Salary guide
What do healthcare careers pay?
Average yearly pay for 24 careers in medicine, nursing, dentistry and research, from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the government's wage survey. Updated every spring; these are May 2025 figures.
- Highest paid Cardiologists $454,940 average a year, May 2025
- Fastest growing Nurse Anesthetists +6.5% a year since 2022
- Shortest path Registered Nurses 4 years of training after high school
Browse by career
Each career has its own page with the trend since 2022, the years of training it takes and how it compares. Figures are average yearly pay for people employed in the U.S.
Physicians
| Career | Average pay | Past year | Training after high school |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiologists | $454,940 | +5.2% | 14 years |
| Radiologists | $381,530 | +6.0% | 13 years |
| Anesthesiologists | $360,570 | +7.1% | 12 years |
| Dermatologists | $323,530 | -7.0% | 12 years |
| Emergency Medicine Physicians | $317,480 | -1.0% | 11 years |
| Pathologists | $285,420 | +7.3% | 12 years |
| OB/GYNs | $279,040 | -0.7% | 12 years |
| Psychiatrists | $269,940 | +0.3% | 12 years |
| Neurologists | $267,630 | -6.5% | 12 years |
| Internal Medicine Physicians | $267,200 | +1.7% | 11 years |
| Family Medicine Physicians | $255,820 | -0.4% | 11 years |
| Pediatricians | $212,110 | -4.6% | 11 years |
Surgeons
| Career | Average pay | Past year | Training after high school |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric Surgeons | $502,050 | +11.4% | 15 years |
| Surgeons | $373,930 | +0.7% | 13 years |
| Orthopedic Surgeons | $373,570 | +2.3% | 13 years |
| Ophthalmologists | $304,650 | +1.0% | 12 years |
Nursing
| Career | Average pay | Past year | Training after high school |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nurse Anesthetists | $248,320 | +7.2% | 8 years |
| Nurse Practitioners | $137,300 | +4.0% | 6 years |
| Registered Nurses | $101,420 | +3.0% | 4 years |
Dentistry
| Career | Average pay | Past year | Training after high school |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oral Surgeons | $346,490 | -3.8% | 12 years |
| Dentists | $191,350 | -2.4% | 8 years |
Physician assistants
| Career | Average pay | Past year | Training after high school |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician Assistants | $141,280 | +3.2% | 6¼ years |
Pharmacy and research
| Career | Average pay | Past year | Training after high school |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pharmacists | $140,920 | +2.7% | 6 years |
| Medical Scientists | $116,840 | +3.7% | 13 years |
About this data
All figures come from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which asks employers across the country what they pay. The average is the mean yearly wage of people employed in each job in May of the survey year; the latest figures are for May 2025.
The survey counts employees only, so doctors who run their own practice are not included, while doctors still in residency training can be; it also leaves out some of the bonuses and profit-sharing that physician surveys count. That is why reports such as Doximity's or Medscape's show higher numbers for doctors.
Trends start in 2022: BLS changed how it processes wages that year, so earlier figures do not compare. Small specialties such as pediatric surgery are estimated from few responses, so their year-to-year changes can be noise. Some specialties are counted in a group - neurosurgeons, general and plastic surgeons, for example, are all in surgeons.
Pay varies a lot by state, city, employer and experience. These numbers are a starting point for comparing careers, not a promise of what anyone will earn and not financial advice. Last checked 2026-09-23.
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