Physician total cash compensation: a survey

Author(s):

Key Takeaways

Physician compensation is expected to grow by 3.5% in 2023, reaching historical average growth rates.
SullivanCotter's survey is a comprehensive analysis of physician compensation, covering 14 specialties and their compensation trends.
Post-pandemic workforce expectations emphasize sustainable work-life balance, with reduced call expectations and increased paid time off.
There is a growing preference for compensation plans with a higher proportion of fixed compensation and less at-risk compensation.

SullivanCotter data show doctors’ pay is back to historical average growth.

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.”