Best states for doctors in 2017: Physicians Practice weighs in

The online publication Physicians Practice has released a report detailing the physician-friendliness of each U.S. state in 2017, using factors like cost of living, physician density and tax burden to rank states.

Physicians Practice joins other outlets, such as WalletHub and Medscape, that have also compiled “best states to practice” lists; taking different factors into account, each list ultimately came to different conclusions about the “best” states in which to practice medicine.

According to Physicians Practice, these are, in order, the top five best states to practice medicine in for 2017:

1. Mississippi
2. Texas
3. Alaska
4. California
5. Arkansas

Alaska physician J. Ross Tanner, DO, is profiled in Physician Practice’s coverage of the top five states. Dr. Tanner moved to Alaska in 2005 and went on to become the state’s first lipidologist, or cholesterol specialist. Drawn to the opportunities to embrace the great outdoors in Alaska, Dr. Tanner says the state also has a great deal of private practice opportunities and that he sees lower rates of burnout there.

For more on Physicians Practice’s report, you can see an interactive map with info on all 50 states here, and set your own weights to different factors to calculate your own personalized best states here.

Further reading

Best and worst states for doctors in 2017: See how your state stacks up: A WalletHub analysis considers physicians’ salary, competition, and CME requirements to rank “best” and “worst” states.

Stressed out? Medscape says you should move to one of these states: For Medscape’s 2017 best and worst states for doctors list, a new methodology tries to tease out which states may offer physicians more relief from burnout.