Best & Worst States for Doctors (2025)

Doctors have one of the most essential professions, and they are well compensated for the hard work they do to keep patients healthy. They are among the highest-paid and most educated professionals in the U.S., with family medicine physicians having a median salary of $225,000 per year. The high salary makes sense, given the importance of their life-saving work and the struggles that come with life in the medical profession. However, doctors don’t start out wealthy. The average medical-school debt is around $235,000.

In light of the cost of pursuing medicine and the difficulty of the job, it’s important for doctors to live in a state that provides solid financial opportunities in addition to good working conditions. To help doctors decide where to practice, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 19 key metrics. Our data set ranges from the average annual wage of physicians to the number of hospitals per capita to the quality of the public hospital system.

“Setting up a practice in one of the best states for doctors can have a profound effect on your medical career. Not only will you be working in top-quality medical facilities and earning high salaries, you’ll be less likely to burn out, and pay less for malpractice insurance. Meanwhile, residents living in one of the best states for doctors will have access to quality healthcare at a reasonable cost.”

Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst

Main Findings

Best States to Practice Medicine

Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.

Avg. Annual Wage for Physicians (Adjusted for Cost of Living)

Highest

• 1. Mississippi
• 2. Wisconsin
• 3. Georgia
• 4. Kentucky
• 5. Indiana

Lowest

• 47. New Jersey
• 48. Rhode Island
• 49. Hawaii
• 50. Massachusetts
• 51. District of Columbia

Projected Competition by 2032

Lowest

• 1. Mississippi
• 2. Missouri
• 3. Louisiana
• 4. Nevada
• 5. Alabama

Highest

• 47. Nebraska
• 48. North Dakota
• T-49. New York
• T-49. Rhode Island
• T-49. District of Columbia

Best State vs. Worst State: 9x Difference

Mississippi vs. District of Columbia

Punitive State Medical Boards

Least

• 1. District of Columbia
• 2. Nevada
• 3. New Hampshire
• 4. Georgia
• 5. Indiana

Most

• 47. Arizona
• 48. Colorado
• 49. North Dakota
• 50. Ohio
• 51. Michigan

Best State vs. Worst State: 9x Difference

District of Columbia vs. Michigan

Malpractice Award Payout Amount per Capita

Lowest

• 1. North Dakota
• 2. North Carolina
• 3. Texas
• 4. Mississippi
• 5. Michigan

Highest

• T-38. Wyoming
• T-38. Rhode Island
• T-38. New Hampshire
• T-38. New York
• T-38. Hawaii

Best State vs. Worst State: 18x Difference

North Dakota vs. Hawaii

Annual Malpractice Liability Insurance

Least Expensive

• 1. Nebraska
• 2. Wisconsin
• 3. Minnesota
• 4. Kansas
• 5. Idaho

Most Expensive

• 46. Louisiana
• T-47. District of Columbia
• T-47. Washington
• 49. Illinois
• 50. New York

Best State vs. Worst State: 8x Difference

Nebraska vs. New York

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In-Depth Look at the Best States for Doctors

Montana

Montana is the best state for doctors, and it boasts one of the top hospital systems in the country. Nearly 82% of patients in Montana gave their hospital a score of 9 or 10 on a scale of 0 to 10. Montana doctors are also well compensated. For example, the state has the one of the highest average incomes for anesthesiologists, at nearly $372,000, in addition to high yearly incomes for psychiatrists and surgeons, who earn above $260,000 and almost $400,000 on average, respectively.

The Treasure State is also good on doctors’ mental well-being, as it has the lowest physician burnout rate. That bodes well for medical residents who train in Montana, as nearly 63% of them end up staying in-state, the second-highest retention rate in the country. Additionally, Montana enjoys both a high number of hospitals per 100,000 residents and physician assistants per 1,000 residents.

Indiana

Indiana is the second-best state for doctors, and one contributing factor is the high starting salaries for a wide range of practices, including psychiatrists ($309,000); physicians ($338,000); obstetricians and gynecologists ($347,000); and surgeons ($449,000). The state also gets high marks for the punitiveness of its state medical board.

The Hoosier State also enjoys a high retention rate of medical residents who train in-state and some of the lowest malpractice insurance rates in the country. Plus, Indiana has highly-ranked public hospital systems and a fairly low physician burnout rate.

South Dakota

South Dakota ranks as the third-best state for doctors, in part because physicians have one of the highest starting salaries in the country, at $5,330 per month. The state ranks particularly high when it comes to the yearly salaries for psychiatrists ($273,000) and general internal medicine physicians ($318,000).

In addition, doctors in The Mount Rushmore State pay less for malpractice insurance premiums than people in most other states. South Dakota also ranks well in the number of physician assistants per 1,000 residents, and has around 8.5 hospitals for every 100,000 residents, which is one of the highest numbers in the country.

