Skip to main content

Doc Compensation Leads Another Top Pay List

Analysis  |  By John Commins  
   September 19, 2019

Healthcare-related professions were the top four earners on Glassdoor's annual highest-paying jobs list.

For the third straight year, physicians sit atop Glassdoor's 25 Highest Paying Jobs in America, with a median base salary of $193,415.

Healthcare-related professions own the top four spots on the annual list, put out by the online job listing and recruiting site, including: pharmacy manager, with a median base salary of $144,768; dentist, $142,478; and pharmacist, $126,438. Physician assistant is No. 8, at $113,855, and nurse practitioner is No. 11, at $109,481.

Glassdoor's estimate for physician compensation is more than three-and-a-half times higher than the median U.S. base salary of $53,950.

In 2018 and 2017, physicians also topped Glassdoor's list, with median base salaries of $195,842, and $187,876, respectively. No explanation was given for why the median base salary for physicians dropped by $2,427 over the past year.

The relatively high salaries in the healthcare sector could be attributed to demand. Glassdoor reported that there 3,729 job openings on its site for physicians on its site as of late August. Physician assistants and nurse practitioners also were in high demand, with 11,008, and 17,572 job openings, respectively.

To make Glassdoor's Top 25 list, job titles must get at least 100 salary reports shared by U.S.-based employees over the past year. Glassdoor also uses a proprietary statistical algorithm to estimate annual median base pay, which controls for location, seniority and other factors.

The number of job openings per job title represents active job listings on Glassdoor. The report takes groups similar job titles, and C-suite jobs are excluded.

Glassdoor's estimates on physician median base salary is much lower than other lists of physician compensation.

For example, an American Medical Group Association survey in August identified the top mean compensation among physician specialists, led by orthopedic surgeons, $591,245; gastroenterologists, $527,998; general cardiologist, $519,964; diagnostic radiologists (MD non-interventional) $482,599; and urologist, $469,755.

The five lowest-paying specialties for AMGA's mean compensation were urgent care, $283,787; internal medicine hospitalists, $293,252; neurology, $310,518; general obstetrics/gynecology, $340,388; and emergency medicine, $363,201.

John Commins is a content specialist and online news editor for HealthLeaders, a Simplify Compliance brand.


KEY TAKEAWAYS

Glassdoor's $193,415 estimate for physician median base salary is more than three-and-a-half  times higher than the median U.S. base salary of $53,950.

Physician assistant is No. 8 on Glassdoor's list, at $113,855, and nurse practitioner is No. 11, at $109,481.

Glassdoor's estimates on physician median base salary is much lower than other lists of physician compensation.


Get the latest on healthcare leadership in your inbox.