Home › Occupations › Physician

Physicians, All Other Salary by State

There were an estimated 315,360 physicians in the BLS 'Physicians, All Other' category working in the United States in May 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey. The typical (median) physician earned $239,200+ a year, or $115.00+ an hour, while the mean annual wage was $239,200+. Pay spans a wide range even inside the same occupation: the lowest-paid 10% of physicians in the BLS 'Physicians, All Other' category earned $66,860 or less, the bottom quarter earned $95,080 or less, the top quarter earned at least $239,200+, and the top 10% earned at least $239,200+. Where a physician works matters almost as much as the job itself, as the state table below shows.

Where physicians in the BLS 'Physicians, All Other' category earn the most — and least

The highest median pay for physicians in the BLS 'Physicians, All Other' category is in Alabama, at $239,200+ a year — 0.0% higher than the national median of $239,200+. Next are Alaska at $239,200+ and Arkansas at $239,200+. At the other end, District of Columbia posts the lowest published median, $74,650, which is 68.8% lower than the national figure. That is a top-to-bottom spread of about 3.2 times between the highest- and lowest-paying states for the same occupation — a gap driven by local labor markets, licensing, employer mix, and cost of living rather than by differences in the job title itself.

Where the physician jobs are

Employment is concentrated in a handful of large states. Texas alone employs 32,740 physicians in the BLS 'Physicians, All Other' category, and the three largest states — Texas, Florida, and Ohio — together account for 24% of all U.S. jobs in this occupation. Pay in the largest market, Texas, runs at a median of $239,200+, 0.0% higher than the national median, so the biggest job market is also one of the better-paying ones. Smaller states can still be attractive: several low-population states post medians close to the national figure with far less competition for each opening.

Physician salary by state — full table

Median and mean annual wages for physicians in the BLS 'Physicians, All Other' category in every state where BLS publishes an estimate for May 2024, ranked by median pay. The 90th-percentile column shows what the top-earning tenth of physicians in the BLS 'Physicians, All Other' category in each state make. Follow a state link for that state's full wage tables, or open a detailed guide where one is available.

Physician wages in U.S. territories

Physician specialties compared

BLS does not publish one combined physician wage; it reports each specialty separately. The state table on this page covers Physicians, All Other, the largest single category at 315,360 jobs. For comparison, the published specialty categories are:

How to read these numbers

The median is the middle wage: half of physicians in the BLS 'Physicians, All Other' category earn more and half earn less. The mean is pulled up by the highest earners, which is why the mean of $239,200+ sits above the median of $239,200+ for this occupation. OEWS wages are gross pay before taxes and benefits, and BLS converts hourly rates to annual figures on a 2,080-hour, year-round full-time basis; part-time and seasonal workers' actual annual earnings can be lower. Figures marked with a plus sign are at or above the BLS reporting cap of $239,200 a year ($115.00 an hour).

Physician salary FAQ

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024 — bls.gov/oes. Figures checked October 2026.