The Highest Paid Doctors in the USA: Where General Practitioners Make The Best Salaries

General practitioners, also known as family practitioners, handle general medical conditions, and are the first doctors you usually see if you aren’t feeling well. They may treat all members of the same family, of various genders and ages, and can refer specific problems to specialists. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, about 97,820 GPs earn a mean $83.59 per hour or $173,860 per year.

Most general practitioners work for themselves, which is why 66 percent of them are classified as working for the offices of physicians, where their mean pay runs $86.09 per hour or $179,060. This is also the third highest-paying source of income for these professionals. Number two for employment is general medical and surgical hospitals, where 17 percent of the total numbers make a mean $81.31 per hour or $169,110 per year. Ranking third for jobs are outpatient care centers, where almost 7 percent earn a mean $80.71 per hour or $167,870.

The highest paying employers are medical and diagnostic labs, with averages at $95.84 per hour or $199,360 per year, followed by employment services at $92.66 per hour or $192,720 per year.

The state with the most opportunity for family practitioners, California, is also the nation’s most populous. Here, 10,350 doctors make a mean $80.78 per hour or $168,010 per year. Pennsylvania is next with 5,410 GPs earning a mean $78.52 per hour or $163,310 per year. Texas, the second most populous state, ranks third for jobs with 5,180 averaging $89.56 per hour or $186,290 per year.

The state with the best paying jobs is Iowa, with wages at a mean $99.30 per hour or $206,530 per year, followed by Wisconsin at a mean $97.41 per hour or $202,620 per year, and Arkansas at a mean $96.09 per hour or $199,860 per year.

The urban area with the most jobs for GPs is Chicago-Naperville-Joiliet, Illinois, where 3,850 make a mean $81.72 per hour or $169,980 per year. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ranks second with averages at $71.09 per hour or $147,870 per year. In third, is Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, with earnings at a mean $79.64 per hour or $165,640 per year. For the best pay, small cities outrank the larger ones.

Fort Smith, Arkansas, for example, boasts the best wages, though the Labor Department did not specify the amounts. Monroe, Louisiana, is second with pay at a mean $117.70 per hour or $244,820 per year, and Nashua, New Hampshire, is close behind at $117.29 per hour or $243,950 per year.