Doctors have been considered some of the highest-paid people in America, and rightly so. Federal government studies put them at the top of this totem poll, which they share only with attorneys. However, the range of what doctors make varies, both by location and specialty. Doctors in one specialty make almost $800,000 a year on average.
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According to the 2023 Physician Compensation Report, average annual physician compensation is about $400,000. One large difference is where doctors work. The highest-paid doctors are those who work in Charlotte, N.C., at $461,000. The metro where doctors make the least is Washington, D.C., at $342,000. (These states have the fewest doctors per person.)
Broken out by compensation, neurosurgeons make the most money, an average of $788,000. Thoracic surgeons are second at $707,000. Surgeons take up most of the top positions ranked by pay.
The lowest-paid doctors are pediatric endocrinologists, who average $218,000. They are followed by pediatric infectious disease doctors.
These are the highest and lowest-paid specialties in America:
- Neurosurgery ($788,313)
- Thoracic Surgery ($706,775)
- Orthopaedic Surgery ($624,043)
- Plastic Surgery ($571,373)
- Vascular Surgery ($557,632)
- Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery ($556,642)
- Radiation Oncology ($547,026)
- Cardiology ($544,201)
- Urology ($505,745)
- Radiology ($503,564)
- Gastroenterology ($496,667)
- Otolaryngology (ENT) ($488,536)
- Dermatology ($468,509)
- Anesthesiology ($462,506)
- General Surgery ($451,489)
- Ophthalmology ($449,315)
- Oncology ($447,312)
- Colon & Rectal Surgery ($445,685)
- Pulmonology ($400,650)
- Nuclear Medicine ($392,196)
- Rheumatology ($299,790)
- Internal Medicine ($293,894)
- Occupational Medicine ($292,814)
- Infectious Disease ($288,607)
- Pediatric Emergency Medicine ($287,635)
- Pediatric Gastroenterology ($282,853)
- Endocrinology ($276,548)
- Geriatrics ($275,704)
- Preventive Medicine ($275,068)
- Child Neurology ($273,167)
- Family Medicine ($273,040)
- Medicine/Pediatrics ($270,396)
- Pediatric Pulmonology ($263,742)
- Medical Genetics ($244,107)
- Pediatrics ($242,832)
- Pediatric Nephrology ($238,208)
- Pediatric Hematology & Oncology ($237,005)
- Pediatric Rheumatology ($226,186)
- Pediatric Infectious Disease ($221,126)
- Pediatric Endocrinology ($218,266)
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