Pay

What do anesthesiologists earn?

Salaried anesthesiologists earned a mean of $336,640 a year in May 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, across 41,890 employed nationally.

Mean annual wage, May 2024: $336,640
Employed nationally, May 2024: 41,890

These are salaried figures. BLS surveys employers, doesn't cover the self-employed or owners and partners in unincorporated practices, and leaves out pay such as year-end bonuses. So they can understate what partners in physician-owned groups earn, and they don't separate anesthesiologists by subspecialty or by stage.

Practice

How is anesthesiology changing?

Anesthesiology sits near the middle on practice ownership. In the AMA's 2024 survey, 46.4% of anesthesiologists were in private practice, meaning a practice wholly owned by physicians, against 42.2% across all physicians. The all-physician share was 60.1% in 2012.

Most of the work happens in hospitals and surgery centers, even for physician-owned groups. The AMA's analysis of 2021 Medicare claims found that more than 90% of anesthesiologists billed at least 75% of their allowed charges in a facility setting. So a group's income often rests on its contracts with the facilities it covers.

The GAO reports that at least 47% of physicians were employed by or affiliated with hospital systems in 2024, up from less than 30% in 2012. That figure covers all physicians, not anesthesiology alone. A first offer may come from a hospital or health system, a physician-owned group or a group with outside investors. None is better in itself. Each changes how you're paid, what you might own and what you'd sign.

The first year

Your first year as an attending

The first twelve months bring the same decisions for most new attendings, in roughly this order. The full checklist goes through each one.

The first-year attending checklist

Disability insurance

Your income is what most of the rest of the plan depends on. Read how your employer's group coverage defines disability and how much of your pay it replaces, then decide whether an individual own-occupation policy belongs alongside it.

Student loans

Pick a repayment path on purpose rather than by default. Forgiveness, repayment plans and refinancing each depend on your loans and your employer, and moving federal loans to a private lender gives up options you can't get back, so compare before you move anything.

Retirement accounts

Learn what your employer offers, what the match is and how long it takes to vest, and when you can join. Above the Roth IRA income limits, a backdoor Roth may be worth reviewing with your tax professional.

Your contract and signing bonus

Read what you would repay if you left early, and how a signing or relocation payment is taxed and withheld. Your attorney reads the agreement; we help you see what it means for your household.

An emergency fund

Hold enough cash to cover your fixed costs for a stretch without income, before raising spending or investing more. The right amount depends on your household and how settled your job is.

Life and umbrella insurance

If anyone depends on your income, term life insurance is worth a look. Umbrella liability coverage sits above home and auto policies. We advise and coordinate with your insurance professional; we don't sell insurance.

What's different in anesthesiology?

These are questions to ask before you sign and during the first year. The contract is for your attorney and the tax for your accountant. We advise and coordinate with both; we don't negotiate contracts or value practices.

01

Who is the employer, and who owns it?

Ask whether you'd be employed by a hospital, a health system, a physician-owned group or a group with outside investors, and whether that has changed recently. It decides your benefits, your retirement plan and whether the job counts toward loan forgiveness tied to your employer.

02

Which contracts does the group depend on?

If you'd join a group, ask which hospitals and surgery centers it covers, how long those contracts run and when they come up for renewal. Ask what happened to the group's pay the last time a contract changed.

03

How are call, nights and weekends paid?

Ask how often you'd take call, whether it's paid separately or built into salary, and how nights, weekends and holidays are shared. Ask whether that changes as you gain seniority.

04

How is your work counted?

Ask whether pay is a fixed salary, by shift or hour, or tied to the work you bill, and how any productivity measure is calculated. Ask how long any fixed starting salary lasts and what replaces it.

05

Is there a partnership track?

If the group is physician-owned, ask how long until partnership, what the buy-in costs and how it was valued, and what you get back if you leave. We look at what a buy-in does to your cash flow and loans next to your other goals.

06

What does the agreement restrict?

Ask where and for how long you couldn't practice if you leave, and who pays for tail malpractice coverage. These shape your options later, and your attorney reads them.

Common questions

What anesthesiologists ask.

Do anesthesiologists need a financial advisor?

Not necessarily. Plenty of anesthesiologists manage well with a good accountant and some reading. An advisor tends to help most when several decisions land at once: a first contract, loans, a house and a growing family. If you hire one, ask how they're paid and whether they act as a fiduciary. How to choose a financial advisor as a doctor

How much does an anesthesiologist make?

BLS puts the mean for salaried anesthesiologists at $336,640 a year (May 2024). Those figures don't split out subspecialty or stage, so compare with anesthesiologists at your stage and in your state rather than with one national number.

Are most anesthesiologists in private practice?

Just under half: 46.4% were in physician-owned private practice in the AMA's 2024 survey. The rest work in hospital-owned practices, directly for hospitals, in practices with outside owners or in other settings.

What should I ask about an anesthesiology contract?

Which facility contracts the group depends on, how call and nights are paid, how your work is counted, and what the agreement restricts if you leave. Questions to ask before you sign

Guides

Financial planning for anesthesiologists