Montana, South Dakota and Idaho are the top three places for physicians to practice in the U.S., according to a WalletHub ranking published March 20. The worst places to practice this year are Hawaii, Rhode Island and Alaska.
WalletHub's 2023 ranking is based on comparisons across two key dimensions: opportunity and competition, and medical environment. Within those dimensions, 19 metrics are considered, including average annual wage, hospitals per capita and quality of the public health system. WalletHub calculated each state's overall score using the weighted average across all metrics.
Fifteen best states for physicians:
1. Montana
2. South Dakota
3. Idaho
4. Wisconsin
5. Minnesota
6. Louisiana
7. Utah
8. Nebraska
9. Iowa
10. Indiana
11. Colorado
12. Alabama
13. Tennessee
14. Georgia
15. North Dakota
& the worst:
35. Arkansas
36. California
37. Florida
38. Vermont
39. Wyoming
40. Delaware
41. Maryland
42. Oregon
43. Pennsylvania
44. New York
45. Massachusetts
46. New Mexico
47. District of Columbia
48. New Jersey
49. Alaska
50. Rhode Island
51. Hawaii
Four other insights from the ranking:
- Montana, which ranks No. 1 overall, placed 11th for opportunity and competition and fourth for medical environment.
- Alabama ranked No. 1 in opportunity and competition, and 33rd for medical environment.
- Utah came in first place for medical environment but its ranking as 41 in opportunity and competition brought down its overall ranking to seven.
- Hawaii, the worst state to practice overall, placed last for opportunity and competition and came in at 43 for medical environment.
View the full ranking and scoring here.