Surgeons are among the highest paid doctors.Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
- Some medical specialties have higher salaries than others.
- General practitioners, including family doctors and pediatricians, are among the highest-paid doctors. Dentists, orthodontists, and prosthodontists also have high salaries.
- Anesthesiologists are paid more than any other type of doctor.
- Here are the top 15 highest-paying jobs for medical doctors, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and their average salaries in 2019.
We tend to assume everyone sporting a lab coat and stethoscope is bringing home the big bucks — and that's certainly more true for doctors in some medical specialties than it is for doctors in others.
For instance, the average optometrist makes $122,980 a year, while the average surgeon earns nearly double that.
These were the highest paying doctor jobs in 2019, ranked.
15. Optometrists
Jim Craigmyle/Getty Images
Average annual income: $122,980
Growth outlook (2018-2028): +10%
Description: Optometrists treat diseases, injuries, and other disorders related to patients' eyes. They also prescribe eyeglasses and contact lenses.
14. Podiatrists
Heidi Jones/Getty Images
Average annual income: $142,680
Growth outlook (2018-2028): +6%
Description: Podiatrists treat illnesses and injuries related to patients' feet, ankles, and lower-legs.
13. Dentists (all other specialists)
Portland Press Herald/ Getty
Average annual income: $178,040
Growth outlook (2018-2028): +5%
Description: "All other specialists" point to dentists who specialize in specific dental practices and are not listed separately in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some of these specialists include periodontists, who work with gums and bones around the mouth, and endodontists, who work with root canals.
12. General dentists
Scott Olson/Getty
Average annual income: $178,260
Growth outlook (2018-2028): +8%
Description: General dentists take care of patients' mouths, including their teeth and gums. This does not include specialized dentists.
11. General pediatricians
Hero Images/Getty Images
Average annual income: $184,410
Growth outlook (2018-2028): +2%
Description: Pediatricians prevent, diagnose, and treat children's diseases and injuries.
10. General internal medicine physicians
Average annual income: $201,440
Growth outlook (2014-2024): +4%*
Description: General internal medicine physicians treat and diagnose diseases and injuries in patients' internal organs. They do not provide surgical treatment.
*This is the growth outlook for general internists.
9. Physicians (all other) and ophthalmologists
A photo illustration shows a French general practitioner with a stethoscope in a doctor's office in Bordeaux
Reuters
Average annual income: $203,450
Growth outlook (2018-2028): +8%
Descriptions: "All other" physicians are those not listed separately in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some of these include cardiologists, who take care of patients' hearts, and dermatologists, who take care of patients' skin. Ophthalmologists are eye specialists.
8. Family medicine physicians
Rogelio V. Solis/AP Images
Average annual income: $213,270
Growth outlook (2018-2028): +10%*
What they do: Family medicine physicians treat, diagnose, and help prevent illnesses and injuries for patients of all ages.
*This is the growth outlook for family and general practitioners.
7. Psychiatrists
NoSystem images/Getty Images
Average annual income: $220,430
Growth outlook (2014-2024): +16%
What they do: Psychiatrists are physicians that treat patients with mental health illnesses.
6. Prosthodontists
Average annual income: $220,840
Growth outlook (2018-2028): +7%
Description: Prosthodontists replace patients' missing teeth and fix jaw problems with artificial structures.
5. Orthodontists
gpointstudio/Shutterstock
Average annual income: $230,830
Growth outlook (2018-2028): +7%
What they do: Orthodontists help straighten patients' smiles using pressure from braces and other tools.
4. Obstetricians and gynecologists
OBGYN and patient.
Caiaimage/Agnieszka Wozniak/Getty Images
Average annual income: $233,610
Growth outlook (2014-2024): +2%
Description: Obstetricians and gynecologists are physicians that care for women's reproductive systems, including pregnancy and childbirth.
3. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons
ViDi Studio/Shutterstock
Average annual income: $237,570
Growth outlook (2018-2028): +7%
Description: Oral and maxillofacial surgeons provide surgery on patients' mouths, jaws, and faces.
2. Surgeons
HRAUN/Getty Images
Average annual income: $252,040
Growth outlook (2014-2024): +1%
What they do: Surgeons manage patients' diseases, injuries, and deformities using surgical methods.
1. Anesthesiologists
Anesthesiologists put patients to sleep.
ChaNaWiT/Shutterstock
Average annual income: $261,730
Growth outlook (2018-2028): +4%
What they do: Anesthesiologists care for patients undergoing surgery by providing them with anesthesia.
