Neurosurgery and thoracic surgery have been the highest-earning physician specialties for the last five years, according to medical professional networking site Doximity.
Doximity surveyed more than 160,000 full-time U.S. physicians about their compensation and recorded the highest-earning physician compensation in the last five years.
Below are five highest-earning specialties from 2017 through 2021, followed by the average compensation.
2021:
Neurosurgery: $773,201
Thoracic surgery: $684,663
Orthopedic surgery: $633,620
Plastic surgery: $556,698
Vascular surgery: $552,313
Oral and maxillofacial: $545,471
Radiation oncology: $544,313
Cardiology: $537,777
Urology: $514,922
Gastroenterology: $500,400
2020:
Neurosurgery: $746,544
Thoracic surgery: $668,350
Orthopedic surgery: $605,330
Plastic surgery: $539,208
Oral and maxillofacial surgery: $538,590
Vascular surgery: $534,408
Cardiology: $527,231
Radiation oncology: $516,016
Gastroenterology: $485,460
Radiology: $485,460
2019:
Neurosurgery: $616,823
Thoracic surgery: $584,287
Orthopedic surgery : $526,385
Radiation oncology: $486,089
Vascular surgery: $484,740
Dermatology: $455,255
Cardiology: $453,515
Plastic surgery: $433,060
Gastroenterology: $431,767
Radiology: $428,572
2018:
Neurosurgery: $663,000
Thoracic surgery: $603,000
Orthopedic surgery: $538,000
Vascular surgery: $476,000
Plastic surgery: $473,000
Cardiology: $473,000
Radiation oncology: $468,000
Gastroenterology: $456,000
Dermatology: $434,000
Radiology: $431,000
2017:
Neurosurgery: $620,000
Thoracic surgery: $522,000
Orthopedic surgery: $503,000
Vascular surgery: $446,000
Radiation oncology: $446,000
Plastic surgery: $420,000
Dermatology: $420,000
Cardiology: $415,000
Radiology: $408,000
Gastroenterology: $403,000