Internal medicine physician who treats kidney disease, high blood pressure and electrolyte disorders, and oversees dialysis and kidney transplant care. Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2026 puts typical pay at $359,000 a year (2025). BLS does not publish separate figures for general internal medicine physicians; it counts them within general internal medicine physician (SOC 29-1216), whose median pay is $256,560 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Typical entry-level education: Doctoral or professional degree.
- SOC 29-1216
- Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Last updated October 9, 2026
At a glance
Nephrologist in four numbers
- Median pay
- $256,560a year, or $123.35/hrBLS OEWS, May 2025Lowest 10% $74KTop 10% $475K
US median, all jobs: $50,980
- Projected growth
- +4.0%About as fast as averageBLS EP, 2025–2035This career+4%All jobs+3.5%
Projected employment change, 2025–2035 Item Value This career +4% All jobs +3.5% - Openings a year
- 1,90073,100 jobs todayBLS EP, 2025–2035
- Jobs in 202573.1K
- Projected 203576K
Employment, 2025–2035 Item Value Jobs in 2025 73.1K Projected 2035 76K - Typical education
- Doctorateneeded to enterBLS EP, 2025–2035; mix: O*NET
- Doctorate47%
- Post-doctoral training53%
Highest education held by general internal medicine physicians Segment Value Doctorate 47% Post-doctoral training 53%
Also advertised as: Kidney Specialist, Kidney Doctor, Nephrology Physician, Transplant Nephrologist.
Pay
How much do General Internal Medicine Physicians make?
Industry-reported pay
$359,000
Average total annual compensation (salary, bonus and profit sharing), full-time US physicians in nephrology.
Source: Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2026, 2025 (published compensation survey). This is not a BLS figure: BLS counts general internal medicine physicians within general internal medicine physician, whose pay is shown below. Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2026 · The DO: What physicians are getting paid in 2026 (Medscape 2026 specialty figures)
Every nephrologist in the US, by percentile of annual wage
Median
$256,560
Middle half earn $124,470 to $374,850
- 10th
- $73,570
- 25th
- $124,470
- 75th
- $374,850
- 90th
- $475,430
All US occupations: $50,980
| Percentile | Value |
|---|---|
| 10th | $73,570 |
| 25th | $124,470 |
| Median | $256,560 |
| 75th | $374,850 |
| 90th | $475,430 |
| All US occupations | $50,980 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
- Median annual wage
- $256,560
- Median hourly wage
- $123.35/hr
- Mean annual wage
- $267,200
- People employed
- 67,150
Versus all US occupations
At $256,560, General Internal Medicine Physicians earn 403% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $205,580 a year.
Versus healthcare practitioners and technical occupations
Inside the Healthcare Practitioners and Technical group, where the middle occupation pays $102,760, this is 150% above the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $475,430 or more while the bottom 10% earn $73,570, 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 97% of the 1,741 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Highest-paying state
Georgia pays the most at $425,460, and still leads at $441,839 once local prices are taken into account.
Pay by state
Which states pay General Internal Medicine Physicians the most?
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.
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Georgia | $425,460 | $441,839 | 5,440 |
| 2Rhode Island | $379,490 | $371,031 | 300 |
| 3Minnesota | $373,700 | $378,925 | 2,270 |
| 4Wisconsin | $367,160 | $390,201 | 1,450 |
| 5Alaska | $366,080 | $357,643 | 110 |
| 6South Carolina | $359,500 | $383,471 | 1,260 |
| 7Idaho | $355,390 | $372,160 | 130 |
| 8Washington | $340,010 | $317,728 | 1,100 |
| 9North Dakota | $338,400 | $380,400 | 200 |
| 10Utah | $331,720 | $335,532 | 210 |
Job outlook
Is Nephrologist a growing career?
Employment change over 2025–2035, against every US occupation
About as fast as average. +4.0% projected growth vs 3.5% for all occupations.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| General Internal Medicine Physicians | +4% |
| All US occupations | +3.5% |
Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035
About as fast as average
BLS projects employment of General Internal Medicine Physicians to change 4.0% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% projected for all occupations. That is 2,900 more jobs.
