Where are the best places for physicians to live and work in the United States? The answer, as you probably suspect, is highly subjective. After all, everyone appreciates different things —some may want warmer climates while others live for the snow. Some require an urban setting while others are only content with a rural or suburban lifestyle.
However, there are certain characteristics of places to live and work that almost all physicians can agree upon because they directly affect their ability to practice and enjoy a high quality of life.
Physicians Thrive examines the data that is compiled every year by Wallethub.com. We take into account things that are important to physicians like average annual wages, hospitals per capita, primary care provider shortage and more.
To that, we overlaid livability factors including cost of living, state income taxes, quality of education as well as education level demographics, housing, and local economies. Our team then chooses cities within the leading physician-friendly states from Livability.com’s 2017 Best Places to Live. If you’re just starting your career or are considering a move, here is our 2018 Edition of best places for physicians to live and practice.
10. Mississippi | 9. Montana | 8. Tennessee | 7. North Dakota | 6. Alabama | 5. Wisconsin | 4. Kansas | 3. Minnesota | 2. Idaho | 1. Iowa
The Magnolia State was ranked #6 overall for physicians by Wallethub, with an opportunity ranking of fifth in the nation. Its medical environment rating is in the middle of the pack at #23, but Mississippi has many qualities that put it in our top rankings.
The living is easy in Mississippi; it has the lowest cost of living in the United States. Its median household income of $36,640. Its population is growing, up almost 5% since 2000. It’s got a low crime rate, and is even the #1 ranking on the Generosity Index.
Mississippi has a rich heritage in the arts. Jimmy Buffett, William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, James Earl Jones, Oprah Winfrey, and B.B. King are just a few of the stars that sprang out of the Mississippi mud. Jackson, Mississippi hosts the yearly USA International Ballet Competition which features the top aspiring dancers from all over the world.
Mississippi’s location on the Gulf of Mexico is responsible for its temperate climate. If you’re into water sports, it doesn’t get much better than the Gulf or the Mississippi River. But you also have your choice of 24 state parks for fishing, hiking, camping, and all things outdoors. You can golf year round, though you may want to bundle up at times during the winter.
The state is home to over 50 colleges, universities and technical schools. The state is also actively seeking out retirees; it has a “retirement attraction program” which evaluates and ranks cities to help increase their livability for retirees.
Most importantly, Mississippi needs doctors. Mississippi ranks last in the nation, at roughly 185 doctors per 100,000 residents. The University of Mississippi just opened a school of medicine in Jackson. This is to help increase the number of physicians but they are years away from graduating.
Mississippi Stats:
Montana is more than Big Sky Country—it’s big everything. The fourth largest state in the country is almost the least populated (48th in the country). This means plenty of elbow room. You’ll find some of the nation’s most stunning national parks here. These include Glacier National Park, parts of Yellowstone, and the Little Bighorn Battlefield. It’s home to over three million acres of wilderness spread across 12 National Wilderness Preserve System. Montana is pristine country and intends to stay that way.
Montana ranked #7 overall in Wallethub’s survey and came in fourth for opportunity and competition. It finished about the middle of the pack for medical environment. This is probably due to its malpractice premiums and seemingly sparse population. Don’t let the density numbers fool you—Montana has plenty of cities and big towns to set up a thriving practice.
The cost of living is on par with the U.S. average. It’s got low property taxes, no sales tax, and home prices well below the national average. Billings Clinic is the largest employer in Montana and most professionals in the state are in the healthcare industry.
It’s also a great place to raise your kids. The state has an 86% graduation rate and the state universities have some of the lowest tuition costs. Downside: Winters are cold and you’ll need four-wheel drive.
That being said, Montanans revel in their weather. They are outdoor people. Hunting and fishing are top activities, and hiking, camping, skiing, snowboarding and anything outside follow closely behind. Summers are getting warmer but there’s snow on the mountains almost all year round.
If you’re ready to live in one of the most scenic, rugged parts of the country, Montana is for you.
Montana Stats:
Tennessee is a stealth leader in the medical field. Home of St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis and the Oak Ridge National Research Lab, it is often overshadowed by the flashier states. But Tennessee is one of our favorite places for physicians to live and work—actually for anyone to live and work.
Tennessee is a “Steady Eddie.” It landed solidly in Wallethub’s rankings: 14th in opportunity and competition and 15th in medical environment. We also like it because it has low malpractice claim payouts (9th lowest in the country) and one of the lowest costs of living in the country (ranked #7).
Eight Fortune 500 companies are based in Tennessee and Nashville alone has more than 300 health-related companies. Most Americans don’t realize how centrally located Tennessee is. Close to 60% of the country’s population is located within a day’s drive, which is why companies like FedEx are based there. CNBC ranked it the 9th best state in the country for business.
Tennessee’s natural environment shines, too, from the Mississippi River on its western border to the Smoky Mountains in the east. Its year-round mild climate allows Tennesseans to enjoy all four seasons without suffering the extremes of any.
