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

© Copyright 2011 by Aurelio Locsin.

General internists treat problems of the internal organs without surgery. They often also function as general practitioners for adults. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 50,070 internists make a mean $91.10 per hour or $189,480 per year. This is over four times the average wage in the country, which is $21.35 per hour or $44,410 per year, and is over eight percent more than what general practitioners earn at a mean $83.59 per hour or $173,860 per year.

The Department of Labor shows the offices of physicians as the number one workplace for general internists, since they have about 70 percent of all the jobs. But this is true only because most of these professionals work for themselves, in their own offices. Pay here, which is the third highest for any employer, runs a mean $95.97 per hour or $169,620 per year. The second biggest employers are general and medical hospitals, with 16 percent of the jobs, and mean wages at $76.84 per hour or $159,840 per year. Ranking third for jobs are outpatient care centers, where 5 percent of the total make a mean $93.96 per hour or $195,440 per year. The highest paying employers are medical and diagnostic labs, with wages at a mean $109.25 per hour or $227,250 per year. The close second belongs to specialty hospitals, not including psychiatry and substance abuse. The wages here are a mean $102.84 per hour or $213,900 per year.

The state with the most job opportunities for general internists is Massachusetts, where 2,790 internists make a mean $96.18 per hour or $168,010 per year. Pennsylvania is number two with 5,410 jobs at means of $78.52 per hour or $200,050 per year. Close behind is Michigan, where 2,500 receive a mean $63.28 per hour or $131,630 per year. The best paying states for the profession are Utah, with rates unspecified by the Department of Labor; South Dakota, with averages at $113.28 per hour or $235,620 per year; and the District of Columbia, with earnings at a mean $110.96 per hour or $230,800 per year.

The cities with the best opportunities for general internists have the highest populations. Los Angeles, California, the number two city for population in the U.S., has 2,760 with means at $85.75 per hour or $178,370 per year. New York City, New York, the most crowded metro area in the U.S. has 2,380 professionals earning a mean $70.79 per hour or $147,240 per year. As for the cities with the highest paying employers, they are Springfield, Missouri; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Salt Lake City, Utah. The Labor Department does not show hourly and yearly mean for these areas.

Rural areas with the most jobs start at Southwest Maine, where 130 earn a mean $85.21 per hour or $177,230 per year. Second for jobs is the other North Carolina nonmetropolitan area. Pay here is a mean $116.69 per hour or $242,720 per year. As for rural areas with the highest pay, they are other New Hampshire areas and Central Nebraska. The Labor Department supplies no salary figures for these two jobs. However, it does show internists in South Georgia making a mean $116.81 per hour or $242,960 per year.