State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.
Hospitalist Salary (2026): Data, Outlook & How to Become One
Hospitalists earn a median of $265,930 per year ($127.85/hr) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Employment is projected to grow 2.5% through 2034, with about 9,600 openings a year (BLS EP, 2024–2034). Typical entry-level education: Doctoral or professional degree.
SOC 29-1229Healthcare Practitioners and TechnicalLast updated August 15, 2026
- Median pay
- $265,930
- Projected growth
- +2.5%
- Openings a year
- 9,600
- Typical education
- Doctorate
BLS OEWS, May 2025
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
Also advertised as: Academic Hospitalist, Consultant Physician, Hospitalist, Hospitalist Medical Doctor (Hospitalist MD), MD (Medical Doctor), Physician.
How much do Hospitalists make?
10th percentile$69,170
Entry / lowest-paid tenth
25th percentile$102,930
Lower quartile
Median (50th)$265,930
Half earn more, half earn less
75th percentile$378,770
Upper quartile
90th percentile$452,360
Top-paid tenth
| Median annual wage | $265,930 |
|---|---|
| Median hourly wage | $127.85/hr |
| Mean annual wage | $262,040 |
| People employed | 342,720 |
Versus all US occupations
At $265,930, Hospitalists earn 422% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $214,950 a year.
Versus healthcare practitioners and technical occupations
Inside the Healthcare Practitioners and Technical group, where the middle occupation pays $97,870, this is 172% above the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $452,360 or more while the bottom 10% earn $69,170, a gap of 6.5×. That is an unusually wide spread, which usually tracks specialisation, employer type and years of experience.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 98% of the 923 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Highest-paying state
North Dakota pays the most at $454,550, and still leads at $510,966 once local prices are taken into account.
Which states pay Hospitalists the most?
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | $454,550 | $510,966 | 740 |
| Montana | $438,850 | $463,680 | 580 |
| Maine | $419,410 | $432,159 | 1,340 |
| Wisconsin | $391,740 | $416,324 | 6,350 |
| Minnesota | $367,320 | $372,456 | 5,350 |
| Indiana | $366,190 | $392,365 | 6,760 |
| New Hampshire | $361,300 | $346,854 | 1,000 |
| Alaska | $355,100 | $346,916 | 270 |
| Louisiana | $350,920 | $397,837 | 4,740 |
| Oregon | $347,180 | $335,891 | 4,130 |
Is Hospitalist a growing career?
Hospitalists2.5%
All US occupations3.1%
+2.5% projected growth vs 3.1% for all occupations.
About as fast as average
BLS projects employment of Hospitalists to change 2.5% over 2024–2034, against 3.1% projected for all occupations. That is 8,600 more jobs.
Annual openings
About 9,600 openings are projected each year, 2.8% of the 340,700 jobs that existed in 2024. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Overall employment of physicians and surgeons is projected to grow 3 percent from 2024 to 2034, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
Projected employment of physicians and surgeons varies by occupation (see table). An increasing number of older adults, who are more likely than younger people to experience health problems and to need complex care, is expected to drive overall employment growth for physicians and surgeons.
In addition, increasing rates of chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease, will result in continued reliance on physicians and surgeons by large numbers of people seeking medical care.
How to become a Hospitalist
Physicians and surgeons typically need a bachelor’s degree as well as a degree from a medical school, which takes an additional 4 years to complete. Depending on their specialty, they also need 3 to 9 years in internship and residency programs. Subspecialization includes additional training in a fellowship of 1 to 3 years.
| Typical entry-level education | Doctoral or professional degree |
|---|---|
| Preparation needed (O*NET job zone) | Considerable preparation |
| Work experience in a related occupation | None |
| Typical on-the-job training | Internship/residency |
What education people in the job have
O*NET incumbent survey: the highest level of education reported by people already working as hospitalists.
- Post-Doctoral Training48.0%
- Doctoral Degree40.0%
- First Professional Degree8.0%
- Bachelor's Degree4.0%
What does a Hospitalist do?
