Ob/Gyn Salaries
How much am I worth?
So much!
Currently, there is a huge national Ob/Gyn shortage, and all employers need us much more than we need them. In 2023, the average Ob/Gyn salary was $352,000, according to a Medscape survey that was cited by the White Coat Investor.
However, the ranges for Ob/Gyn income are broad.
In general, doctors who work in urban metropolitan areas make less than those who work in small cities and rural areas. That is because most doctors want to live in glamorous urban areas. In addition, blue states are more desirable than red ones, especially for Ob/Gyns. Therefore, Ob/Gyns in the Midwest and South make more, on average, than those in the West and the Northeast. This, combined with the cheaper cost of living in less desirable areas, is called Geographic Arbitrage. One of the funniest things the White Coat Investor has ever written is, “I wish I was lucky enough to love Indiana.” Truly, any Ob/Gyn who loves Indiana should have a very comfortable life. It’s a supply and demand thing.
Anyway, there are other variables. Traditionally, the owners (partners) in private practices make high salaries, and the associates make lower salaries until they “make partner.” In private practice, if the community served has more private insurance and less Medicaid, the practice will make more money, and salaries will be higher. Many private practices simply do not accept patients with Medicaid for this reason, as Medicaid reimbursements are actually less than it costs to provide medical services for a practice! Finally, the much of the profit in a private practice is not from actually providing physician care, but actually from “ancillary services” such as performing and billing for ultrasounds, NSTs, and mammograms.
These days, employed jobs often pay more than traditional junior-level private practice jobs, in my experience. (See also The Demise of Private Practice – future article) This is because large organizations have deeper pockets that can subsidize physician salaries where doctors are desperately needed. Academic jobs have traditionally been lower paid, as the glory associated with working in the ivory tower is obviously compensation enough. Haha, kidding.
In many private practices or full-scope employed jobs, longer hours and more frequent call accompany higher salaries.
The salary range for locums tenens jobs varies widely. This is a whole other ball of wax, and there are a number of Facebook groups dedicated to helping Ob/Gyns to negotiate higher locums rates.
Ob/Gyn salaries are increasing modestly. Anecdotally, I know that many rural / less-desirable communities will offer in the $475,000 - $500,000 range to get a full-scope doc to sign a contract. Once an Ob/Gyn in an environment like this is on production, I know some that make $700,000 - $800,000 by being extremely productive. I assume that in many of these jobs, the call is fairly heavy. On the other hand, in a saturated highly desirable market, junior private practice associates may get offers in the low $200,000s. This is just my vibe of numbers I have heard tossed around lately and offers I get from recruiters. I have no evidence to back this up.
Hospitalists are often paid by the hour. In a desirable urban area, salary is probably around $125 - $150 / hour at this time, more for a less desirable location. A typical hospitalist schedule is 7 24-hour shifts per 28 days or 8 24-hour shifts per month. Typically a position at this rate would include benefits but would not include PTO; shifts are typically stacked around desired time off.
I don’t know much about academic salaries, but any public university should have a searchable database of all employees’ salaries. An early career generalist at the University of Iowa made $342,000 in 2023. Another made $469,000. Reviewing two general OB/GYNs at the University of Illinois-Chicago, I found salaries of $214,000 and $241,000. It stands to reason that more people would want to live in Chicago than Iowa City, so it makes sense that the salaries are lower despite higher cost of living.
Please let me know in the comments if you are comfortable sharing your salary or previous salaries and if my numbers are off! My current and previous salary are subject to a nondisclosure agreement, but I can tell you I was hired in 2015 fresh out of residency by a now-defunct private practice in Waterloo, IA at $240,000 with a potential to bonus. No new grad would ever take a job in this location for that salary these days; it seems laughable.
Karla Solheim, MD, FACOG