Healthcare Pay: Physicians, Nurses, Pharmacists and Other Roles (US Data)
US wage data for physicians by specialty, nursing roles, pharmacists, therapists and managers, with notes on what the figures leave out.
Published by SalaryBases. Drafted with AI assistance and revised to remove or reword figures we could not trace to a source. Not reviewed by a licensed professional. Pay figures come only from the official datasets named beside each table and apply only to the country, year and definition stated there. Methodology
Healthcare pay varies more by profession and specialty than by almost any other factor. This guide replaces our separate pages on doctors, nurses and pharmacists with one set of verified US figures. It covers the United States only: we removed the unverified international figures the earlier pages carried.
Physicians
| Occupation (SOC) | 10th pct. | Median | 90th pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family Medicine Physicians (29-1215) | $76,830 | $244,180 | $428,550 |
| General Internal Medicine Physicians (29-1216) | $73,570 | $256,560 | $475,430 |
| Pediatricians, General (29-1221) | $91,470 | $210,040 | $338,500 |
| Psychiatrists (29-1223) | $84,060 | $281,870 | $446,520 |
| Anesthesiologists (29-1211) | $101,460 | $391,490 | $557,130 |
| Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric (29-1242) | $84,170 | $358,550 | $659,290 |
| Cardiologists (29-1212) | $107,190 | $496,010 | $712,130 |
| Emergency Medicine Physicians (29-1214) | $103,610 | $335,550 | $495,910 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Scope: United States, national estimates, all industries, annual wages in US dollars (retrieved 9 October 2026). The median is the middle wage: half of the workers in the occupation earn more and half earn less; 10th/90th percentile mean 10% earn less/more. The survey covers wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments and excludes the self-employed, overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, equity and employer benefit costs. BLS methodology.
Specialty matters a great deal in these data. The median for cardiologists ($496,010) is about twice the median for family medicine physicians ($244,180), and anesthesiologists ($391,490) and orthopedic surgeons ($358,550) also sit well above primary care.
Three cautions apply:
- The survey covers employees. Many physicians are self-employed or own part of their practice, so the table is not a measure of their total earnings.
- The 10th percentile figures are much lower than the medians. Resident physicians, part-time doctors and early-career employed doctors are among the people in the lower part of each range.
- The employment model changes what pay means: employed salary, partnership share, productivity-based arrangements and locum work are paid and taxed differently.
Physicians also complete medical school and residency before practising independently, and many US medical graduates carry education debt. Programmes such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness and the NHSC Loan Repayment Program exist for some clinicians who work for qualifying employers or in high-need areas; check the current eligibility rules.
Nurses
| Occupation (SOC) | 10th pct. | Median | 90th pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses (29-2061) | $49,740 | $64,400 | $83,440 |
| Registered Nurses (29-1141) | $68,940 | $97,550 | $137,470 |
| Nurse Practitioners (29-1171) | $101,340 | $132,300 | $174,420 |
| Nurse Anesthetists (29-1151) | $155,250 | $236,590 | $339,500 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Scope: United States, national estimates, all industries, annual wages in US dollars (retrieved 9 October 2026). The median is the middle wage: half of the workers in the occupation earn more and half earn less; 10th/90th percentile mean 10% earn less/more. The survey covers wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments and excludes the self-employed, overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, equity and employer benefit costs. BLS methodology.
Registered nurses have a median of $97,550. Nurse practitioners ($132,300) and nurse anesthetists ($236,590) earn more; the nurse anesthetist median is more than twice the registered nurse median. These are different roles with different training, not a pay scale a nurse moves along automatically.
The survey excludes overtime and shift differentials, which are a real part of many nurses' pay, so take-home pay can differ from these figures. Travel and agency contracts are paid on different terms again.
Pharmacists, therapists, dentists and managers
| Occupation (SOC) | 10th pct. | Median | 90th pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pharmacists (29-1051) | $99,290 | $140,910 | $174,230 |
| Physician Assistants (29-1071) | $99,380 | $135,880 | $190,280 |
| Physical Therapists (29-1123) | $77,140 | $102,760 | $135,140 |
| Occupational Therapists (29-1122) | $71,690 | $100,330 | $131,950 |
| Respiratory Therapists (29-1126) | $63,660 | $82,280 | $118,050 |
| Dentists, General (29-1021) | $86,250 | $170,950 | $319,630 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers (11-9111) | $73,390 | $123,860 | $224,340 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Scope: United States, national estimates, all industries, annual wages in US dollars (retrieved 9 October 2026). The median is the middle wage: half of the workers in the occupation earn more and half earn less; 10th/90th percentile mean 10% earn less/more. The survey covers wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments and excludes the self-employed, overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, equity and employer benefit costs. BLS methodology.
Pharmacists have a median of $140,910, with a 10th to 90th percentile range of $99,290 to $174,230. Physician assistants ($135,880), physical therapists ($102,760) and occupational therapists ($100,330) are in a similar band to registered nurses and above, while respiratory therapists have a median of $82,280. Medical and health services managers, who run clinics and departments, have a median of $123,860.
How healthcare pay is structured
- Hourly or salaried employment in hospitals and clinics, often with shift differentials and paid overtime for nursing and allied health.
- Call and productivity arrangements for many physicians.
- Sign-on bonuses and loan repayment at some employers, particularly in high-need areas.
- Public systems elsewhere in the world (for example national health services) usually publish national pay scales. If you are looking at pay outside the US, use the national health employer's current published scale rather than second-hand figures.
Putting this to use
Use the percentile range for your profession as a reality check, then compare the whole package: base, shift differentials, call, bonuses, loan repayment and benefits. The Job Offer Comparator and the Gross to Net calculator help with that. Our guide on benefits beyond salary lists items worth asking about.
Key takeaways
- Specialty drives physician pay: the cardiologist median is about twice the family medicine median in the US data.
- Nursing roles differ widely: registered nurse median $97,550, nurse practitioner $132,300, nurse anesthetist $236,590.
- The data exclude self-employed physicians, overtime and shift differentials, so they can understate real earnings for some people.
- This guide covers the US only; the unverified international figures were removed.
Sources used in this guide
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025: methodology and tables — Every wage figure in the tables above (each row links to its own BLS occupation profile).
- HRSA: NHSC Loan Repayment Program — Loan repayment for some clinicians who serve in high-need areas.
- Federal Student Aid: Public Service Loan Forgiveness — Loan forgiveness available to some public service employees.