Healthcare Salaries (2025)
Compare salaries across 17 healthcare roles. National median pay, total employment, and links to city-by-city breakdowns.
Healthcare covers 17 BLS-tracked occupations across clinical care, allied health, and healthcare administration. Wages in this category are shaped by state licensing constraints, which limit cross-state supply and tend to compress geographic wage variation.
Each role page in the Healthcare category breaks wage data down by metropolitan area and reports the full p25-p90 percentile distribution. The percentile data is the most useful framing for individual wage comparisons — the median alone hides the distribution within a role.
Healthcare Roles by Salary
| Rank | Role | SOC Code | Median Salary | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Obstetrician/Gynecologist | 29-1218 | $279,676 | 9,950 |
| 2 | Family Medicine Physician | 29-1215 | $257,072 | 50,640 |
| 3 | Pediatrician | 29-1221 | $201,922 | 25,910 |
| 4 | Dentist | 29-1021 | $175,578 | 81,680 |
| 5 | Pharmacist | 29-1051 | $146,529 | 195,450 |
| 6 | Optometrist | 29-1041 | $139,903 | 27,300 |
| 7 | Physician Assistant | 29-1071 | $138,339 | 101,270 |
| 8 | Nurse Practitioner | 29-1171 | $138,137 | 185,150 |
| 9 | Veterinarian | 29-1131 | $133,716 | 49,250 |
| 10 | Medical and Health Services Manager | 11-9111 | $124,396 | 371,550 |
| 11 | Physical Therapist | 29-1123 | $104,738 | 163,910 |
| 12 | Occupational Therapist | 29-1122 | $102,783 | 99,840 |
| 13 | Dental Hygienist | 29-1292 | $101,423 | 136,530 |
| 14 | Registered Nurse | 29-1141 | $100,797 | 2,035,260 |
| 15 | Audiologist | 29-1181 | $97,552 | 6,560 |
| 16 | Speech-Language Pathologist | 29-1127 | $96,848 | 113,720 |
| 17 | Clinical Laboratory Technologist | 29-2010 | $63,789 | 204,150 |
Frequently Asked Questions
The highest paying healthcare role is Obstetrician/Gynecologist with a national median salary of $279,676. This is based on 2025 BLS occupational wage data across all tracked metro areas.
There are approximately 3,858,120 healthcare positions across 17 roles tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average median salary across all healthcare roles is $141,365.
Healthcare roles have an average median salary of $141,365. The highest paid role (Obstetrician/Gynecologist) earns $279,676, while the lowest starts at $63,789. Pay varies significantly by specific role, city, and experience level.
Salary data from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Roles grouped by BLS occupational category.
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2026.