What physicians got paid in 2024

Taking a look back at 2024, the recently released Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2025 showed that on average, physician pay rose about 2.9%, one of the lowest observed compensation bump since Medscape’s first report on this in 2011.

According to the report, physicians earned, on average, $374,000. This year, seven specialties topped $500,000 in average pay: orthopedics/orthopedic surgery, plastic surgery, radiology, cardiology, gastroenterology, urology and anesthesiology.

Physicians’ 2.9% increase in pay is slightly lower than the 3.9% average pay increase for U.S. and Canadian employees in 2024.

When Medscape asked physicians whether they felt they were fairly paid, nearly half of doctors surveyed felt that their pay is not high enough to justify the stresses of the job and the sacrifices required. About six in 10 physicians felt that the profession overall is underpaid, though 71% agreed that their compensation at least covers, if not exceeds, their family’s living expenses, debts and retirement saving needs.

To create the report, Medscape surveyed over 7,300 physicians across 29-plus specialties between Oct. 3, 2024, and Jan. 15, 2025.

Below is the average reported physician compensation for 2024 by specialty. Please note that the incomes below come from self-reported survey results. These incomes are also based on full-time employment and include incentive bonuses.

Physicians’ average compensation for 2024 by specialty

Specialty:	Average compensation:
Orthopedics/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/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/preventive medicine	$269,000
Pediatrics	$265,000

The chart below shows average compensation changes across specialties.

Physicians’ compensation changes in 2024 by specialty

Specialty:	Compensation change:
Diabetes and endocrinology	+7%
Nephrology	+6%
Infectious diseases	+6%
Pathology	+6%
Physical medicine and rehabilitation	+6%
Anesthesiology	+6%
OB-GYN	+6%
Otolaryngology	+6%
Radiology	+5%
Psychiatry	+5%
Internal medicine	+4%
Critical care	+4%
Allergy and immunology	+4%
Family medicine	+3%
General surgery	+3%
Emergency medicine	+2%
Public health and preventive medicine	+2%
Pediatrics	+2%
Oncology and hematology	+2%
Plastic surgery	+1%
Pulmonary medicine	+1%
Orthopedics/orthopedic surgery	+1%
Cardiology	-1%
Urology	-2%
Neurology	-3%
Dermatology	-5%

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