Cardiology salaries are No. 7 among all specialties—thoracic and vascular surgery also make top 10
Cardiologists earn an average compensation of $565,485 per year, according to a new report from Doximity. This represents a 3.9% increase compared to 2023’s version of the same report, when the specialty’s average annual compensation was $544,201. Compensation was up 6% overall for physicians, suggesting cardiology is slightly behind the curve when it comes to growth.
Cardiology’s compensation was high enough for it to come in at No. 7 overall among all healthcare specialties. A pair of surgical specialties that often treat the same patients also landed in the top 10. Thoracic surgery was No. 2 ($720,634) and vascular surgery ($556,070) was No. 8.
Pediatric cardiology, meanwhile, came in at No. 27 with an average annual compensation of $339,453.
Improvements seen in physician pay gaps
Another key finding from the new analysis was the fact that the gender pay gap among U.S. physicians is 23%, down from 26% in 2023.
“Despite this progress, the pay gap remains significant, with women physicians earning nearly $102,000 less than men physicians, on average, after controlling for specialty, location, and years of experience,” according to the report. “Although a 3% decrease in the gender pay gap could be a positive sign, it is important to consider it in the context of the overall compensation trends observed in 2023. Notably, this reduction occurred at only half the rate of the 6% increase in average physician compensation during the same period.”
Survey respondents were specifically asked if they think there is a difference in how male and female physicians are compensated. While 75% of women said they think there is a disparity in pay, just 30% of men agreed with that sentiment.
Other key takeaways:
- St. Louis, Missouri, and Louisville, Kentucky, were the metropolitan areas with the highest physician compensation after adjusting for cost of living.
- Washington, DC, and Boston, Massachusetts, had the lowest physician compensation after adjusting for cost of living.
- Hematology (12.4%) and family medicine (10.2%) had the largest increases in average annual compensation from 2023’s report to this year’s version.
- Reducing administrative burden was the most common answer when physicians were asked how feelings of burnout can be reduced.
Doximity’s report was based on new data from more than 33,000 physician compensation surveys completed in 2023. All responses came from full-time physicians located in the United States.
Read the full analysis 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.