Annual compensation of U.S. physicians by specialty 2024

Orthopedic doctors and surgeons earn on average 558 thousand U.S. dollars annually. This makes Orthopedic doctors and surgeons the most well-compensated physicians in the United States as of 2024, followed by plastic surgeons. Plastic surgeons were, by far, the highest earning physicians in the U.S. in 2023. An orthopedic physician specializes in injuries and diseases involving bones, muscles, joints, nerves and other parts of the musculoskeletal system.

Physician salary

Although orthopedic doctors and surgeons have the highest average annual salary, from 2023 to 2024 their compensation actually decreased by 3 percent. In comparison, compensation for physicians specialized in physical medicine and rehabilitation increased 11 percent during this time, while plastic surgeons saw the largest decrease of 13 percent. The region with the highest annual compensation for physicians was West North Central in 2024, with physicians earning some 404 thousand U.S. dollars in this region.

Characteristics of U.S. physicians

There are currently around 29.2 active physicians per 10,000 people in the U.S. Around 29 percent of physicians in the U.S. are aged between 56 and 65 years, while only 11 percent are 35 years or younger. The vast majority of physicians are employed by hospitals or groups and work an average of 51 hours per week.