Physicians in seven top-paying specialties earn, on average, more than $500,000 per year, while physicians in the seven lowest-paying specialties earn, on average, less than $300,000 per year, according to a July 8 Medscape report.
“Comparing Your Pay Against Your Peers’: Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2025” surveyed 7,322 physicians across more than 29 specialties between Oct. 3, 2024, and Jan. 15, 2025. The report asked about average salary, incentives and other compensation metrics.
Here are 29 specialties, ranked by average annual pay:
Orthopedics and orthopedic surgery: $564,000
Plastic surgery: $544,000
Radiology: $526,000
Cardiology: $520,000
Gastroenterology: $513,000
Urology: $505,000
Anesthesiology: $501,000
Otolaryngology: $484,000
Oncology and hematology: $472,000
Dermatology: $454,000
General surgery: $434,000
Critical care: $418,000
Ophthalmology: $409,000
Pulmonary medicine: $402,000
Pathology: $388,000
Emergency medicine: $388,000
OB-GYN: $372,000
Nephrology: $363,000
Physical medicine and rehabilitation: $362,000
Psychiatry: $341,000
Neurology: $332,000
Allergy and immunology: $319,000
Internal medicine: $294,000
Rheumatology: $284,000
Family medicine: $281,000
Infectious diseases: $277,000
Diabetes and endocrinology: $274,000
Public health and preventive medicine: $269,000
Pediatrics : $265,000
