Milwaukee is the highest-paying metro area in the United States for physicians, according to a new report detailing the growing demand for physicians nationwide.
Milwaukee’s average physician compensation is $395,363, the highest among the 50 largest metro areas, according to Doximity’s new U.S. Physician Employment Report 2019.
According to the report, the metro areas with the highest average compensation for physicians are:
- Milwaukee: $395,363
- New Orleans: $384,651
- Riverside, California: $371,296
- Minneapolis: $369,889
- Charlotte, North Carolina: $368,205
- Dallas: $362,472 7
- Atlanta: $362,267
- Los Angeles: $356,390
- Cincinnati: $354,129
- Hartford, Connecticut: $352,129
Data was drawn from Doximity’s self-reported compensation surveys of approximately 70,000 U.S. physicians and 7,500 nurses who practice at least 40 hours per week between 2018 and 2019.
Southeastern Wisconsin has ranked highly among national metro areas in previous studies for the costliness of its hospital systems and medical services. A BizTimes cover story examined the factors that drive up health care costs in Wisconsin.
Amit Phull, vice president of strategy and insights at Doximity, said several forces affect physician compensation, including a region’s doctor supply. Ann Arbor, for example, tends to rank at the bottom of the compensation list, in part because of its high doctor supply.
“One big reason is the huge medical school there; lots of doctors come in and want to stick around there,” said Phull. “The competition isn’t as strong as (it is) in, for example, Milwaukee.”
Reports from several health care associations, including the Wisconsin Hospital Association and Wisconsin Council on Medical Education & Workforce, have projected the state faces a shortage of thousands of physicians in the next 10 to 15 years amid an aging population. Nationally, the physician shortage is predicted to reach over 120,000 by 2032, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.
The Doximity report shows the demand for doctors continues to rise, reporting a 5% increase in job opportunities for physicians nationally since 2018. The cities showing the highest demand for physicians included El Paso, Miami, Cleveland, Phoenix and Denver. The highest-demand cities tend to be areas experiencing population growth, particularly among older populations, Phull said.
Family and internal medicine physicians were in greatest demand among specialists nationally, according to the report.
