Medscape surveyed 7,000 practicing physicians in the U.S. for the annual report. Physicians across 29 specialties participated in the online survey between Oct. 2 and Jan. 16.
Six key findings:
- Physicians saw total annual compensation grow about 3% on average last year, from $352,000 to $363,000. Primary care physicians saw a roughly 4% increase on average, while specialists saw a 3% rise in total compensation. Specialized physicians earned $394,000 on average in 2023, more than $100,000 higher than primary care physicians.
- The three top-paid specialties in 2023 were orthopedics ($558,000), plastic surgery ($536,000) and cardiology ($525,000). Physicians specializing in infectious disease ($261,000), pediatrics ($260,000) and diabetes and endocrinology ($256,000) reported the lowest compensation.
- When asked what they thought about physician pay in the U.S., the majority (61%) said they believed most physicians are underpaid. Five percent said they are overpaid. When asked about their own work demands, however, responses were more even. About 49% said they felt their compensation matches the demands of the job, while 51% said they are not compensated fairly.
- On average, male physicians earned 29% more than their female counterparts.
- Black physicians saw compensation grow roughly 7% last year — twice as fast as any other racial and ethnic group. However, they are still the lowest-compensated group, earning $37,000 less on average than white physicians.
- When looking at pay by region, physicians working in North Central states such as Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota reported the highest earnings — $404,000 on average.
View the full report here.