Does Higher Physician Compensation Really Lead to Greater Satisfaction?

Physician compensation is shaped by a complex mix of factors - reimbursement rates, patient volume, hours worked, call schedules, payer mix and more. That’s why doctor salaries alone do not determine how satisfied they are with their pay. On Marit, the average satisfaction with compensation is 3.57★ out of 5, which is slightly above neutral. But how that satisfaction breaks down varies widely across the profession? Let's take a look.

Key Takeaways

💰 More pay doesn’t always mean more satisfaction. Specialties like Orthopedics, Cardiology, and Anesthesiology earn top salaries but report lower-than-average satisfaction.

😊 Lower-paid physicians can still feel well-compensated. PM&R, Psychiatry, and Nephrology score above average on satisfaction, despite modest pay.

🗺️ Geography matters. Physicians in states like Kentucky, Iowa, and Nevada report the highest satisfaction with compensation - while physician salaries in New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Michigan rank the lowest.

🏡 Rural beats big cities. Rural physicians report the highest satisfaction with their pay. Mega-city doctors? The lowest.

🏥 Practice setting is key. Self-employed physicians are the most satisfied. Academic and hospital-employed doctors lag behind.

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How does Satisfaction vary by Specialty?

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Satisfaction levels vary widely by specialty, ranging from 3.3★ to 3.9★ on average. At the lower end of the spectrum are specialties like Infectious Disease, OBGYN, and Pulmonology - fields that tend to pay below the national average across all specialties. At the higher end are Neurosurgery, Hematology Oncology, and Radiation Oncology, which are generally above average in terms of compensation.

Interestingly, while these satisfaction scores generally track with average pay - it isn't a perfect correlation. These aren’t the absolute lowest- or highest-paid specialties (e.g., Pediatrics tends to pay the lowest and Orthopedic surgery is one of the highest paid specialties), which suggests that satisfaction is influenced by more than just total compensation.

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How does Total Comp & Hours Worked affect Satisfaction?

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High Pay, Low Satisfaction: Where the Disconnect Happens

‍‍Several specialties stand out as clear outliers, ranking among the top-paid, yet reporting below-average satisfaction. One common thread is a higher-than-average workload, but each specialty also has its own story.

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For Anesthesiologists, average compensation is strong at $540K, but the combination of heavy workload and variable call schedules contributes to high burnout. Our full anesthesiologist salary deep dive explores these factors in more depth.

Cardiologist salaries average over $625K, yet satisfaction remains low. Burnout, demanding call schedules, and the long-term impact of Medicare reimbursement cuts have all taken a toll.

Oncologists face significant emotional strain from cancer care, and while pay remains high, year-over-year salary stagnation has eroded satisfaction across the specialty.

Orthopedic Surgeon Salaries sit near the top of the chart - earning around $750K, but many experienced a pay decline in 2024, pushing satisfaction levels downward.

Gastroenterologists earn an average of $590K, but despite their high income, they report one of the lowest satisfaction scores. Flat salary growth driven by CMS reimbursement cuts and increasing consolidation of GI practices by private equity, may be key contributors.

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Lower Pay, Higher Satisfaction: The Quiet Winners

Some specialties with below-average income report surprisingly strong satisfaction. PM&R physician salaries average $400k and have seen some of the biggest salary jump in the past year, while benefiting from flexible hours and lower-stress environments.

Psychiatrist Salaries average ~$350k, but they enjoy significant autonomy, predictable schedules, and consistently high demand - resulting in one of the highest satisfaction scores in the field.

Nephrologists, while working long hours, report decent satisfaction, likely due to a strong year-over-year compensation growth (Medscape reported a 9% y/y increase in pay in their 2024 report). Also, many Nephrologists working for private medical groups, with potential to earn partnership income from dialysis centers, report  higher levels of pay satisfaction

Where You Work Matters: Physician Compensation Satisfaction by State

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Location has a measurable impact on how fairly pay is perceived. Midwestern States like Iowa (3.9★), Indiana (3.9★) and surrounding states like Kentucky (4.0★) report some of the highest satisfaction with their compensation. These are often states where practice costs are lower, autonomy is higher, and work-life balance is more attainable.

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Meanwhile, physicians in the Northeastern states like New York (3.4★), Pennsylvania (3.5★), Massachusetts (3.5★) report the lowest satisfaction, as these states often pay some of the lowest salaries in the country.

Nevada stands out as a bright spot, with a 4.1★ satisfaction score. Strong procedural pay, favorable taxes, and independence may all be contributing factors.

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Smaller Cities, Bigger Payoffs: Rural Physicians Are More Satisfied

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Physicians practicing in rural areas report significantly higher satisfaction with their compensation, while those in mega cities report the lowest.

Besides offering a significantly lower lower cost of living, rural markets often offer less administrative overhead, higher autonomy and stronger sense of community impact. In contrast, urban physicians face higher taxes, and steeper living costs. And since these locations are often viewed as more desirable, physician salaries are often lower.

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Ownership Pays: Satisfaction by Practice Setting

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Self-employed physicians report the highest satisfaction with compensation at 3.96★ - well above the average. Whether they’re running private practices or working as 1099 contractors, the autonomy and upside of self-employment pays off.

Next, physicians working in Medical Groups (3.71★) also rate their compensation more positively than their peers in large hospital systems or public health settings.

At the other end of the spectrum,  Government/Military doctors (3.5★) tend to report the lowest compensation satisfaction, as their salaries tend to lag their private and hospital based peers by as much as 50%.

Similarly, Academic settings report lower compensation satisfaction (3.52★) vs Non-Academic (3.68★). This isn't surprising considering a typical ~10 - 15% gap in physician salaries between Academic and Non-Academic Physicians.

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There is more to Satisfaction than just Salary

At Marit, we’re building the most transparent and richest compensation dataset in medicine - and it only gets stronger with your input. Add your anonymous salary today to unlock salaries of your peers and enable us to produce more detailed benchmarks by specialty, location, and employment type.

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About the Data & Methodology

Marit's Data is different. It is -

Unique - since it captures the compensation data along with all the details that matter - bonuses, shifts, scheduls, benefits, and more

Comprehensive - Across all specialties and Professions (Physicians & APPs), Employer Types (large and small, including Self-employed, Academic & Non Academic), Job Types (Full Time, Part Time, PRNs and Locums) and Employment Types (W-2, 1099, K-1)

Current - Unlike other benchmarks that only update their data once a year, all salaries reflect the clinician’s current compensation, and all averages are updated in real-time as new salaries are added

All data in this report comes from anonymized salary contributions on Marit, as of Apr 11, 2025. Only verified salary reports approved by our moderation team are included

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