Salary update: Cardiologist compensation stays steady—thoracic surgeon pay takes a hit
Cardiologist compensation in the United States is experiencing slow, but steady growth, according to a new analysis from Doximity. The average compensation for cardiology is $587,360 per year, which represents a 3.8% increase compared to 2024’s version of the same report.
Compensation was up 3.7% overall for physicians, so cardiology is keeping pace with other specialties.
Cardiology’s compensation was high enough for it to come in at No. 8 overall among all specialties. Thoracic surgery was No. 2 on the list with an average compensation of $689,969, though that final figure was down 4.3% compared to 2024’s average compensation of $720, 634.
Meanwhile, vascular surgery came in at No. 9 with an average compensation of $576,452. That figure is up 3.6% compared to 2024.
The gender pay gap remains in place
Another key takeaway from Doximity’s new report is the fact that the gender pay gap for U.S. physicians is still growing. Male physicians earned 26% more than female physicians in 2024, up from 23% in 2023. Annual compensation rose 5.7% for men in the last year compared to just 1.7% for women.
“Women physicians had lower average earnings than men physicians across all specialties examined in 2024, a trend consistent with prior years,” according to the report. “The gender pay gap exceeded 11% in each of these specialties.”
How employment setting can impact compensation
According to Doximity, physicians at single-specialty groups take home significantly more money that those who work in other practice settings. For example, single-specialty physicians average $476,807 per year, but physicians working in solo practices ($457,562), hospitals ($439,319) and academic settings ($382,223) earn less.
Urgent care centers saw more growth than any other practice setting, but they are still associated with one of the lowest average compensation figures—$307,768—included in the report.
Additional details
To develop this report, Doximity reviewed feedback from more than 37,000 members in addition to tens of thousands of additional survey responses from previous years.
Click here to read the full analysis.
Read about the previous edition of this compensation report here.
Michael has more than 19 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.