The 10 best states for physicians in 2026

Where a physician chooses to practice can shape just about every dimension of their career, from take-home pay and malpractice exposure to burnout risk and long-term job satisfaction.

A state-by-state analysis from WalletHub, published March 17, examines all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 19 metrics and finds a familiar pattern at the top of the list: The Midwest and Mountain West continue to offer physicians the strongest combination of financial opportunity and favorable working conditions.

The 19 metrics were categorized into two main categories: Opportunity & Competition and Medical Environment.

Opportunity & Competition, which carries 70% of the total weight, measures the financial and market conditions physicians face in a given state, including cost-of-living-adjusted wages, starting salaries, hospitals per capita, insurance coverage rates, projected physician supply through 2032, medical resident retention and continuing medical education (CME) requirements.

Medical Environment, which accounts for the remaining 30%, evaluates the clinical and regulatory landscape, factoring in public hospital quality and safety grades, state medical board punitiveness, malpractice insurance costs and lawsuit payouts, physician assistant staffing levels, accredited health departments and physician burnout rates.

Family medicine physicians earn a median annual salary of about $238,000 nationally, according to WalletHub, though most new physicians begin their careers shouldering roughly $247,000 in medical school debt. That financial reality makes the gap between the best and worst practice environments especially important.

Here are the 10 best states for physicians in 2026.