Doctor Salary by Specialty

Becoming a doctor is a dream for many people around the world. However, there are so many areas to choose from when deciding on a specialty that you may find it hard to determine which path is right for you. We will be breaking down the doctor salary by specialty in the guide below.

With the amount of time and effort you will need to invest in becoming a doctor, it is important to know about types of doctors and salaries.

In this article you will learn about the average doctor salary, who the highest paid doctors are, and the expected growth rate of each doctor specialty.

Summary: We broke down the doctor salary by specialty below. If you are interested in becoming a doctor after learning how much they make, consider a MCAT prep course to help you get into medical school.

Average Doctor Salary

Before we get into specific types of doctors and salaries, let’s first discuss the average doctor salary. In 2021, primary care physicians made $242,000 on average while specialists made $344,000 on average.

If this number makes you more interested in becoming a doctor, consider taking the MCAT. You can use our diagnostic MCAT test to see how you would do on the exam.

Types of Doctors and Salaries

As you can see in the table above, specialists have a higher average doctor salary than primary care physicians. But who are the highest paid doctors?

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As you can see, plastic surgeons are the highest paid doctors with an average salary of $526,000, which is $15,000 more than the next type of doctor.

Breaking down the doctor salary by specialty allows us to see the vast different in the average doctor salary. The top 3 specialties on this list earn above or near $500,000 while the bottom 3 specialties earn under $250,000 (which is still a lot of money).

Doctor Salary by State

We have seen the average doctor salary between primary care physicians and specialists and types of doctors and salaries so far. Let’s take it another step further and break down the doctor salary by state. View the states with the highest doctor salary below:

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Doctor Salary by Gender

Finally, let’s breakdown the average doctor salary by gender.

In regard to primary care, men earned $269,000 on average versus women who earned $211,000 on average. In regard to specialists, men earned $376,000 on average versus women who earned $283,000 on average.

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