Indy doctors are fourth-best paid in nation, survey says

NOTE: THIS STORY IS EMBARGOED UNTIL 6 AM WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14.

Physicians in Indianapolis are the fourth-best paid of any metropolitan area in the nation, earning an average of $378,011 a year, according to a new national survey.

Only physicians in Charlotte ($402,273), Milwaukee ($398,431) and Jacksonville, Florida (($379,820) made more money on average than their counterparts in Indianapolis, according to the survey, released Wednesday by Doximity, an online social networking service for U.S. clinicians.

Indianapolis’ #4 ranking is the same as in Doximity’s first-annual survey, released in April 2017. But the amount of money climbed sharply, from $270,468.

In addition, Indiana ranked in the Top Ten of 10 U.S cities for average salaries for female physician in 2017: $293,590 a year. 

The study did not say why physicians earn more or less in various cities. Doximity said its study was drawn from self-reported compensation surveys completed in 2016 and 2017 of more than 65,000 doctors.

Other surveys have shown similarly high rankings for the Hoosier state.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in 2016 that Indiana ranks in the second-highest of four tiers for physician and surgeon pay, with doctors here earning between $219,010 and $230,060 in annual mean wages. The top five states were New Hampshire, Wyoming, Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota.

Medscape, a website for doctors and health professionals, ranked Indiana #10 last year for physician compensation, with average compensation of $322,000. The top five states were North Dakota, Alaska, South Dakota, Nebraska and New Hampshire.