Physicians & surgeons

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Total Workforce

906k

Average Age

46.8

Average Salary

$233,287

Average Male Salary

$264,139

Average Female Salary

$183,829

About

Physicians & surgeons are most often employed by the Hospitals industry. The average yearly wage for Physicians & surgeons was $233,287 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Physicians & surgeons by wage are Chief executives & legislators, Dentists, and Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers.

Physicians & surgeons are part of the Healthcare practitioners & technical occupations, along with Chiropractors, Dentists, Dietitians & nutritionists, Optometrists, Pharmacists, and 37 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Physicians & surgeons are Upper East Side PUMA, NY, Philadelphia City (Center City) PUMA, PA, and Newton City & Brookline Town PUMA, MA. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Physicians & surgeons are San Juan Municipio (Sur) PUMA, PR, Norfolk (Northeast) & Middlesex (Southeast) Counties (West of Boston City) PUMA, MA, and St. Louis County (Central) PUMA, MO.

Photo by World Bank Photo Collection

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

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Physicians & surgeons and on wages and locations 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. Physicians & surgeons are paid most in Cayuga & Onondaga (South) Counties PUMA, NY but are relatively concentrated in San Juan Municipio (Sur) PUMA, PR.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$233,287

AVERAGE SALARY

± $4,335

In 2017, Physicians & surgeons earned an average of $233,287, $179,398 more than than the average national salary of $53,888.

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

Wage Distribution

0.334

WAGE GINI

In 2017, Physicians & surgeons had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.334, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Physicians & surgeons (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Physicians & surgeons.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Physicians & surgeons

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Physicians & surgeons.

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Physicians & surgeons, by number of employees, are Hospitals, Offices of physicians, and Outpatient care centers.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Physicians & surgeons, by average wage, are Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing, Offices of dentists, and Employment services.

Industries by Share

906k

2017 Workforce

± 23,295

3.23%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 3.55%

The number of people employed as Physicians & surgeons has been growing at a rate of 3.23%, from 877,509 people in 2016 to 905,850 people in 2017.

This graphic shows the share of Physicians & surgeons employed by various industries. Hospitals employs the largest share of Physicians & surgeons at 49%, followed by Offices of physicians with 32.6% and Outpatient care centers with 7.26%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Physicians & surgeons in the US. The average age of male Physicians & surgeons in the workforce is 49.3 and of female Physicians & surgeons is 42.7, and the most common race/ethnicity for Physicians & surgeons is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

558k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 18,303

348k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 14,466

61.6% of Physicians & surgeons are Male, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Physicians & surgeons.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Physicians & surgeons

White (Non-Hispanic)
Asian (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)

64.8% of Physicians & surgeons are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 21% of Physicians & surgeons, Asian (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Physicians & surgeons.

Age by Gender

49.3

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.446

42.7

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.462

The median age of Physicians & surgeons is 46.8, and Male employees are generally 6.56 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

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 a relatively high number of Physicians & surgeons hold a major in Biology.

Majors

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

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Physicians & surgeons from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Physicians & surgeons need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension and Critical Thinking. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Physicians & surgeons need more than the average amount of Science, Systems Evaluation, and Service Orientation.