The 10 Best States for Physicians

January 12, 2021

Logan Lutton

Some states that are better for physicians than others in terms of finances, competition, and other criteria. Partner site Physicians Practice crunched the numbers for you.

Editor's Note: this slide show originally appeared on our partner publication, Physicians Practice^©

Mean Salary: $224 640 (14)

Tax Collection per Capita: $2,766 (25)

Highest Malpractice Rate: $21 578 (18)

Lowest Malpractice Rate: $18 778 (48)

Average Cost of Living Index: 88.2 (4)

Mean Salary: $228 620 (3)

Tax Collection per Capita: $3,168 (8)

Highest Malpractice Rate: $9,595 (37)

Lowest Malpractice Rate: $5,820 (47)

Average Cost of Living Index: 87.1 (10)

Physician Density: 7,150 (19)

Mean Salary: $221 220 (17)

Tax Collection per Capita: $2,877 (31)

Highest Malpractice Rate: $11 448 (39)

Lowest Malpractice Rate: $4,748 (6)

Average Cost of Living Index: 97.8 (25)

Physician Density: 2,015 (3)

Mean Salary: $214 030 (27)

Tax Collection per Capita: $2,103 (9)

Highest Malpractice Rate: $9,867 (45)

Lowest Malpractice Rate: $4,766 (7)

Average Cost of Living Index: 100.7 (28)

Physician Density: 2,041 (4)

Mean Salary: $225 140 (13)

Tax Collection per Capita: $2,180 (12)

Highest Malpractice Rate: $16 215 (27)

Lowest Malpractice Rate: $11 392 (35)

Average Cost of Living Index: 86.5 (2)

Physician Density: 9,472 (23)

Mean Salary: $246 670

Tax Collection per Capita: $2,806

Highest Malpractice Rate: $10 613

Lowest Malpractice Rate: $6,696

Average Cost of Living Index: 88.5

Physician Density: 7926 (21)

Mean Salary: $227 390 (10)

Tax Collection per Capita: $2,044 (7)

Highest Malpractice Rate: $20 873 (19)

Lowest Malpractice Rate: $10 638 (31)

Average Cost of Living Index: 88.5 (6)

Physician Density: 20,275 (36)

Mean Salary: $231 750 (7)

Tax Collection per Capita: $2,627 (21)

Highest Malpractice Rate: $9,857 (46)

Lowest Malpractice Rate: $5,501 (9)

Average Cost of Living Index: 93.3 (19)

Physician Density: 3,012 (7)

Mean Salary: $227 730 (9)

Tax Collection per Capita: $1,608 (1)

Highest Malpractice Rate: $17 606 (23)

Lowest Malpractice Rate: $7,859 (20)

Average Cost of Living Index: 128.3 (46)

Physician Density: 1,900 (2)

Mean Salary: $221 700 (16)

Tax Collection per Capita: $2,608 (18)

Highest Malpractice Rate: $11,893 (37)

Lowest Malpractice Rate: $3,469 (1)

Average Cost of Living Index: 84.8 (1)

Physician Density: 6597 (17)

What are the best states for physicians?

Like most things in life, choosing where to practice medicine comes with pros, cons and trade-offs. Some physicians want to practice in a big city, others a one-stoplight town — and everything in between.

But besides personal and lifestyle reasons, there are some states that are better for physicians than others in terms of finances, competition, and other criteria.

In the 2020 Best States to Practice project, our partner publication Physicians Practice compiled some publicly available data to provide a perspective on what states can be best described as “physician-friendly.”

For our analysis, our editors ranked the states based on 2019 data covering 5 categories:

Average salary
Tax climate (state collections per capita)
Highest/lowest malpractice premiums
The 2019 cost of living index
Physician density

Physicians Practice obtained the data from publicly available sources.

The list should not be taken as ranking which states are better than others. It simply provides physicians with some objective data they can use when making their career decisions.

The 10 Best States for Physicians

What are the best states for physicians?

Like most things in life, choosing where to practice medicine comes with pros, cons and trade-offs. Some physicians want to practice in a big city, others a one-stoplight town — and everything in between.

But besides personal and lifestyle reasons, there are some states that are better for physicians than others in terms of finances, competition, and other criteria.

In the 2020 Best States to Practice project, our partner publication Physicians Practice compiled some publicly available data to provide a perspective on what states can be best described as “physician-friendly.”

For our analysis, our editors ranked the states based on 2019 data covering 5 categories:

Average salary

Tax climate (state collections per capita)

Highest/lowest malpractice premiums

The 2019 cost of living index

Physician density

Physicians Practice obtained the data from publicly available sources.

The list should not be taken as ranking which states are better than others. It simply provides physicians with some objective data they can use when making their career decisions.

See the entire Best States to Practice at Physicians Practice’s website.