The best states for physicians in 2020: The 11 worst states
Physicians might not get the most bang for the buck in these states.
Mean Salary: $175,250 (50)
Tax Collection per Capita: $3,083 (34)
Highest Malpractice Rate: $28,164 (11)
Lowest Malpractice Rate: $14,738 (43)
Average Cost of Living Index: 118.7 (41)
Physician Density: 4,988 (12)
Mean Salary: $208,470 (34)
Tax Collection per Capita: $2,956 (32)
Highest Malpractice Rate: $36,230 (5)
Lowest Malpractice Rate: $15,441 (44)
Average Cost of Living Index: 102.4 (32)
Physician Density: 51,069 (47)
Mean Salary: $192,900 (21)
Tax Collection per Capita: $2,658 (22)
Highest Malpractice Rate: $10,970 (41)
Lowest Malpractice Rate: $9,225 (25)
Average Cost of Living Index: 95.0 (21)
Physician Density: 28,379 (41)
Mean Salary: $207,110 (36)
Tax Collection per Capita: $4,590 (46)
Highest Malpractice Rate: $7,399 (49)
Lowest Malpractice Rate: $3,956 (3)
Average Cost of Living Index: 101.5 (30)
Physician Density: 18,171 (34)
Mean Salary: $199,890 (40)
Tax Collection per Capita: $4,555 (46)
Highest Malpractice Rate: $33,787 (7)
Lowest Malpractice Rate: $12,667 (38)
Average Cost of Living Index: 126.5 (43)
Physician Density: 15,605 (30)
Mean Salary: $201,120 (39)
Tax Collection per Capita: $5,015 (50)
Highest Malpractice Rate: $18,693 (22)
Lowest Malpractice Rate: $9,869 (29)
Average Cost of Living Index: 101.4 (29)
Physician Density: 23,307 (38)
Mean Salary: $176,120 (49)
Tax Collection per Capita: $4,014 (45)
Highest Malpractice Rate: $41,112 (4)
Lowest Malpractice Rate: $6,536 (12)
Average Cost of Living Index: 137.3 (48)
Physician Density: 89,500 (50)
Mean Salary: $202,440 (37)
Tax Collection per Capita: $4,012 (44)
Highest Malpractice Rate: $28,570 (10)
Lowest Malpractice Rate: $12,414 (37)
Average Cost of Living Index: 127.6 (44)
Physician Density: 24,676 (39)
Mean Salary: $197,860 (42)
Tax Collection per Capita: $3,936 (43)
Highest Malpractice Rate: $16,826 (25)
Lowest Malpractice Rate: $4,168 (4)
Average Cost of Living Index: 137.7 (49)
Physician Density: 112,906 (51)
Mean Salary: $186,760 (48)
Tax Collection per Capita: $4,924 (49)
Highest Malpractice Rate: $10,418 (43)
Lowest Malpractice Rate: $8,709 (24)
Average Cost of Living Index: 191.8 (51)
Physician Density: 3,660 (9)
Mean Salary: $199,300 (41)
Tax Collection per Capita: $3,569 (40)
Highest Malpractice Rate: $14,341 (28)
Lowest Malpractice Rate: $16,062 (42)
Average Cost of Living Index: 130.1 (46)
Physician Density: 36,506 (43)
What are the best states for physicians to practice in? Find out in the 2020 Best States to Practice rankings, a project produced by our partner publication at Physicians Practice.
Editors ranked the states based on 2019 data covering five categories:
- Mean salary
- Highest/lowest malpractice premiums
- The 2019 cost of living index
- Tax climate (state collections per capita)
- Physician density
- Malpractice premium costs
Physicians Practice obtained the data from publicly available sources and partner organizations.
The Cunningham Group provided malpractice premium averages for each state.
Here’s a brief description of our methodology: We ranked each state on the criteria described desirable outcome per criteria, then averaging those scores resulted in the ranks of all 50 states and D.C.
