Although physicians typically pull in six-figure salaries, there are still significant wage gaps within the field, according to a new report.
Medscape’s annual Physician Compensation Report for 2017 found that male primary care physicians earned an average of $229,000, while their female counterparts earned $197,000. The wage gap decreased slightly to 16% from 17% in 2016, according to the report.
The report surveyed more than 19,200 physicians across more than 27 specialties and found that the average earnings among doctors is about $294,000. Specialists earned about $100,000 more on average than primary care physicians. According to the report, physician incomes have been on the rise over the past 7 years.
Among specialists, there is a 37% wage gap between average annual earnings of men and women, who earned $345,000 and $251,000, respectively. The report said the gap grew 4% from last year, possibly influenced by a smaller percentage of women in higher-paying specialties.
For the first time this year, the survey asked respondents to identify their race, and found that white doctors earn the most at $303,000. Black doctors earned the least at $262,000, while Asian doctors earned $283,000 and Hispanic doctors earned $271,000. The report found that more white and Asian doctors chose to specialize in their field than Hispanic and black doctors.