General surgeon with advanced training in removing cancers of the abdomen, skin, soft tissue and breast, often as part of multidisciplinary cancer care. SalaryExpert surgical oncologist salary data 2025 puts typical pay at $398,000 a year (2025). BLS does not publish separate figures for orthopedic surgeons, except pediatric; it counts them within orthopedic surgeon, except pediatric (SOC 29-1242), whose median pay is $358,550 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Typical entry-level education: Doctoral or professional degree.
- SOC 29-1242
- Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Last updated October 9, 2026
At a glance
Surgical Oncologist in four numbers
- Median pay
- $358,550a year, or $172.38/hrBLS OEWS, May 2025Lowest 10% $84KTop 10% $659K
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
- 40015,500 jobs todayBLS EP, 2025–2035
- Jobs in 202515.5K
- Projected 203516.1K
Employment, 2025–2035 Item Value Jobs in 2025 15.5K Projected 2035 16.1K - Typical education
- Doctorateneeded to enterBLS EP, 2025–2035; mix: O*NET
Also advertised as: Complex General Surgical Oncologist, Cancer Surgeon, Oncologic Surgeon, Hepatobiliary Surgical Oncologist, Breast Surgical Oncologist.
Pay
How much do Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric make?
Industry-reported pay
$398,000
Average annual salary, US surgical oncologists (salary-survey estimate); cross-checked against the Medscape 2026 general surgery average.
Source: SalaryExpert surgical oncologist salary data 2025, 2025 (estimate from several industry sources). This is not a BLS figure: BLS counts orthopedic surgeons, except pediatric within orthopedic surgeon, except pediatric, whose pay is shown below. SalaryExpert: Surgical oncologist salary, United States · The DO: What physicians are getting paid in 2026 (Medscape 2026 specialty figures)
Every surgical oncologist in the US, by percentile of annual wage
Median
$358,550
Middle half earn $180,610 to $530,700
- 10th
- $84,170
- 25th
- $180,610
- 75th
- $530,700
- 90th
- $659,290
All US occupations: $50,980
| Percentile | Value |
|---|---|
| 10th | $84,170 |
| 25th | $180,610 |
| Median | $358,550 |
| 75th | $530,700 |
| 90th | $659,290 |
| All US occupations | $50,980 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
- Median annual wage
- $358,550
- Median hourly wage
- $172.38/hr
- Mean annual wage
- $373,570
- People employed
- 14,100
Versus all US occupations
At $358,550, Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric earn 603% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $307,570 a year.
Versus healthcare practitioners and technical occupations
Inside the Healthcare Practitioners and Technical group, where the middle occupation pays $102,760, this is 249% above the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $659,290 or more while the bottom 10% earn $84,170, a gap of 7.8×. 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 99% of the 1,741 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Highest-paying state
Missouri pays the most at $842,800, and still leads at $928,020 once local prices are taken into account.
Pay by state
Which states pay Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Missouri | $842,800 | $928,020 | N/A |
| 2West Virginia | $597,740 | $667,888 | 120 |
| 3Wisconsin | $572,060 | $607,960 | 290 |
| 4Montana | $560,820 | $592,551 | N/A |
| 5Arizona | $558,970 | $555,211 | 110 |
| 6New Hampshire | $555,670 | $533,452 | 80 |
| 7Washington | $553,310 | $517,049 | 290 |
| 8Mississippi | $544,130 | $625,775 | N/A |
| 9Minnesota | $537,830 | $545,350 | 320 |
| 10Oklahoma | $530,070 | $603,429 | 30 |
Job outlook
Is Surgical Oncologist 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 |
|---|---|
| Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric | +4% |
| All US occupations | +3.5% |
Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035
About as fast as average
BLS projects employment of Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric to change 4.0% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% projected for all occupations. That is 600 more jobs.
Annual openings
About 400 openings are projected each year, 2.6% of the 15,500 jobs that existed in 2025. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Getting in
How to become a Surgical Oncologist
After medical school and a five-year general surgery residency, surgical oncologists complete a two-year ACGME-accredited complex general surgical oncology fellowship. Some fellowships add a research year.
