In 2025, physician compensation rose by about 3%, reversing course after slow pay growth in previous years, an April 10 Medscape report found.
Medscape surveyed 5,916 full-time physicians across 29 specialities between September 5 and December 17, 2025 for its “‘A Return to Normalization’: Physician Compensation Report 2026.” The company also used data from its 2024 version of the survey for these specialties: allergy and immunology, critical care, infectious disease, nephrology, otolaryngology, plastic surgery, public health and preventive medicine, pulmonary medicine and rheumatology.
Despite rising pay, 61% of respondents said they believe physicians as a whole are underpaid.
Rising compensation rates varied by specialty. Pathology had the lowest increase at 1%, while cardiology had the highest increase at 10%. Eight specialties made over $500,000, and seven — physical medicine and rehabilitation, nephrology, dermatology, oncology and hematology, pulmonary medicine, allergy and immunology, and psychiatry — saw pay decreases over 2024.
Average physician pay also varies by region, with physicians in the Midwest making the most on average at $400,000, followed by the West at $390,000, the South at $381,000 and the North at $375,000.
Here are the 29 specialities ranked by their average total compensation:
- Orthopedics & orthopedic surgery: $611K
- Cardiology: $575K
- Radiology: $571K
- Plastic surgery: $554K
- Anesthesiology: $543K
- Urology: $535K
- Gastroenterology: $530K
- Otolaryngology: $508K
- Oncology & hematology: $464K
- Dermatology: $448K
- Ophthalmology: $446K
- General surgery: $442K
- Critical care: $427K
- Emergency medicine: $421K
- Pulmonary medicine: $395K
- Pathology: $394K
- OB-GYN: $390K
- Physical medicine & rehabilitation: $359K
- Nephrology: $359K
- Neurology: $341K
- Psychiatry: $331K
- Allergy & immunology: $310K
- Internal medicine: $307K
- Family medicine: $288K
- Diabetes & endocrinology: $284K
- Rheumatology: $284K
- Infectious diseases: $282K
- Public health & preventive medicine: $277K
- Pediatrics: $266K
The post 29 physician specialties ranked by annual compensation: Medscape appeared first on Becker's Hospital Review | Healthcare News & Analysis.
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