Ask the Experts

Medicine is changing rapidly, and the way it is taught and practiced has to change too. The industry faces an aging population, new regulations and technological breakthroughs. With that in mind, we asked a panel of experts the following key questions:

1. How does state and local policies influence the lives of doctors and other medical professionals?
2. What tips can you offer current medical students about what specialties to pursue and where to practice?
3. To what extent does the threat of a malpractice lawsuit affect a doctors’ ability to do their job?
4. In evaluating the best states for doctors, what are the top five indicators?
5. What are the biggest issues facing doctors today?

Ask the Experts

Aislinn O'Donohoe Riley
Assistant Professor, Political Science – The University of Alabama
Read More

Elena Andreyeva
Ph.D. - Assistant Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health - Texas A&M University
Read More

Bruce Y. Lee
MD, MBA – Professor of Health Policy and Management, City University of New York (CUNY) School of Public Health
Read More

Edward J. Miller
Professor Emeritus; Co-Director of the Center for the Small City; Eugene Katz Letters and Science Distinguished Faculty Member – University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Read More

Christina M. Bivona-Tellez
DNP, MPH, RN, NEA-BC – Assistant Professor, School of Nursing Graduate Division, Department of Health Administration and Leadership, Masters of Science in Health Administration, Doctorate of Nursing Practice – Azusa Pacific University
Read More

Todd M. Olszewski
Ph.D. – Associate Professor and Department Chair, Department of Health Sciences – Providence College
Read More

More Experts

Methodology

In order to identify the best states for doctors, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across two key dimensions, “Opportunity & Competition” and “Medical Environment.”

We evaluated those dimensions using 19 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for practicing doctors.

We then determined each state and the District’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order the states.

Opportunity & Competition – Total Points: 70

• Physicians’ Average Annual Wage: Double Weight (~11.67 Points)
  Note: Data for this metric were adjusted for the cost of living.
• Physicians’ Average Monthly Starting Salary: Full Weight (~5.83 Points)
  Note: Data for this metric were adjusted for the cost of living.
• Hospitals per Capita: Full Weight (~5.83 Points)
• Insured Population Rate: Full Weight (~5.83 Points)
  Note: “Population” includes noninstitutionalized civilians aged 16 and older.
• Employer-Based Insurance Rate: Full Weight (~5.83 Points)
• Projected Share of Elderly Population: Full Weight (~5.83 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the projected percentage of the population aged 65 and older by 2030.
• Current Competition: Full Weight (~5.83 Points)
  Note: This metric measures both the number of physicians per 1,000 Residents and the percentage of the population living in a primary-care HPSA, or Health Professional Shortage Area. HPSAs, as defined by the Health Resources & Services Administration, “are designations that indicate health care provider shortages in: Primary care; Dental health; or Mental Health” and “may be geographic-, population-, or facility-based.”
• Share of Medical Residents Retained: Full Weight (~5.83 Points)
  Note: The metric measures the net number of medical residents being added to the physician workforce of each state.
• Projected Competition: Full Weight (~5.83 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the projected number of physicians per 1,000 Residents by 2032.
• Number of CME Credits Required: Full Weight (~5.83 Points)
  Note: “CME” stands for Continuing Medical Education, credits for which the state may require medical professionals to earn in order to maintain their licenses.
• Presence of Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Law: Full Weight (~5.83 Points)
  Note: This metric is based on data from the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact and considers whether compact legislation has been enacted, introduced or not been introduced.

Medical Environment – Total Points: 30

• Quality of Public Hospital System: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
  Note: This metric is based on data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
• Hospitals Safety - Percentage of “A” Hospitals: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
  Note: This metric is based on data from Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade which ranked hospitals across the states based on 22 measures of publicly available hospital safety data.
• Presence of Nationally Accredited Health Departments: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
  Note: This binary metric measures the presence or absence of national accredited health departments in a state.
• Physician Assistants per Capita: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
• Punitiveness of State Medical Board: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the number of serious disciplinary actions (per 1,000 physicians) taken by the state medical board.
• Malpractice Award Payout Amount per Capita: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
• Annual Malpractice Liability Insurance Rate: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
• Physician Burnout: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
  Note: Physician burnout is defined as “a feeling of physical, emotional, or mental exhaustion, as well as frustration and cynicism related to work; and doubts about your competence and the value of your work.”

 
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected as of February 18, 2025 from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Council for Community and Economic Research, Health Resources & Services Administration, Association of American Medical Colleges, Projections Central’s State Occupational Projections, Federation of State Medical Boards, Leapfrog Group, Public Health Accreditation Board, Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, WebMD, Public Citizen and MEDPLI Insurance Services.

Supporting Video Files:

• YouTube - National (for web embedding)
• YouTube - Montana (for web embedding)
• Raw video files (for editing into clips)