On average, U.S. physicians' total annual compensation grew by about 3% from 2022 ($352,000) to 2023 ($363,000), with specialized physicians earning more than $100,000 higher on average than primary care physicians.
The findings are from Medscape's "2024 Physician Compensation Report," released April 12, which examined survey responses from 7,000 physicians across more than 29 specialties between Oct. 2 and Jan. 16.
The three highest-compensated specialties were orthopedics, plastic surgery and cardiology, while infectious disease, pediatric and diabetes/endocrinology physicians reported the lowest levels of compensation, according to the report.
Below are 29 physician specialties ranked by 2023 compensation, per Medscape:
1. Orthopedics (includes orthopedics and orthopedic surgery): $558,000
2. Plastic surgery: $536,000
3. Cardiology: $525,000
4. Urology: $515,000
5. Gastroenterology: $512,000
6. Radiology: $498,000
7. Dermatology: $479,000
8. Anesthesiology: $472,000
9. Oncology (includes hematology and oncology): $464,000
10. Otolaryngology: $459,000
11. General surgery: $423,000
12. Ophthalmology: $409,000
13. Critical care: $401,000
14. Pulmonary medicine: $397,000
15. Emergency medicine: $379,000
16. Pathology: $366,000
17. OB-GYN: $352,000
18. Neurology: $343,000
19 (tie). Nephrology: $341,000
19 (tie). Physical medicine and rehabilitation: $341,000
21. Psychiatry: $323,000
22. Allergy and immunology: $307,000
23. Rheumatology: $286,000
24. Internal medicine: $282,000
25. Family medicine: $272,000
26. Public health and preventive medicine: $263,000
27. Infectious diseases: $261,000
28. Pediatrics: $260,000
29. Diabetes and endocrinology: $256,000