Orthopedics and plastic surgery have traded the top two spots in Medscape’s annual Physician Compensation Report every year since 2021, and both specialties have seen compensation climb by more than $80,000 over that span.
Orthopedic surgeons now command an average of $611,000 annually, up 20% from five years ago, while plastic surgeons earn $554,000.
2025
• Orthopedics and orthopedic surgery: $611,000
• Cardiology: $575,000
• Radiology: $571,000
• Plastic surgery: $554,000
• Anesthesiology: $543,000
• Urology: $535,000
• Gastroenterology: $530,000
• Otolaryngology: $508,000
• Oncology and hematology: $464,000
• Dermatology: $448,000
2024
• Orthopedic and orthopedic surgery: $543,000
• Radiology: $520,000
• Plastic surgery: $516,000
• Cardiology: $506,000
• Anesthesiology: $499,000
• Gastroenterology: $495,000
• Urology: $485,000
• Otolaryngology: $473,000
• Oncology and hematology: $452,000
• Dermatology: $424,000
2023
• Orthopedics (includes orthopedics and orthopedic surgery): $558,000
• Plastic surgery: $536,000
• Cardiology: $525,000
• Urology: $515,000
• Gastroenterology: $512,000
• Radiology: $498,000
• Dermatology: $479,000
• Anesthesiology: $472,000
• Oncology (includes hematology and oncology): $464,000
2022
• Plastic surgery: $576,000
• Orthopedics: $557,000
• Cardiology: $490,000
• Otolaryngology: $469,000
• Urology: $461,000
• Gastroenterology: $453,000
• Dermatology: $438,000
• Radiology: $437,000
• Ophthalmology: $417,000
2021
• Plastic surgery: $526,000
• Orthopedics and orthopedic surgery: $511,000
• Cardiology: $459,000
• Urology: $427,000
• Otolaryngology: $417,000
• Radiology: $413,000
• Gastroenterology: $406,000
• Oncology: $403,000
• Dermatology: $394,000
• Ophthalmology: $379,000
The post The 10 highest-paying physician specialties in the last 5 years appeared first on Becker's Hospital Review | Healthcare News & Analysis.
