Orthopedic surgery is the first medical specialty to average more than $600,000 in annual pay, according to Medscape’s “Physician Compensation Report 2026.“
The report is based on responses from 5,916 physicians surveyed from Sept. 5 to Dec. 17, 2025.
Five notes:
- Orthopedics and orthopedic surgery had an average annual pay of $611,000, the highest of the 29 specialties included. Cardiology ($575,000) and radiology ($571,000) were also among the top-paid specialties.
- Orthopedic pay rose 8% year over year, one of the larger increases in the report. Across all specialties, average compensation was $386,000, up 3%.
- Eight specialties topped $500,000 for the first time, up from seven in the 2025 report. Plastic surgery ($554,000) and anesthesiology ($543,000) rounded out the top five.
- Orthopedic pay has climbed more than $50,000 per year in Medscape’s surveys since 2022. Orthopedic compensation relies mostly on productivity, according to the American Medical Association.
- Medscape titled the report “A Return to Normalization.” Matthew Wells, a senior director at AMGA Consulting, called 2025 a “return to normalization” for physician pay, the report said.
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