In an earlier commentary, we reviewed Family Medicine Physician Pay in the Top 20 Metro Areas. The major metropolitan areas in the U.S. most certainly have more family medicine physicians employed in them than do smaller metropolitan areas. That said, family medicine practitioners frequently achieve better average compensation levels than their large metro peers. This is readily visible in May 2021 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which reports that not a single one of the 20 largest metro areas in the nation was among the 20 best metro markets for family medicine physician pay:
20 Best Metro Markets for Family Medicine Physician Pay
| Metropolitan Area | # Employed | Annual Mean Wages | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coeur d'Alene, ID | 90 | $336,820 | ||
| 2 | Fond du Lac, WI | 50 | $336,140 | ||
| 3 | Gainesville, GA | N/A | $330,930 | ||
| 4 | Nevada non-metro | 50 | $327,270 | ||
| 5 | Midland, TX | 40 | $326,040 | ||
| 6 | Salinas, CA | 390 | $324,990 | ||
| 7 | Eastern Wyoming non-metro | 80 | $321,990 | ||
| 8 | Southeastern Minnesota non-metro | 120 | $321,510 | ||
| 9 | Lewiston, ID-WA | 30 | $318,330 | ||
| 10 | Boise City, ID | 170 | $315,520 | ||
| 11 | Santa Rosa, CA | 230 | $312,350 | ||
| 12 | Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL | 90 | $312,270 | ||
| 13 | Alaska non-metro | 190 | $309,820 | ||
| 14 | North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL | 180 | $309,730 | ||
| 15 | South Central Idaho non-metro | 80 | $308,670 | ||
| 16 | Bakersfield, CA | 560 | $307,990 | ||
| 17 | Odessa, TX | 110 | $305,790 | ||
| 18 | Champaign-Urbana, IL | 110 | $302,410 | ||
| 19 | Cedar Rapids, IA | 90 | $302,110 | ||
| 20 | Jackson, TN | 40 | $301,940 | ||
| National | 102,930 | $235,930 | |||
(#) a top 20 U.S metro population area
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on November 12, 2022