Twenty percent of the population since 2008 was born outside of the south and people are moving there from Florida, California, and several northern states due to the low cost of living and the upswing in the state’s economy. You can’t talk about Tennessee without talking about music. Memphis was home to Sun Records, Elvis, Johnny Cash, W.C. Handy, and Roy Orbison among many others. Dolly Parton’s Dollywood in Pigeon Forge brings in millions of visitors a year, as do the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, the Memphis Rock ‘N’ Soul Museum, the Rockabilly and the Country Music Halls of Fame.
Tennessee Stats:
Oh yeah, bring your long underwear! North Dakota is the place to chill. Ranking 11th overall in Wallethub’s Best & Worst States for Doctors, North Dakota moves up to #7 on our list. North Dakota is BOOMING due to oil and with that comes growth in the technology, research, and manufacturing sectors.
The population has grown 15% since 2000. North Dakota has what other states want: jobs. The population influx has created a need for all sorts of services and professions, not the least of which is physicians.
The state is the second lowest in the country for malpractice payouts, has a top personal income tax bracket of 2.9%, and a very affordable cost of living. It’s also a solid place to raise your kids: North Dakota ranks 16th overall in K-12 public education and #6 in higher education according to U.S. News Best States Survey.
Most of the state is flat, making for wide open spaces, but when you hit the buttes and crags of the Badlands, youare in for some awe-inspiring beauty. (And one challenging round of golf at the Bully Pulpit Golf Course.)
The Badlands of North Dakota made Teddy Roosevelt the man he was and it is a rugged testing ground for men and women alike. But North Dakota has achieved a level of sophistication and downright hip-ness that makes it a bit of a sleeper and a cool discovery for people in the know. North Dakotans will tell you they knew it was a great place to live all along.
North Dakota Stats:
Alabama ranked 9th overall in Wallethub’s survey, as well as 9th in medical environment. You’ll like Alabama for its low malpractice premium payouts (8th lowest in country) and low cost of living (12th in the country).
Mild winters, downright pleasant springs and autumns compensate for the hot, sticky summers. You’ll find some of the most beautiful beaches in the country on Alabama’s Gulf Coast.
There is a great divide in Alabama which will structure most of your social life: Are you for Auburn or Alabama? Choose carefully. College football is huge here.
If you’re a golf enthusiast, you have found nirvana. The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail stretches from Huntsville in the north all the way down to Mobile. The 11 sites have a total of 468 holes. The Judge Course in Prattville has been named as one of Golf Magazine’s top 10 public courses in the country, worthy of hosting the U.S. Open, and Zagat ranked it in its top 50.
Weird fact: Alabama has a ski resort. Sure, it’s mostly artificial snow, but it’s a great place to learn and keep in form. Cloudmont Ski Resort is close to the mountain town of Mentone, perched on Lookout Mountain, as is Little River Canyon National Preserve which is a great destination for hiking and camping.
Worried about a lack of culture? The Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery is one of the largest in the world. Writers and artists flock to the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay to the town of Fairhope, founded as a Utopian community in the 19th century (think Walden Pond South). Residents have included Jimmy Buffett, Fanny Flagg, Winston Groom, and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Rick Bragg.
Alabama Stats:
If you’re thinking cheese, you’re on target. The state ranks first in cheese-making, and dairy farming is a major component of the state’s industry. Paper and printing make up a large proportion of the state’s industrial sector and manufacturing is going strong. Beer-making was one of the state’s first industries and by the 1890s, almost every town had at least one functioning brewery. That tradition is kept alive today by small craft brewers.
From a physician’s standpoint, Wisconsin tops the list of least expensive medical malpractice insurance premiums, just one of the reasons it came in #4 overall in Wallethub’s survey. It ranked #2 in the country for its medical environment and #10 overall in opportunity and competition. Wisconsin ranks #2 in the nation for fostering entrepreneurial growth.
Compared to other states, the cities are relatively small: Milwaukee is the largest city in the state with 600,000 residents. Madison, the state’s capital and home of the University of Wisconsin, follows with 250,000 and Green Bay with 105,000. All the other cities have fewer than 100,000 residents. Even the cities have a small town feel.
The state’s median household income is close to the national average, with the cost of living and unemployment running just below the national average.
Wisconsinites are fun people—what else would you expect from the state that boasts that it is “home of the Butterburger” and has inhabitants who proudly claim to be Cheeseheads? More than a quarter of Wisconsin’s adults have bachelor’s degrees or higher. In addition the University of Wisconsin’s 13 campuses, the state is home to basketball powerhouse Marquette University, the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design.
Wisconsin Stats:
Want to feel centered? Try Kansas, it’s the geographic center of the United States. Known as America’s Breadbasket, Kansas produces one-fifth of all the wheat grown in the country. Kansas scored fifth on Wallethub’s rankings both overall and for medical environment. It ranked sixth in opportunity and competition and made it to #4 on our Top Ten List.
If the low cost of living (8th in the country) isn’t enough for you, Kansas is also one of the least expensive states for malpractice insurance premiums. Kansas has a shortage of physicians, ranking 40th out of 50 states in the 2015 Physician Workforce Databook (Association of American Medical Colleges).
