These Specialties Had the Highest Starting Salaries This Year

Most physician specialties had an increase in average starting salary from last year, according to AMN Healthcare’s 2026 report on recruiting incentives.

Gastroenterology had the highest average starting salary this year at $654,000, which is a significant 18.5% bump from last year’s $552,000.

The specialty that had the greatest year-over-year salary increase was urology, which jumped 22.5% from $521,000 last year to a whopping $638,000 this year.

Cardiology (non-invasive) also saw a double-digit percentage increase (up 20.9% to $568,000), as did otolaryngology (up 18.0% to $575,000), hospitalist (up 17.8% to $328,000), radiology (up 14.2% to $571,000), and neurology (up 13.6% to $391,000).

On the other hand, orthopedics had the sharpest decline in average compensation at $507,000, down 12% from last year’s $576,000. Pediatrics also had a significant 10.6% year-over-year decline from $258,000 to $230,000.

The overall average physician starting salary was $419,000, which is up from last year’s $403,000. As in past years, academic positions tended to have lower starting salaries ($362,000) compared to non-academic positions ($452,000).

Nearly nine in 10 search engagements had signing bonuses offered, with the average bonus for physicians at $49,306, up $11,091 from last year. The average bonus was $12,567 for nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs).

The report noted that while competitive salaries and generous signing bonuses help to attract candidates, employers must do more to retain them. Indeed, most roles leveraged other benefits to attract candidates, including relocation allowances, continuing medical education (CME) allowances, and educational loan forgiveness.

Two-thirds of offers included a relocation allowance, which was on average $13,594 for physicians and $6,694 for NPs and PAs. CME allowances were offered in nearly three in five offers. Production bonuses, where providers can earn more based on their work volume and other metrics, were also offered in two-thirds of cases.

AMN Healthcare calculated clinician demand by comparing the number of job openings to the number of physicians in a specialty. Overall, there continued to be strong demand for specialty physicians, though family medicine physicians were the most requested type of physician search engagement for the 20th year running. And for the sixth year in a row, NPs were the most requested search.

The report noted that there was also strong demand for anesthesiologists, gastroenterologists, hematologists/oncologists, cardiologists, radiologists, as well as other specialists, “reflecting the clinical needs of older patients who account for a disproportionate share of tests, treatments, and procedures.”

“As the population ages, specialist demand will continue to outpace primary care demand,” the report stated.

Another trend to watch is the rising number of physicians opting to be 1099 independent contractors, a structure that “offers greater autonomy along with greater responsibility,” instead of W-2 full time employees, the report stated. However, traditional employment remains the dominant model.

AMN Healthcare’s recruiting incentives report is now in its 33rd year. This year’s report is based on a representative sample of 1,293 permanent physician and advance practice provider search engagements that took place from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026 in 47 states.