Physician total cash compensation: a survey

Physician compensation gained in 2023 to rise to historical average growth of 3.5%, according to SullivanCotter’s “2024 Physician Compensation and Productivity Survey Report.”

The workplace consultant said its poll, now more than 30 years old, is the largest and most comprehensive physician compensation survey.

So, which doctors earn the most?

This slideshow presents the median total cash compensation (TCC) for 14 specialties. With it is the TCC median percentage change from 2023 to 2024, and work relative value unit (wRVU) median percentage change for the same time.

For doctors, SullivanCotter said changing workforce expectations may be the most significant and long-lasting trend emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The pandemic exacerbated workforce expectations for a more sustainable work life,” company Managing Principal Dave Hesselink said in a news release about the survey. “We see this manifested as reduced or eliminated call expectations, additional paid time off, fewer annual expected work hours, and more interest in compensation plans with a higher proportion of fixed compensation and a lower proportion of compensation at risk.”