Thursday, June 5, 2025

Family Medicine Physician Pay in New England

According to recently published data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), as of May 2024, there were just over 104,000 family medicine physicians employed across the United States. Of these, 6,120 were practicing in the six-state New England region.

BLS data highlights a significant pay disparity among family medicine physicians in New England. Massachusetts stands out, accounting for more than half of the region’s family medicine employment and ranking in the top 10 nationally for annual mean wages. In contrast, the other five New England states report average salaries below the national average.

The May 2024 BLS data provides the following insights into family medicine physician compensation across New England:

Family Medicine Physician Pay in New England

Family Medicine Physician Pay in New England

State # Employed Annual Mean Wages Wage Rank*
CT 900 $213,400 45th
MA 3,550 $301,270 4th
ME 630 $221,190 42nd
NH 410 $248,550 28th
RI 280 $244,270 30th
VT 350 $238,710 32nd
U.S. 104,780 $253,047 -------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on June 5, 2025

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

The Primary Care Shortfall in the Great Plains Region

Whenever residents of geographic areas, facilities, or population groups have subpar access to basic medical care because too few primary care physicians serve the area relative to its population, the setting can be designated a primary care HPSA (health professional shortage area) by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).  As of March 31, 2025, the HRSA reported that more than 77.2 million Americans lived in primary care HPSAs.  That included just over 5.4 million residents of the seven-state Great Plains region.  This number represented almost 7% of the U.S. population that was living in a primary care shortfall area at that time.  The HRSA estimates that to eliminate the shortfall Great Plains region HPSAs would need 1,080 additional primary care physicians.  An examination of HRSA data details the following about the primary care shortfall in the Great Plains region:

The Primary Care Shortfall in the Great Plains Region

The Primary Care Shortfall in the Great Plains Region

State (1) HPSAs (2) Population (3) Shortfall
IA 161 745,778 162
KS 160 676,611 113
MN 212 1,415,841 201
MO 336 1,878,341 476
NE 131 235,596 33
ND 87 182,247 39
SD 99 267,936 56
Region 1,186 5,402,350 1,080
U.S. 7,749 77,253,848 13,364

(1) HRSA-designated Geographic Units, Population Groups, and Facilities with a primary care shortfall
(2) Population of designated HPSAs
(3) Primary Care practitioners needed to remove the HPSA Designation

Source:  Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, 3/31/25 (HRSA)

Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Speech Language Pathologist Pay in the Great Plains Region

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) most current occupational employment data indicated that nearly 174,000 speech language pathologists (SLPs) were working in the United States as of May 2024.  More than 12,000 of those employed in the U.S. as SLPs resided in the seven-state Great Plains region.  BLS data indicated that the region is one of the weakest in the country for speech language pathologist pay, as no state in the region registered a SLP annual mean wage level above the national average.  Moreover, three Great Plains states ranked among the ten worst states in the country for SLP annual mean wages.  More examination of BLS data from May 2024 reveals the following details about speech language pathologist pay in the Great Plains region:

Speech Language Pathologist Pay in the Great Plains Region
Speech Language Pathologist Pay in the Great Plains Region

State # Employed Annual Mean Wages Wage Rank*
IA 1,390 $85,230 32nd
KS 1,790 $84,230 36th
MN 3,730 $82,020 42nd
MO 2,700 $84,930 33rd
NE 1,230 $83,880 38th
ND 670 $73,950 48th
SD 510 $69,230 50th
U.S. 173,910 $91,089 -------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on June 3, 2025