Physicians & surgeons

Detailed Occupation

Add Comparison

2017 Workforce

870k

Average Age

46.7

Average Salary

$224,052

Average Male Salary

$252,426

Average Female Salary

$174,345

About

Physicians & surgeons are most often employed by the Hospitals industry. The average yearly wage for Physicians & surgeons was $224,052 in 2017.

The locations that employ the most Physicians & surgeons are Upper East Side PUMA, NY, Philadelphia City (Center City) PUMA, PA, and Near North Side, Loop & Near South Side PUMA, IL. The locations with a relatively high concentration of Physicians & surgeons are Philadelphia City (Center City) PUMA, PA, Newton City & Brookline Town PUMA, MA, and St. Louis County (Central) PUMA, MO.

Photo by World Bank Photo Collection

Management, business, science, & arts occupations Healthcare practitioners & technical occupations

Employment and salary information for the Physicians & surgeons workforce. Physicians & surgeons workforce in 2017 was 870,233 people, of which 36.3% were women and 63.7% were men. Physicians & surgeons are paid most in Ontario & Yates Counties PUMA, NY but are relatively concentrated in Philadelphia City (Center City) PUMA, PA.

Employment Over Time

Metric

Grouping

553,992

Male Workforce

± 18.2k

316,241

Female Workforce

± 13.8k

The Physicians & surgeons workforce in 2017 was 870,233 people (36.3% women and 63.7% men). This implies an average annual growth of 4.75% between 2014 (830,736) and 2017 (870,233).

Employment by Location

Level

Metric

This map shows the states in the United States shaded by average wage for Physicians & surgeons.

During 2017, the states that concentrated the best average annual wage were Minnesota ($254,890), Kansas ($252,456), and Wisconsin ($249,109).

Yearly Wage Ranking

$224,052

AVERAGE WAGE

#1 in the ranking (2017)

$59,596

NATIONAL AVERAGE WAGE

For all occupations across the US

In 2017, Physicians & surgeons earned an average of $224,052, $164,456 more than the average national salary of $59,596

Physicians & surgeons are the highest paid occupation in the US followed by Dentists. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Physicians & surgeons as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

Gender

0.344

WAGE GINI

In 2017, Physicians & surgeons had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.344, which is lower than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Physicians & surgeons (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

The graphic shows the distribution of average salaries by buckets for Physicians & surgeons compared to the entire workforce in the country.

Industry

Information on the industries that employ Physicians & surgeons and on wages for those in the field. Hospitals is the industry that employs the most Physicians & surgeons, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Physicians & surgeons, by average wage, is Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing ($327,210).

Occupations by Industries

Metric

Value

870k

2017 Workforce

± 22,833

1.95%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 3.66%

This graphic shows the share of Physicians & surgeons employed by various industries. Hospitals employs the largest share of Physicians & surgeons at 53.9%, followed by Offices of physicians with 38.3% and Outpatient care centers with 7.7%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Physicians & surgeons in the US. The workforce of Physicians & surgeons in 2017 was 870,233 people, with 36.3% woman, and 63.7% men. The average age of male Physicians & surgeons in the workforce is 49 and of female Physicians & surgeons is 42.7, and the most common race/ethnicity for Physicians & surgeons is White.

Gender and Age

Metric

The workforce of Physicians & surgeons in 2017 was 870,233 people, with 36.3% woman, and 63.7% men.

The age ranges that concentrated the largest workforce were 30 to 34 years (121,201 people), 35 to 39 years (117,447 people), and 40 to 44 years (111,064 people). Among them they concentrated 40.2% of the total workforce.

Ethnicity

Gender

In 2017, 6.36% of Physicians & surgeons workers were Hispanic and 93.6% non-Hispanic.

The treemap shows the distribution of Hispanic workers according to their origin, highlighting Mexican (47.5%), Puerto Rican (27.3)%, and Cuban (25.2)%

You can review this information by gender using the selectors above.

Races

In 2017, 70.2% of the Physicians & surgeons workforce were White, of which 33.1% were women and 66.9% men. Other races that concentrated a significant number of workers were Asian (21%) and Black (5.33%).

Education & Skills

Data on higher education choices for Physicians & surgeons from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Physicians & surgeons is Biology but the most specialized major according to RCA in 2017 were Biology.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

Type of Majors

Degree

The most common majors achieved by Physicians & surgeons in 2017 (counting all academic degrees) were Biology (398,789 people), Health (113,638 people), and Physical Sciences (73,934 people).

You can review this information for different academic grades by modifying the option selected in the selector above.

Education Levels

Metric

The main educational levels achieved by the Physicians & surgeons workers were Graduate Degree (851,405 people), Bachelors Degree (14,726 people), and High School or Equivalent (1,807 people).

The graphic shows the Physicians & surgeons workforce by gender and educational level.