Annual openings
About 1,900 openings are projected each year, 2.6% of the 73,100 jobs that existed in 2025. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Getting in
How to become a Nephrologist
After medical school and a three-year internal medicine residency, nephrologists complete a two-year ACGME-accredited nephrology fellowship. Some add training in transplant nephrology, interventional nephrology or critical care.
The American Board of Internal Medicine certifies them in internal medicine and nephrology. The American Society of Nephrology and the National Kidney Foundation are the main professional organizations. Fellowship positions are relatively accessible compared with other internal medicine subspecialties, and many residents decide on nephrology after consult rotations during training. Fellows learn dialysis prescription, kidney biopsy and transplant care, and some go on to medical director roles at dialysis companies.
- 1
Typical entry-level education
Doctoral or professional degree
- 2
Work experience in a related occupation
None
- 3
Typical on-the-job training
Internship/residency
- 4
Preparation needed (O*NET job zone)
Considerable preparation
BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035; job zone from O*NET 31.0 Database.
What education people in the job have
O*NET incumbent survey: the highest level of education reported by people already working as general internal medicine physicians.
- Post-Doctoral Training53%
- Doctoral Degree47%
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Post-Doctoral Training | 53% |
| Doctoral Degree | 47% |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
The work
What does a Nephrologist do?
Nephrologists diagnose and treat diseases of the kidneys. They manage chronic kidney disease caused by diabetes and high blood pressure, glomerular diseases, kidney stones, acute kidney injury in hospitalized patients, and disorders of sodium, potassium and acid-base balance.
When kidneys fail, nephrologists prescribe and supervise dialysis, either in a dialysis center or at home, and they serve as medical directors of dialysis units. Transplant nephrologists evaluate patients for kidney transplants and manage antirejection medications afterward. Nephrologists also perform kidney biopsies and consult on hospital patients across many services.
Day-to-day tasks
- Diagnose and manage chronic kidney disease and its complications
- Treat acute kidney injury and electrolyte disorders in hospitalized patients
- Prescribe and supervise hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis
- Round on patients in dialysis units and serve as medical director
- Evaluate patients for kidney transplant and manage antirejection therapy
- Perform kidney biopsies and interpret results
- Treat difficult-to-control high blood pressure
Typical tasks, researched by NueCareer from the sources below.
Working conditions and hours
Nephrologists split time among outpatient clinics, hospital consults and dialysis units, where they round on patients during treatment. Many work in private nephrology groups that cover several dialysis centers. Call usually involves phone calls and hospital consults rather than procedures.
Where the work happens
Indoors, climate-controlled
NeverEvery dayIndoors, in a climate-controlled space, every day.
Outdoors in all weather
NeverEvery dayAlmost never works outdoors.
Physical demands
Sitting
NeverAlmost all the timeStanding
NeverAlmost all the timeBending or twisting
NeverAlmost all the time
Working with people
Contact with other people
NoneConstantConstant contact with other people.
Face-to-face discussions
NeverEvery dayFace-to-face discussions every day.
Dealing with the public
Not importantExtremely importantDealing with customers or the public is very important.
Pressure and stakes
Strict deadlines
NeverEvery dayMeeting strict deadlines at least weekly.
Conflict situations
NeverEvery dayCost of a mistake
Not seriousExtremely seriousMistakes carry very serious consequences.
Autonomy
Freedom to decide
NoneA lotA lot of freedom to make decisions without checking first.
Conditions: O*NET Work Context survey. Each item has its own scale, so each dot is read against the two answers that end its own line.
