Pay varies widely within the nation's 6,000-plus hospitals.
Here is the average annual salary of 55 jobs within hospitals, presented in ascending order of compensation. Data is the most recent available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Health Affairs and Medscape.
- Janitors and cleaners: $29,972
- Orderlies: $29,990
- Nursing assistants: $30,310
- Cooks: $30,451
- Security guards: $31,470
- Pharmacy technicians: $36,740
- Emergency medical technicians, paramedics: $36,930
- Phlebotomists: $37,380
- Medical records and health information technicians: $45,240
- Surgical technologists: $48,530
- Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians: $57,800
- Healthcare social workers: $60,840
- Dietitians: $61,650
- Radiology techs: $61,980
- Public relations specialists: $62,800
- Registered nurses: $77,600
- Nuclear medicine technologists: $78,760
- Physical therapists: $95,620
- Medical and health service managers: $119,450
- Nurse practitioners: $120,680
- Physician assistants: $121,530
- Pharmacists: $128,570
- Public health physician: $243,000
- Pediatrician: $244,000
- Family medicine physician: $255,000
- Endocrinologist: $257,000
- Infectious disease specialist: $260,000
- Internist: $264,000
- Psychiatrist: $287,000
- Rheumatologist: $289,000
- Allergist and immunologist: $298,000
- Neurologist: $301,000
- Physical medicine and rehabilitation physician: $322,000
- Nephrologist: $329,000
- Rural hospital CEO: $332,800
- Pathologist: $334,000
- OB-GYN: $336,000
- Pulmonologist: $353,000
- Critical care physician: $369,000
- Emergency medicine physician: $373,000
- General surgeon: $402,000
- Anesthesiologist: $405,000
- Non-teaching hospital CEO: $409,760
- Oncologist: $411,000
- Ophthalmologist: $417,000
- Radiologist: $437,000
- Dermatologist: $438,000
- Gastroenterologist: $453,000
- Urologist: $461,000
- Otolaryngologist: $469,000
- Cardiologist: $490,000
- Orthopedic surgeon: $557,000
- Plastic surgeon: $576,000
- Urban hospital CEO: $663,520
- Major teaching hospital CEO: $1,100,320.00