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 some of the top MCAT prep courses 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.
| Primary Care Physicians | Specialists | |
| 2020 Average | $243,000 | $346,000 |
| 2021 Average | $242,000 | $344,000 |
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?
Doctor salary by specialty
- Plastic Surgery – $526,000
- Orthopedics & Orthopedic Surgery – $511,000
- Cardiology – $459,000
- Urology – $427,000
- Otolaryngology – $417,000
- Radiology – $413,000
- Gastroenterology – $406,000
- Oncology – $403,000
- Dermatology – $394,000
- Ophthalmology – $379,000
- Anesthesiology – $378,000
- Surgery, General – $373,000
- Critical Care – $366,000
- Emergency Medicine – $354,000
- Pulmonary Medicine – $333,000
- Pathology – $316,000
- Ob/Gyn – $312,000
- Nephrology – $311,000
- Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation – $300,000
- Neurology – $290,000
- Rheumatology – $276,000
- Psychiatry – $275,000
- Allergy & Immunology – $274,000
- Internal Medicine – $248,000
- Infectious Diseases – $245,000
- Diabetes & Endocrinology – $245,000
- Pubic Health & Preventive Medicine – $237,000
- Family Medicine – $236,000
- Pediatrics – $221,000
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:
States with highest doctor salary
- Alabama – $348,000
- Kentucky – $340,000
- Oklahoma – $338,000
- Indiana – $337,000
- Missouri – $332,000
- South Carolina – $332,000
- Florida – $331,000
- Georgia – $330,000
- Iowa – $330,000
- Tennessee – $329,000
- Ohio – $325,000
- North Carolina – $325,000
- Louisiana – $323,000
- Nevada – $320,000
- Texas – $320,000
- Maryland – $315,000
- Arizona – $314,000
- Virginia – $314,000
- Pennsylvania – $313,000
- New Jersey – $312,000
- California – $311,000
- Illinois – $310,000
- Washington – $310,000
- Michigan – $308,000
- Colorado – $307,000
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.
