The average starting salary for all physicians has hit $419,000 in 2025-26, according to a Sept. 16 white paper from AMN Healthcare.
On top of base salaries, signing bonuses were offered in 87% of physician search engagements in 2025-26, averaging $49,306 — up from $38,215 in 2024-25.
Practice setting was a significant factor in salary, as the average starting salary for physicians in academic settings is $362,000, compared to $452,000 for non-academic physicians.
The “2026 Review of Physician and Advanced Practitioner Recruiting Incentives” report includes data from a representative sample of the 1,293 permanent physician and advanced practitioner search engagements from AMN Healthcare’s Physician Solutions division, which were ongoing or conducted between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026.
Here is the average starting salary in 2025-26 across 14 physician specialties, along with the year-over-year compensation change for each:
| Specialty | Starting salary (2025-26) | Starting salary (2024-25) | Year-over-year change |
| Gastroenterology | $654,000 | $552,000 | Increase of 18.5% |
| Urology | $638,000 | $521,000 | Increase of 22.5% |
| Radiology | $571,000 | $551,000 | Increase of 14.2% |
| Cardiology | $568,000 | $470,000 | Increase of 20.9% |
| Anesthesiology | $525,000 | $485,000 | Increase of 8.3% |
| Orthopedics | $507,000 | $576,000 | Decrease of 12% |
| Hematology and Oncology | $481,000 | $490,000 | Decrease of 1.8% |
| Neurology | $391,000 | $344,000 | Increase of 13.6% |
| Obstetrics and Gynecology | $374,000 | $371,000 | Increase of 0.8% |
| Hospitalist | $328,500 | $279,000 | Increase of 17.8% |
| Endocrinology | $291,000 | $268,000 | Increase of 8.6% |
| Family Medicine | $291,000 | $275,000 | Increase of 5.8% |
| Internal Medicine | $289,000 | $292,000 | Decrease of 1.2% |
| Pediatrics | $231,000 | $258,000 | Decrease of 10.6% |