Core skills
O*NET importance, 1 to 5
- Reading Comprehension4.1
- Active Listening4.1
- Writing4.0
- Speaking4.0
- Science4.0
- Critical Thinking4.0
- Active Learning3.9
- Monitoring3.9
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 4.1 |
| Active Listening | 4.1 |
| Writing | 4.0 |
| Speaking | 4.0 |
| Science | 4.0 |
| Critical Thinking | 4.0 |
| Active Learning | 3.9 |
| Monitoring | 3.9 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
Transferable skills
O*NET importance, 1 to 5
- Social Perceptiveness4.0
- Complex Problem Solving4.0
- Judgment and Decision Making4.0
- Service Orientation3.8
- Coordination3.3
- Systems Analysis3.3
- Persuasion3.1
- Instructing3.1
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Social Perceptiveness | 4.0 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 4.0 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 4.0 |
| Service Orientation | 3.8 |
| Coordination | 3.3 |
| Systems Analysis | 3.3 |
| Persuasion | 3.1 |
| Instructing | 3.1 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
Tools and software
- Medical software · in demand
- Office suite software · in demand
- Spreadsheet software · in demand
- Billing and invoicing software
- Calendar and scheduling software
- Electronic mail software
- Information retrieval or search software
- Internet browser software
“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.
Personality fit
What personality type suits a Nephrologist?
NueCareer estimate (Holland code ISC) built on O*NET's General Internal Medicine Physician profile, scored 1 to 7
| Axis | Nephrologist |
|---|---|
| Realistic | 4 |
| Investigative | 7 |
| Artistic | 1 |
| Social | 6 |
| Enterprising | 2 |
| Conventional | 4 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
What the work is built around
Day to day this is work built around investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data, combined with teaching, helping and working directly with other people.
- Investigative6.8
- Social6.1
- Realistic4.4
- Conventional4.2
- Enterprising2.1
- Artistic1.4
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.
Explore further
Careers related to Nephrologist
O*NET related occupations
- Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
More healthcare practitioners and technical careers
Median annual pay, with general internal medicine physicians highlighted
- Anesthesiologist$391,490
- Nephrologist$256,560
- Physician Assistant$135,880
- Nurse Practitioner$132,300
- Physical Therapist$102,760
- Dental Hygienist$98,100
- Diagnostic Medical Sonographer$96,590
- Radiologic Technologist and Technician$80,110
- Surgical Technologist$64,650
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Anesthesiologist | $391,490 |
| Nephrologist | $256,560 |
| Physician Assistant | $135,880 |
| Nurse Practitioner | $132,300 |
| Physical Therapist | $102,760 |
| Dental Hygienist | $98,100 |
| Diagnostic Medical Sonographer | $96,590 |
| Radiologic Technologist and Technician | $80,110 |
| Surgical Technologist | $64,650 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lists Nephrologist appears on
Questions
Nephrologist: frequently asked questions
How much do General Internal Medicine Physicians make?
Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2026 reports $359,000 (average total annual compensation (salary, bonus and profit sharing), full-time US physicians in nephrology, 2025). BLS does not publish a separate wage for general internal medicine physicians. It counts them within general internal medicine physician, whose median pay is $256,560 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The middle half of that occupation earn between $124,470 and $374,850, and the top 10% earn $475,430 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Nephrologist?
Yes, and beyond a bachelor's: BLS lists a doctoral or professional degree as the typical entry requirement for General Internal Medicine Physicians. BLS also lists internship/residency as typical on-the-job training. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 53.0% hold post-doctoral training.
Is Nephrologist a growing career?
It is stable rather than fast-growing: employment is projected to change 4.0% over 2025–2035, about the same as the 3.5% projected across all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 1,900 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Nephrologist do?
Nephrologists diagnose and treat diseases of the kidneys. A typical task: diagnose and manage chronic kidney disease and its complications. Employers most often ask for Medical software, Office suite software, Spreadsheet software.
Which states pay General Internal Medicine Physicians the most?
The highest state medians for General Internal Medicine Physicians are Georgia ($425,460), Rhode Island ($379,490), Minnesota ($373,700) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
What personality type suits a Nephrologist?
O*NET scores General Internal Medicine Physicians highest on the Investigative, Social and Realistic interest areas, so the work mixes investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data with teaching, helping and working directly with other people. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ISFJ, ISTJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.