A recent study conducted by WalltHub looked at the best and worst states for Doctors in 2023. The study is designed to help doctors decide where to practice. WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 19 key metrics. The data included the average annual wage of physicians to hospitals per capita to the quality of the public hospital system.
WalletHub included in the article, “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., with general physicians having a median salary equal to or greater than $208,000 per year.”
WalletHub evaluated dimensions using 19 relevant metrics, with each metric graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for practicing doctors. Each state and the district’s weighted average across all metrics was calculated to come up with an overall score, resulting in the rank 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.”
The top 10 states are:
Overall Rank |
State |
Total Score |
Opportunity & Competition |
Medical Environment |
1 |
Montana |
73.45 |
11 |
4 |
2 |
South Dakota |
67.47 |
29 |
8 |
3 |
Idaho |
66.48 |
7 |
5 |
4 |
Wisconsin |
64.22 |
2 |
15 |
5 |
Minnesota |
63.13 |
14 |
6 |
6 |
Louisiana |
63.11 |
39 |
31 |
7 |
Utah |
63.05 |
41 |
1 |
8 |
Nebraska |
62.47 |
10 |
2 |
9 |
Iowa |
62.42 |
6 |
35 |
10 |
Indiana |
62.11 |
5 |
19 |
To take a closer look at the full list, read the methodology and scoring details or to read the full WalletHub article, click here.