Healthcare Recruiting
Physician Salary by Specialty in 2026: The Complete Compensation Guide
Physician Salary by Specialty in 2026
Physician compensation in 2026 spans a wider range than any other healthcare profession, from family medicine physicians earning $235,000-$270,000 to interventional cardiology subspecialists exceeding $700,000. Understanding what drives these gaps, how compensation is structured, and what benchmarks look like across specialties is critical for any physician evaluating a career change, negotiating a contract, or planning a relocation.
All figures below represent total cash compensation (base + wRVU productivity + bonuses) for employed physicians. Private practice and ownership paths have wider ranges.
Physician Salary by Specialty: Comprehensive Table
| Specialty | Avg Annual Compensation | Range (10th-90th pct) |
|---|---|---|
| Neurosurgery | $780,000-$870,000 | $520K-$1.2M+ |
| Orthopedic Surgery | $695,000-$780,000 | $480K-$1.05M |
| Interventional Cardiology | $695,000-$775,000 | $480K-$1.0M |
| Cardiovascular Surgery (CT Surgery) | $680,000-$760,000 | $465K-$980K |
| Radiation Oncology | $545,000-$625,000 | $380K-$820K |
| Gastroenterology | $530,000-$610,000 | $360K-$790K |
| Dermatology | $455,000-$535,000 | $305K-$720K |
| Ophthalmology | $430,000-$510,000 | $285K-$695K |
| Anesthesiology (MD) | $430,000-$510,000 | $315K-$680K |
| Radiology (Diagnostic) | $425,000-$500,000 | $295K-$660K |
| Urology | $420,000-$498,000 | $290K-$648K |
| ENT (Otolaryngology) | $398,000-$470,000 | $272K-$612K |
| Plastic Surgery | $395,000-$475,000 | $268K-$680K |
| General Surgery | $375,000-$450,000 | $262K-$595K |
| Oncology (Medical) | $365,000-$440,000 | $252K-$578K |
| Ob/Gyn | $320,000-$390,000 | $228K-$510K |
| Pulmonology / Critical Care | $320,000-$388,000 | $225K-$498K |
| Nephrology | $310,000-$378,000 | $220K-$488K |
| Infectious Disease | $262,000-$318,000 | $195K-$402K |
| Rheumatology | $268,000-$325,000 | $200K-$415K |
| Hospitalist (Hospital Medicine) | $278,000-$325,000 | $238K-$420K |
| Internal Medicine (outpatient) | $248,000-$290,000 | $215K-$368K |
| Pediatrics | $232,000-$275,000 | $198K-$352K |
| Psychiatry | $275,000-$330,000 | $215K-$438K |
| Family Medicine (outpatient) | $235,000-$278,000 | $208K-$358K |
What Drives the Specialty Salary Gap?
The difference between a family medicine physician at $250,000 and a neurosurgeon at $820,000 comes down to several factors:
wRVU value per service: Medicare and commercial payers assign work RVUs to physician services. Neurosurgical procedures carry very high wRVU values (a complex spine surgery may generate 30-60 wRVUs); an office visit generates 1.5-3.5 wRVUs. Proceduralists are structurally rewarded by the fee-for-service model.
Training length and opportunity cost: Neurosurgery requires 7+ years of residency + fellowship; family medicine requires 3 years. The additional training years represent delayed income and career investment that competitive compensation partially offsets.
Supply and demand: Procedural specialties have fewer training slots per year, keeping supply constrained. Primary care has more graduates but still faces undersupply in many markets.
Geographic distribution: Primary care physicians can practice in any market; subspecialists typically concentrate in metro areas near academic centers, creating geographic pay variation.
Compensation Structure: What to Understand Before You Sign
Physician employment contracts have several compensation components beyond base salary:
- Base salary: Guaranteed annual amount, often set at MGMA 50th-60th percentile for the specialty
- wRVU productivity bonus: Additional pay for production above a threshold; rate is $/wRVU above floor (often MGMA 50th-55th percentile production)
- Quality/value-based incentives: 5-20% of base salary contingent on patient satisfaction, readmission rates, preventive care metrics, or cost efficiency targets
- Sign-on bonus: Common for sought-after specialists; $25,000-$100,000+ depending on specialty and market
- Loan repayment: Many hospital employment contracts offer $10,000-$50,000/year in loan repayment for primary care and high-need specialties
Physician Salaries in Florida
Florida physician compensation runs close to national averages in most specialties, with the no-state-income-tax advantage representing a meaningful effective pay increase at all income levels. On a $280,000 FM physician salary, no state income tax saves $14,000 annually vs. a 5% state income tax; on a $500,000 specialist salary, the savings reach $25,000-$37,500 annually. Health systems throughout Florida, particularly in high-growth markets like Southwest Florida, Tampa Bay, and Central Florida, are actively recruiting across primary care and specialty physician roles with competitive packages that leverage the Florida tax advantage as a differentiator.
Hiring in this space?
Browse 1.4M+ verified providers across all 50 states
NPI-sourced, free, no account required. Filter by specialty + state in seconds.
Search the directory →Free tool
2026 Healthcare Salary Calculator
Estimate comp by specialty, state, experience, and practice setting. Based on MGMA, AMGA, and BLS benchmarks.
Try the salary calculator →Be on the launch list
Salary data, hiring plays, and market trends. We'll email you when issue 1 ships. Free, unsubscribe anytime.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. We never share your email.