Salary update: Cardiologist compensation climbs to $507K per year, though many feel it is too low
Cardiologists in the United States earn an average annual income of $507,000, including $88,000 in bonuses, according to a new compensation survey from Medscape. Cardiology ranks as No. 3 among all healthcare specialties, trailing only plastic surgery ($619,000) and orthopedics ($573,000). For context, the specialties with the lowest annual compensation are public health and preventive medicine ($249,000) and pediatrics ($251,000).
The $507,000 figure represents an increase of 3.5% compared to the $490,000 cardiologists reported earning in Medscape’s 2022 compensation survey. Cardiology came in at No. 3 among all specialties that year as well. According to the report, in fact, “the top-earning specialties are virtually unchanged in the past 10 years.”
For employed physicians, Medscape’s compensation reports combine salary, bonuses and all other profit-sharing contributions into one figure. For self-employed physicians, the final figure represents all earnings after taxes and deductible business expenses, but before income tax is removed.
Other key takeaways from the report include:
- Just 55% of cardiologists feel fairly compensated.
- While 82% of cardiologists said they would choose a career in medicine all over again if given the choice, 93% said they also would choose the same specialty.
- A small number of cardiologists (7%) reported that they will not take on any new Medicare patients. The exact same percentage said they will not take on any new Medicaid patients.
- Some cardiologists report taking on additional work to make more money. While 8% reported practicing “medical moonlighting,” 7% said they took on additional nonmedical work.
Different perspectives on U.S. cardiologist compensation
Multiple reports have focused on cardiologist salaries in recent months. There is some variance among these studies, as one might expect, but the average annual salary for cardiologists has consistently been among the highest in all of healthcare. For example, according to new data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics—a division of the U.S. Department of Labor—cardiologist is the No. 1 highest-paying job in the country with an average annual salary of $421,330. A recent report from Doximity, meanwhile, concluded that cardiologists earned an average annual salary of $544,201, No. 8 among all specialties.
In addition, the 2022 Cardiovascular Business Salary and Job Satisfaction Report explored compensation, and more, among cardiologists and other cardiology professionals. The 2023 edition of the report is due in the coming weeks.
Read the full report
Medscape’s 2023 Cardiologist Compensation Report was based on survey responses from approximately 10,000 U.S. physicians, with 3% coming from cardiologists. Respondents were recruited for the survey from October 2022 to January 2023. Read the full report on Medscape’s website here.
Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.