What physicians are getting paid in 2026

The average U.S. physician is earning around $386,000 in total compensation annually, according to Medscape’s 2026 Physician Compensation Report. The average compensation for physicians increased by 3% in 2025. Physicians surveyed were slightly more likely to say they feel they are fairly paid compared to last year’s compensation report; however, the majority of physicians said they feel the profession as a whole is underpaid.

Primary care physicians and medical specialists saw similar growth in their pay. Eight specialties surpassed $500,000 in total average annual compensation, which includes base salary, incentive bonuses and other income.

Even with this rise in compensation, many physicians confided in Medscape that they still worry about inflation. Medscape shared quotes from a survey respondent and an expert who noted the high costs of living and doing business in the U.S., respectively. However, Medscape noted that physicians’ average 3% compensation increase did outpace 2025’s annualized core inflation rate of 2.7%.

To create the report, Medscape polled over 5,900 full-time practicing U.S. physicians across 29-plus specialties.

Average yearly compensation per specialty

Below is the average physician compensation for 2026 by specialty as reported by Medscape. Please note that to come up with the below numbers, Medscape estimated compensation based on a number of variables, including specialty, age, gender, geographic location and self-reported survey results.

These incomes are also based on full-time employment and include incentive bonuses.

Specialty	Current average annual compensation
Orthopedics/orthopedic surgery	$611,000
Cardiology	$575,000
Radiology	$571,000
Plastic surgery	$554,000
Anesthesiology	$543,000
Urology	$535,000
Gastroenterology	$530,000
Otolaryngology	$508,000
Oncology and hematology	$464,000
Dermatology	$448,000
Ophthalmology	$446,000
General surgery	$442,000
Critical care	$427,000
Emergency medicine	$421,000
Pulmonary medicine	$395,000
Pathology	$394,000
OB-GYN	$390,000
Physical medicine and rehabilitation	$359,000
Nephrology	$359,000
Neurology	$341,000
Psychiatry	$331,000
Allergy and immunology	$310,000
Internal medicine	$307,000
Family medicine	$288,000
Diabetes and endocrinology	$284,000
Rheumatology	$284,000
Infectious diseases	$282,000
Public health and preventive medicine	$277,000
Pediatrics	$266,000

Do physicians believe they’re paid fairly?

As a whole, Medscape found that 61% of physicians believe that those in the medical profession in general are underpaid in the U.S.

However, individually, just over half of the physicians surveyed told Medscape they believe they are paid fairly for their work.

Exactly half of primary care physicians and 53% of medical specialists feel they are fairly paid, meaning all physicians are roughly on the same page on this. This year’s numbers are a slight increase from last year, when 48% of respondents said they felt they were fairly paid.

One survey respondent noted that with the years of training required and the stress and liability physicians deal with, they should be paid more than what they are currently earning on average. Another said that while physicians have high incomes, they are often expected to work long hours, including hours of administrative tasks done at home after hours without pay.

Read the full report on the Medscape website (login required). 

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