where salaries are increasing and where they’re decreasing.
The Midwest, the Great Plains, and the Southwest have seen the greatest uptick in salary increases, based primarily on the growing need for physicians in those regions. Population growth is a key factor, as is the fact that recruiters are working hard to staff top-tier talent in these areas.
In addition, there are some major metropolitan areas with high population growth rates that are seeing increased salaries as well.
*Indicates states that are new to the top ten for 2020. These states replaced Arkansas, Connecticut, and Nevada.
Overall, the Midwest, Great Plains, Southeast, and Southwest are seeing the biggest salary increases, whereas salaries in the Northeast are seeing smaller increases. There are a variety of factors for this, the most significant one being that there is a higher concentration of qualified physicians in the Northeast region.
Physicians in rural areas are earning higher salaries than those in metropolitan areas. Data shows that physicians across the highest-paying specialties are earning more in rural regions:
Surgical specialists continue to be among the highest-paid professionals within medicine. Pediatricians and those who practice family medicine continue to be among the lowest paid physicians.
Neurosurgeons and cardiovascular surgeons continue to be the highest earners and are the only specialties with an average median salary of over $600,000.
Neurosurgeons in the Midwest are the highest paid of any specialist in any region of the country, with an average salary of $760,000 per year. Cardiovascular surgeons in the Western region of the country earn the most in their field, with an average salary of $650,000 per year.
As in most professions, there is a pay gap based solely on gender in the U.S.
As of 2017, the wage gap was 27.7%, meaning that women earned nearly 28% less than their male counterparts in the same field. As of 2018, that number decreased to 25.2%. The pay gap between women and men is narrowing slightly, but women are still earning far less than men working in the same specialty, region, and field.
So, where do women earn the most and earn the least? Where is the gender wage gap most prevalent?
Our findings show that the gender pay gap varies considerably based on region and specialty.
Overall, male primary care physicians earned an average of $264,000, while women in primary care earned just $212,000, approximately 25% less. The wage gap is even greater among specialists, with men earning an average of $385,000 and women earning just $286,000, approximately 30% less.
Related: How Female Physicians can Counteract the Gender Pay Gap
As in most professions, there is a pay gap based solely on gender in the U.S.
As of 2017, the wage gap was 27.7%, meaning that women earned nearly 28% less than their male counterparts in the same field. As of 2018, that number decreased to 25.2%. The pay gap between women and men is narrowing slightly, but women are still earning far less than men working in the same specialty, region, and field.
So, where do women earn the most and earn the least? Where is the gender wage gap most prevalent?
Our findings show that the gender pay gap varies considerably based on region and specialty.
Overall, male primary care physicians earned an average of $264,000, while women in primary care earned just $212,000, approximately 25% less. The wage gap is even greater among specialists, with men earning an average of $385,000 and women earning just $286,000, approximately 30% less.
Related: How Female Physicians can Counteract the Gender Pay Gap
Physicians have enjoyed record-high bonuses in 2018 and 2019. These bonuses come in several forms, including signing bonuses and RVU productivity bonuses.
Overall, 58% of all primary care physicians earned an incentive bonus, as compared to 55% of specialists. 70% of all physicians earned a signing bonus. Both signing bonuses and incentive bonuses vary based on region.
Rural areas that have a more difficult time staffing top-tier talent tend to offer the biggest bonuses, as this is one of the best incentives for recruitment.
Physicians earn their compensation in a number of ways, with the quality-based compensation model seeing the biggest increase. Others get paid on a wRVU model combined with other elements of the RVU.
Overall, physicians aren’t just earning salaries anymore. They’re earning large bonuses as a part of their recruitment package as well as incentive-based bonuses tied to quality indicators.
Here are the key takeaways:
Certain types of physicians are in much greater demand than others. In addition, certain regions are in much greater need of top-quality physicians. We’ve compiled data from medical recruiting firms and other sources to create a breakdown of hiring trends based on specialty, region, and medical setting.
Family physicians are by far the most heavily recruited physicians around the country. For the 13th year in a row, family physicians are being recruited hundreds at a time in large consolidated systems. Since 2014, the number of physicians choosing to work in family medicine has decreased, leaving family practices understaffed throughout the country.