Kansas is not all farmland. The energy and aerospace industries are growing, and you’ll see wind farms alongside the wheat crops. The state expects to hit 5,000 megawatts of wind power this year and is on target to generate half of its electricity from wind by the end of 2018.
If you’re looking for hills, you will NOT like Kansas. In fact, it’s literally flatter than an IHOP pancake. But it makes hiking through the state’s 24 parks that much easier.
Kansas is an interesting mix of old and new, simple pleasures and cutting edge culture. It’s steeped in old west history: Both Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp worked as lawmen in Dodge City and Wild Bill Hickok was a marshal in Hays and Abilene. Authors Langston Hughes, Damon Runyon, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Sara Paretsky were either born or lived in Kansas, using it as a back drop in some of their books. Kansas also raises leaders and adventurers: Amelia Earhart was born here, as was Dwight D. Eisenhower. It grows musicians, too, from rockers Melissa Etheridge and the band Kansas, to talents as diverse as Burt Bacharach, Charlie Parker, and Martina McBride.
Kansas Stats:
Minnesota was ranked #2 overall by Wallethub in Best & Worst States for Doctors and #3 overall by U.S. News Best States survey. The most northern of the 48 contiguous states, Minnesota is a great place to live for anyone, not just physicians. Minnesota’s standard of living index is among the highest in the nation, and the state also ranks well among the wealthiest and highest educated areas in the country.
With a higher than national average median income, the cost of living is a bit higher than most areas, but only negligibly so. In addition, it ranks 8th in opportunity and competition for physicians and malpractice premiums are relatively low. Minnesotans are less inclined to sue for malpractice than in most other states. It could be that Midwestern sense of fair play. Minnesotans also believe in taking care of themselves: they rank #4 in the nation for health insurance enrollment and are ranked #3 in the nation overall in health care.
Minnesota’s population is increasing and is expected to shift to an older demographic over the next few decades. It has the nation’s second highest labor force participation and the health care sector is responsible for the largest percentage of employment.
It’s also a great place to raise smart kids. Minnesota ranks #3 and #6 in NAEP math and reading scores respectively. Carleton College ranks nationally in U.S. News’ college rankings (#7 National Liberal Arts Colleges) and the state boasts several well-ranked regional colleges and universities.
The land of 10,000 lakes is being modest – there are almost 12,000 lakes in Minnesota. Outside of the cities there are plenty of wide open spaces for the outdoor enthusiast. Not surprisingly, winter sports are big here—with an average of 70 inches of snowfall per year, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, and ice fishing are big. Don’t worry—it warms up in the summer and you can enjoy all your summer sports without overheating.
Minnesota Stats:
Idaho ranked #3 overall in Wallethub’s 2017 survey, coming in third in the opportunity and competition rankings and eleventh in medical environment. We like it because it has a growing population, up over 300,000 people since 2000, possibly spurred by its low cost of living, coming in at the sixth lowest state COLA in the nation. Idaho ranks 50th nationwide in terms of family doctors per capita, so physicians are needed and welcome here.
Idaho itself is an outdoor enthusiast’s dream. The Gem State has a wide range of climates that result in something for everyone: mountain ranges and canyons, fertile lowlands, and actual desert. The state lies to the west of the Continental Divide and its weather is influenced by the Pacific Ocean and prevailing westerly winds, which contributes to a slightly warmer winter than other states at the same latitude.
A countless number of lakes and rivers enhance the outdoor experience. Larger recreational lakes are scattered throughout the state: lakes Pend Oreille, Couer d’Alene, and Priest in the Panhandle, as well as Payette, Henry and Bear Lakes to name a few. They provide plenty of opportunities for all water sports and some of the best trout fishing in the country. And, to many people’s surprise, Idaho even has a seaport, Lewiston, on the Snake River.
Downside: Out of our top ten places, Idaho has the highest malpractice claim payouts, but they are still less than half the amount paid out by the most expensive states.
Idaho Stats:
Iowa had an overall ranking of #1 in WalletHub.com’s 2017 Best & Worst States for Doctors survey, but there are several more reasons why Iowa made it to the top of our list.
While WalletHub’s research took malpractice premiums and payouts into consideration, it should be noted that Iowa is one of the five top states for least expensive malpractice premiums. It also has one of the lowest per capita malpractice payouts in the nation at $6.71 per capita. It came in second to South Dakota in physicians’ opportunity and compensation but scored sixth out of 50 states in medical environment. (South Dakota came in 42nd in this category which knocked it out of the running for our Top 10.)
Iowa also made the Top 10 Best States to Live in U.S. News annual survey of states at #6. It ranks 15th in the nation on cost of living, making your dollars go further. It’s ranked as one of the safest places to live and has a diverse economy led by agriculture, construction, and manufacturing. Over 90% of Iowans are high school graduates or above, which may be one reason for their low unemployment rate: only 3.8%. The median household income is $53,000 and over 70% of Iowans own rather than rent their homes. All this adds up to a stable, dependable foundation where you can grow your business and enjoy your life.
Downside: Personal income tax rates that range from 0.6% to 8.98%.
Iowa Stats:
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