Provide inpatient care predominantly in settings such as medical wards, acute care units, intensive care units, rehabilitation centers, or emergency rooms. Manage and coordinate patient care throughout treatment.
Physicians and surgeons diagnose and treat injuries or illnesses and address health maintenance. Physicians examine patients; take medical histories; prescribe medications; and order, perform, and interpret diagnostic tests. They often counsel patients on diet, hygiene, and preventive healthcare. Surgeons operate on patients to treat injuries, such as broken bones; diseases, such as cancerous tumors; and deformities, such as cleft palates.
There are two types of physicians, with similar degrees: M.D. (Medical Doctor) and D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine). Both use the same methods of treatment, including drugs and surgery, but D.O.s place additional emphasis on the body's musculoskeletal system, preventive medicine, and holistic (whole-person) patient care. D.O.s are most likely to be primary care physicians, although they work in all specialties.
Day-to-day tasks
- Diagnose, treat, or provide continuous care to hospital inpatients.
- Prescribe medications or treatment regimens to hospital inpatients.
- Order or interpret the results of tests such as laboratory tests and radiographs (x-rays).
- Admit patients for hospital stays.
- Conduct discharge planning and discharge patients.
- Write patient discharge summaries and send them to primary care physicians.
- Refer patients to medical specialists, social services, or other professionals as appropriate.
- Communicate with patients' primary care physicians upon admission, when treatment plans change, or at discharge to maintain continuity and quality of care.
O*NET core tasks, ordered by reported importance.
Core skills
- Reading Comprehension4.1/5
- Active Listening4.1/5
- Speaking4.1/5
- Critical Thinking4.1/5
- Active Learning4.1/5
- Monitoring4.0/5
- Writing3.9/5
- Science3.4/5
Transferable skills
- Social Perceptiveness4.1/5
- Complex Problem Solving4.1/5
- Judgment and Decision Making4.1/5
- Service Orientation4.0/5
- Coordination3.9/5
- Persuasion3.3/5
- Instructing3.3/5
- Time Management3.3/5
Tools and software
- Medical software · in demand
- Office suite software · in demand
- Presentation software · in demand
- Spreadsheet software · in demand
- Word processing software · in demand
- Billing and invoicing software
- Electronic mail software
- Information retrieval or search software
- Internet browser software
- Mobile location based services software
“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.
What personality type suits a Hospitalist?
Interest profile: O*NET Occupational Interests, scored 1–7
Realistic3.5
Investigativeprimary4.6
Artistic1.6
Socialprimary6.3
Enterprising3.1
Conventionalprimary3.9
Day to day this is work built around teaching, helping and working directly with other people, combined with investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data.
Closest MBTI types
NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.
Hospitalist: frequently asked questions
How much do Hospitalists make?
Hospitalists earn a median of $265,930 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). That is 422% above the $50,980 median for all US occupations. That works out at $127.85/hr. The middle half earn between $102,930 and $378,770. The top 10% earn $452,360 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Hospitalist?
Yes, and beyond a bachelor's: BLS lists a doctoral or professional degree as the typical entry requirement for Hospitalists. BLS also lists internship/residency as typical on-the-job training. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 48.0% hold post-doctoral training.
Is Hospitalist a growing career?
It is stable rather than fast-growing: employment is projected to change 2.5% over 2024–2034, about the same as the 3.1% projected across all occupations (BLS EP, 2024–2034). BLS still projects about 9,600 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Hospitalist do?
Physicians and surgeons diagnose and treat injuries or illnesses and address health maintenance. A core O*NET task: diagnose, treat, or provide continuous care to hospital inpatients. Employers most often ask for Medical software, Office suite software, Presentation software.
Which states pay Hospitalists the most?
The highest state medians for Hospitalists are North Dakota ($454,550), Montana ($438,850), Maine ($419,410) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
What personality type suits a Hospitalist?
O*NET scores Hospitalists highest on the Social, Investigative and Conventional interest areas, so the work mixes teaching, helping and working directly with other people with investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ESFJ, ISFJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 923 occupations in the bank.