The Eastern part of the country and most major metropolitan areas have no shortage of trained physicians. Midwestern and Southern states are facing the greatest amount of shortages, which directly corresponds to why physicians in these states are often offered higher pay rates and larger bonuses.
More women are enrolled in medical school than ever before, and there are certain specialties where women are on pace to become the vast majority of physicians in their field.
In 2015, 46.9% of medical school students were female. That number rose to 49.5% in 2018 and 50.5% in 2019, making women the majority of all medical school students in the country.
Where are physicians getting hired? Hospitals and hospital systems remain the main hiring source of physicians in the U.S., but there are other settings where physicians are in need.
Overall, the trend in employment searches shows that physicians prefer to work in smaller settings, academic settings, and in small medical groups rather than in large hospital settings.
The vast majority of physicians are employed; they are not working in private practice. In 2001, 40% of physicians were employed. As of 2019, 90% of all physicians are employed.
Where physicians are in the greatest demand, they’re also getting substantial relocation bonuses as part of their incentive package to sign a contract with a new employer.
Overall, the trend in employment searches shows that physicians prefer to work in smaller settings, academic settings, and in small medical groups rather than in large hospital settings.
Here are the key takeaways:
COVID-19 has had significant impacts on the healthcare industry. While hospitals are crowded with patients, physicians outside of hospital settings have experienced major decreases in patient visits.
Here a few statistics that demonstrate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on physicians:
Another major impact that COVID-19 has had on healthcare is the increasing need for telehealth services. It remains to be seen what impact COVID-19 will have on physician salaries, but bonuses are increasingly being provided to physicians who offer telehealth services.
Physicians accept patient payments in a variety of different ways. The most popular payment method is still health insurance, though 26% of all physicians do not accept health insurance as a patient payment method.
Accountable care organizations are on the decline. There were 561 in 2018. In 2019, there were only 517 ACOs.
Are physicians actually collecting payments from their patients? Certain specialties have a high number of claims that get denied or need to be resubmitted.
Physicians are working about the same amount of hours as in previous years, though how they spend their time is changing a bit.
Both primary care physicians and specialists work approximately 53.2 hours per week, up slightly from the 52.63 hours they reported working in 2016.
Physicians are driven to work more hours when incentive bonuses exist. 34% of primary care physicians and 32% of specialists say this is what drives them to work more hours.
There were more than 385,000 Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants working in hospitals and practices in 2019. Having NPs and PAs on staff is an effective way for practices and large health groups to maximize profits, particularly in a value-based system.
By having NPs and PAs on staff, physicians can devote more time to complicated, higher value procedures.
Nurse practitioners may be able to do the vast majority of work that a physician can do, but they certainly don’t make the same salary. The average median wage for an NP has decreased by approximately 3.8% since 2018.
The demand for both PAs and NPs is growing, but not all medical settings put them on staff. 47% of health settings say that having NPs and PAs has increased their profitability. 47% say it has no effect on their profitability, and 6% say it has actually decreased profits.
For many physicians, the work is rewarding and their salary is fair. But are physicians actually happy with their job? Data shows that many physicians don’t feel as though they are being fairly compensated and that they are dissatisfied with many aspects of the job.
While many physicians are satisfied with their professions and their salaries, burnout is still common in the medical profession. Long hours, dealing with the bureaucracy of hospital administrations, and working on primitive Electronic Health Records systems are the main contributors to their dissatisfaction.
About to sign a physician contract for the first time? Conducting a job search in a new state? Wondering how your incentives and bonuses stack up against other physicians in other specialties?
This report shows a broad picture of compensation and hiring trends to help physicians gather industry data and analyze the current healthcare landscape, no matter where they are in their careers.
Note that these are averages and are not set in stone. To understand your value as compared with the fair market value for your specialty and region, talk with one of our expert contract review specialists. Your salary and incentives are negotiable.
To hire a contract review specialist, discuss financial planning for retirement, find creative tax-saving solutions, or protect your finances with disability insurance or life insurance, contact Physicians Thrive now.
Sources for this Report include:
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