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 do their large metro peers. This is readily visible in May 2019 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 were among the 20 best metro markets for family medicine physician pay:
| Metropolitan Area | # Employed | Annual Mean Wages | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Racine, WI | 40 | $286,030 | ||
| 2 | Jacksonville, NC | 50 | $282,580 | ||
| 3 | Gadsden, AL | N/A | $281,430 | ||
| 4 | Rockford, IL | 290 | $276,590 | ||
| 5 | Hilton Head-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC | 110 | $276,150 | ||
| 6 | Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI | 450 | $275,780 | ||
| 7 | Bloomington, IL | 130 | $274,840 | ||
| 8 | Manchester, NH | 70 | $272,040 | ||
| 9 | Mobile, AL | 90 | $269,940 | ||
| 10 | Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN | N/A | $268,490 | ||
| 11 | Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL | 210 | $268,440 | ||
| 12 | Erie, PA | N/A | $267,730 | ||
| 13 | Portsmouth, NH-ME | 110 | $266,750 | ||
| 14 | State College, PA | N/A | $266,410 | ||
| 15 | The Villages, FL | N/A | $263,770 | ||
| 16 | Chattanooga, TN-GA | 80 | $262,990 | ||
| 17 | Napa, CA | 60 | $262,750 | ||
| 18 | Kankakee, IL | 110 | $261,130 | ||
| 19 | Charlottesville, VA | 210 | $260,490 | ||
| 20 | Cedar Rapids, IA | 100 | $259,860 | ||
| National | 109,370 | $213,270 | |||
(#) a top 20 U.S metro population area
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on November 13, 2020