Doctors are one of the most essential professions, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, which the U.S. has been battling for over a year now. Doctors are on the front lines helping to combat the spread of this disease, and are working to administer the vaccines that will eventually help life go back to normal. Containing coronavirus will not only help America’s health, but it will also be essential for the healing of our economy.
Doctors are well compensated for the hard work they do to keep patients healthy. They are among the highest-paid and most educated professionals in the U.S. In fact, many medical jobs were among the highest-paying of 2020, with general physicians having a mean salary of $196,490 per year. The high salary makes sense, given the importance of their life-saving work and the struggles that come with life in the medical profession. However, doctors don’t start out wealthy. The average medical-school debt is around $215,000.
In order to help doctors decide where to practice, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 19 key metrics. Their data set ranges from the average annual wage of physicians to hospitals per capita to the quality of the public hospital system. And it should come as no shock to anyone, basically because we’re worst at everything, that Rhode Island is the worst state for doctors in the United States.
Check out the complete ranking, additional expert commentary and a full description of their methodology below.
Methodology
In order to identify the best states for doctors, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across two key dimensions, “Opportunity & Competition” and “Medical Environment.”
They evaluated those dimensions using 19 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for practicing doctors.
They then determined each state and the District’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order the states.
Opportunity & Competition – Total Points: 70
- Physicians’ Average Annual Wage: Double Weight (~11.67 Points)
Note: Data for this metric were adjusted for the cost of living. - Physicians’ Average Monthly Starting Salary: Full Weight (~5.83 Points)
Note: Data for this metric were adjusted for the cost of living. - Hospitals per Capita: Full Weight (~5.83 Points)
- Insured Population Rate: Full Weight (~5.83 Points)
Note: “Population” includes noninstitutionalized civilians aged 16 and older. - Employer-Based Insurance Rate: Full Weight (~5.83 Points)
- Projected Share of Elderly Population: Full Weight (~5.83 Points)
Note: This metric measures the projected percentage of the population aged 65 and older by 2030. - Current Competition: Full Weight (~5.83 Points)
Note: This metric measures both the number of physicians per 1,000 Residents and the percentage of the population living in a primary-care HPSA, or Health Professional Shortage Area. HPSAs, as defined by the Health Resources & Services Administration, “are designations that indicate health care provider shortages in: Primary care; Dental health; or Mental Health” and “may be geographic-, population-, or facility-based.” - Share of Medical Residents Retained: Full Weight (~5.83 Points)
Note: The metric measures the net number of medical residents being added to the physician workforce of each state. - Projected Competition: Full Weight (~5.83 Points)
Note: This metric measures the projected number of physicians per 1,000 Residents by 2028. - Number of CME Credits Required: Full Weight (~5.83 Points)
Note: “CME” stands for Continuing Medical Education, credits for which the state may require medical professionals to earn in order to maintain their licenses. - Presence of Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Law: Full Weight (~5.83 Points)
Note: This metric is based on data from the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact and considers whether compact legislation has been enacted, introduced or not been introduced.
Medical Environment – Total Points: 30
- Quality of Public Hospital System: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
Note: This metric is based on data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. - Hospitals Safety – Percentage of “A” Hospitals: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
Note: This metric is based on data from Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade which ranked hospitals across the states based on 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data. - Presence of Nationally Accredited Health Departments: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
Note: This binary metric measures the presence or absence of national accredited health departments in a state. - Physician Assistants per Capita: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
- Punitiveness of State Medical Board: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
Note: This metric measures the number of serious disciplinary actions (per 1,000 physicians) taken by the state medical board. - Malpractice Award Payout Amount per Capita: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
- Annual Malpractice Liability Insurance Rate: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
- Physician Burnout: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
Note: Physician burnout is defined as “a feeling of physical, emotional, or mental exhaustion, as well as frustration and cynicism related to work; and doubts about your competence and the value of your work.”
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Council for Community and Economic Research, Health Resources & Services Administration, Association of American Medical Colleges, Projections Central’s State Occupational Projections, Professional Boundaries, Leapfrog Group, Public Health Accreditation Board, Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, WebMD, BoardVitals and Diederich Healthcare.
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