How does Town Size and Population Affect Physician Salary?
How does Town Size and Population Affect Physician Salary?A reader, who is a future physician, posed some questions about physician salary as it relates to the size of the community in terms of population. Do physicians earn more in small towns or large cities, and why?Answer: In discussing physician compensation, the use of the term “salary” can be misleading, since many physicians are not employed, nor are they paid a base salary. Most physicians (more than 50%) are in business for themselves, owning a private practice in full or in part, as opposed to being employed by a hospital or group. Even for physicians who are employed, their compensation is controlled by many geographic, economic, and demographic factors, such as managed care and insurance reimbursements, which are set by third party organizations and government regulations. According to the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) which conducts extensive annual surveys and analysis of physician compensation, most physic
