For management consultants, market researchers, and public policy professionals, obtaining clear and consolidated data on professional compensation is a persistent challenge. The process often involves sourcing data from multiple public repositories, followed by extensive cleaning and analysis before any insights can be drawn.
This report provides a direct, data-driven overview of surgeon compensation across the United States, utilizing public data to highlight key trends. We will examine how salaries differ by state, uncover the significant pay gap that exists between genders, and provide context with demographic data on surgeon age and concentration. This analysis demonstrates how raw data can be transformed into a clear business intelligence asset.
State-by-State Surgeon Salary Comparison
Compensation for highly specialized medical roles like surgeons is not uniform across the United States. Factors such as regional demand, cost of living, and local market dynamics create a complex landscape of earning potential. Understanding this geographic variance is critical for healthcare organizations, policymakers, and individual medical professionals.
Our analysis of the data* reveals substantial differences in median surgeon salaries by state. The highest-earning states are not concentrated in the typical coastal economic hubs. Instead, the top five states for median surgeon salary are:
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Minnesota: $517,000
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Utah: $494,000
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Tennessee: $476,000
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Montana: $473,000
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Alaska: $471,000
Conversely, the states with the lowest median salaries for surgeons present a different picture. Among the states with reported salaries, the lowest are:
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Rhode Island: $64,000
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Vermont: $60,000
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Idaho: $46,800
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The Gender Gap in Surgeon Compensation
Pay disparity between genders is a well-documented issue across numerous industries, and the medical field is no exception. Our analysis of the dataset on surgeon salaries reveals a clear and substantial gap in compensation between male and female surgeons.
The data indicates:
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Male Median Salary: $350,000
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Female Median Salary: $250,000
This represents a 28.57% gender pay gap, with male surgeons earning significantly more than their female counterparts.
Median Salary for Surgeons by Gender
Median Surgeon Age by State - Female
Median Surgeon Age by State - Male
Surgeon Demographics: Age and Geographic Concentration
To add further context to the salary data, it's useful to examine the demographic landscape of surgeons across the country. This includes the median age of surgeons and their concentration relative to the population, which can offer insights into workforce supply and experience levels in different states.
Median Age:
The median age of surgeons shows considerable variation, suggesting differences in workforce demographics.
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States with the highest median surgeon age include Montana (64), Arkansas (64), and Alaska (64). A higher median age could indicate a more experienced, but also aging, workforce.
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States with the lowest median surgeon age include Rhode Island (28), Mississippi (34), North Dakota (34), Hawaii (35), and Idaho (35). These states may be attracting a new generation of surgeons or have a younger overall demographic profile.
Surgeon Concentration:
The number of surgeons per 100,000 people also varies significantly.
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States with the highest concentration are Maine (38.8), Massachusetts (37.2), and New Hampshire (33.3).
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States with the lowest concentration include Puerto Rico (9.2), Delaware (9.6), and Arkansas (10.7).
A common assumption is that a higher concentration of professionals in a field might lead to lower average salaries due to increased supply. However, the data does not support a strong correlation between surgeon concentration and median salary.
This suggests that other economic factors—such as the regional cost of doing business, insurance reimbursement rates, or the prevalence of specialized medical centers—are more influential drivers of surgeon compensation than the simple supply of surgeons.
Conclusion
The analysis of this public dataset provides several key takeaways for professionals in marketing, consulting, and public policy. First, surgeon salaries exhibit significant geographic variance, with states in the Midwest and West offering some of the highest compensation levels. Second, a substantial gender pay gap of over 28% persists in the surgical field, a critical point for any discussion on pay equity in medicine. Finally, demographic factors like surgeon age and concentration vary widely by state, but the concentration of surgeons does not appear to be a primary driver of salary levels.
Conducting this type of analysis typically requires specialized data science skills and a significant time investment. Platforms like Cambium AI are designed to address this challenge, allowing users to query complex public datasets in plain English and generate these kinds of visualizations and insights in minutes, not weeks.
Explore this dataset and discover how Cambium AI can streamline your research process. Start your 7-day free trial today!
*Data source - US Census 2023 5-year PUMS (Public Use Microdata Sample) data set