They are certified by the American Board of Surgery in general surgery and in its complex general surgical oncology subspecialty. The Society of Surgical Oncology is the main professional organization. Most surgical oncologists practice at academic medical centers or designated cancer centers. Strong research during residency and mentorship from surgical oncologists help applicants match into fellowship.
- 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.
The work
What does a Surgical Oncologist do?
Surgical oncologists operate on cancer. They remove tumors of the pancreas, liver, stomach, esophagus and bowel, sarcomas, melanomas and breast cancers, and they sample lymph nodes to stage disease. Some specialize further in hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery, peritoneal cancers treated with heated chemotherapy, or endocrine tumors.
They work in a team with medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pathologists and radiologists. Together they decide whether surgery should come before or after chemotherapy or radiation, and they present cases at tumor boards. Many surgical oncologists also run clinical trials and research.
Day-to-day tasks
- Remove tumors of the pancreas, liver, stomach and bowel
- Perform wide excisions and lymph node surgery for melanoma and sarcoma
- Stage cancers with sentinel lymph node biopsy
- Present and discuss cases at multidisciplinary tumor boards
- Plan the sequence of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation with other oncologists
- Enroll patients in clinical trials and conduct cancer research
- Follow patients after surgery for recurrence
Typical tasks, researched by NueCareer from the sources below.
Working conditions and hours
Surgical oncologists work mainly in academic centers, comprehensive cancer centers and large hospitals. Operations such as pancreas resections can last many hours. The week combines clinic, tumor boards, operations and research, with call that is usually lighter than trauma or general surgery.
Tools and software
- Medical software · in demand
- Operating system software · in demand
- Graphics or photo imaging software
- Human resources 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 Surgical Oncologist?
NueCareer estimate (Holland code IRS) built on O*NET's Orthopedic Surgeon, Except Pediatric profile, scored 1 to 7
| Axis | Surgical Oncologist |
|---|---|
| Realistic | 5 |
| Investigative | 7 |
| Artistic | 1 |
| Social | 5 |
| 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 hands-on, practical work with tools, machines or the outdoors.
- Investigative6.5
- Realistic5.3
- Social5.0
- Conventional3.9
- Enterprising2.4
- Artistic1.5
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 Surgical Oncologist
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 orthopedic surgeons, except pediatric highlighted
- Anesthesiologist$391,490
- Surgical Oncologist$358,550
- 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 |
| Surgical Oncologist | $358,550 |
| 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 Surgical Oncologist appears on
Questions
Surgical Oncologist: frequently asked questions
How much do Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric make?
SalaryExpert surgical oncologist salary data 2025 reports $398,000 (average annual salary, US surgical oncologists (salary-survey estimate); cross-checked against the Medscape 2026 general surgery average, 2025). BLS does not publish a separate wage for orthopedic surgeons, except pediatric. It counts them within orthopedic surgeon, except pediatric, whose median pay is $358,550 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The middle half of that occupation earn between $180,610 and $530,700, and the top 10% earn $659,290 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Surgical Oncologist?
Yes, and beyond a bachelor's: BLS lists a doctoral or professional degree as the typical entry requirement for Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric. BLS also lists internship/residency as typical on-the-job training.
Is Surgical Oncologist 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 400 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Surgical Oncologist do?
Surgical oncologists operate on cancer. A typical task: remove tumors of the pancreas, liver, stomach and bowel. Employers most often ask for Medical software, Operating system software.
Which states pay Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric the most?
The highest state medians for Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric are Missouri ($842,800), West Virginia ($597,740), Wisconsin ($572,060) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
What personality type suits a Surgical Oncologist?
O*NET scores Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric highest on the Investigative, Realistic and Social interest areas, so the work mixes investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data with hands-on, practical work with tools, machines or the outdoors. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ISTJ, ISTP. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.