New federal wage data leave little doubt: doctors are still parked at the very top of the paycheck pile across most of the country. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ May 2025 occupational estimates show physician specialties pulling in sums that make the typical American salary look downright modest.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release, pediatric surgeons came in as the single highest-paid occupation in the nation, with an average annual wage of $502,050, versus a $69,770 mean across all occupations. The OEWS figures are built from employer reports and model-based estimation that blend several semiannual data panels. Because the lists rely on mean wages, a small cluster of very high earners can nudge those averages skyward, especially inside narrow medical subspecialties.
State-by-state snapshot
An analysis of the BLS estimates compiled by NewsNation and republished by AOL shows cardiologists holding the top-paying slot in 14 states and orthopedic surgeons in eight. Radiologists and dermatologists also pop up repeatedly across the map. Oregon is the lone outlier, where a non-health job, chief executives at about $403,380, takes the top spot.
The same breakdown shows just how wide the geographic spread can be. Cardiologists, for example, averaged more than $600,000 in places like Georgia and Nebraska, while their mean pay landed significantly lower in other parts of the country.
How to read these numbers
The headline salaries do not include every form of pay. The BLS notes that OEWS wages capture straight-time, gross pay and leave out things like overtime and many forms of bonus compensation, which can be especially important for executives and private-practice physicians. Technical notes for the survey explain that annual wages come either from reported annual rates or from converting hourly wages into a 2,080-hour work year, and that some occupations lack publishable estimates in certain states.
That mix of measurement rules and small professional headcounts helps explain why the highest-paying occupations on the lists are both extremely well compensated and relatively rare.
If you want to scroll through the full state-by-state table and see which specialty owns the top line where you live, the NewsNation breakdown (republished by AOL) has the complete list. Hospitals, recruiters and policy watchers will be keeping an eye on future BLS releases to see whether those income gaps widen, narrow or shift into entirely different jobs.
