Urologist Salary (2026): Data, Outlook & How to Become One

Urologists 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

BLS OEWS, May 2025

Projected growth
+2.5%

BLS EP, 2024–2034

Openings a year
9,600

BLS EP, 2024–2034

Typical education
Doctorate

BLS EP, 2024–2034

Also advertised as: Acute Care Physician, MD (Medical Doctor), Owner, Physician, Practicing Urologist, Surgeon.

How much do Urologists make?

Annual wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025
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

National wage and employment figures for Urologists
Median annual wage$265,930
Median hourly wage$127.85/hr
Mean annual wage$262,040
People employed342,720

Versus all US occupations

At $265,930, Urologists 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 Urologists 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.

Top 10 states by median annual wage for Urologists
StateMedianCOL-adjustedEmployed
North Dakota$454,550$510,966740
Montana$438,850$463,680580
Maine$419,410$432,1591,340
Wisconsin$391,740$416,3246,350
Minnesota$367,320$372,4565,350
Indiana$366,190$392,3656,760
New Hampshire$361,300$346,8541,000
Alaska$355,100$346,916270
Louisiana$350,920$397,8374,740
Oregon$347,180$335,8914,130
See all 52 states, sortable, with cost-of-living adjustments →

Is Urologist a growing career?

Projected employment change, 2024–2034. BLS Employment Projections
Urologists2.5%
All US occupations3.1%

+2.5% projected growth vs 3.1% for all occupations.

About as fast as average

BLS projects employment of Urologists 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 an Urologist

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.

Entry requirements for Urologists
Typical entry-level educationDoctoral or professional degree
Preparation needed (O*NET job zone)Considerable preparation
Work experience in a related occupationNone
Typical on-the-job trainingInternship/residency

What education people in the job have

O*NET incumbent survey: the highest level of education reported by people already working as urologists.

  • Post-Doctoral Training64.4%
  • Doctoral Degree33.4%
  • First Professional Degree2.2%
Full BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook entry

What does an Urologist do?

Diagnose, treat, and help prevent benign and malignant medical and surgical disorders of the genitourinary system and the renal glands.

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 or treat diseases or disorders of genitourinary organs and tracts including erectile dysfunction (ED), infertility, incontinence, bladder cancer, prostate cancer, urethral stones, or premature ejaculation.
  • Order and interpret the results of diagnostic tests, such as prostate specific antigen (PSA) screening, to detect prostate cancer.
  • Document or review patients' histories.
  • Prescribe or administer antibiotics, antiseptics, or compresses to treat infection or injury.
  • Treat lower urinary tract dysfunctions using equipment such as diathermy machines, catheters, cystoscopes, or radium emanation tubes.
  • Direct the work of nurses, residents, or other staff to provide patient care.
  • Prescribe medications to treat patients with erectile dysfunction (ED), infertility, or ejaculation problems.
  • Refer patients to specialists when condition exceeds experience, expertise, or scope of practice.

O*NET core tasks, ordered by reported importance.

Core skills

  • Reading Comprehension4.4/5
  • Critical Thinking4.3/5
  • Active Listening4.1/5
  • Writing4.1/5
  • Speaking4.0/5
  • Active Learning3.9/5
  • Monitoring3.9/5
  • Science3.6/5

Transferable skills

  • Judgment and Decision Making4.3/5
  • Complex Problem Solving4.0/5
  • Social Perceptiveness3.9/5
  • Time Management3.6/5
  • Systems Analysis3.5/5
  • Coordination3.4/5
  • Service Orientation3.4/5
  • Systems Evaluation3.3/5

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
  • Electronic mail software
  • Graphics or photo imaging software

“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.

What personality type suits an Urologist?

Interest profile: O*NET Occupational Interests, scored 1–7

Realisticprimary4.8
Investigativeprimary6.8
Artistic1.3
Socialprimary5.5
Enterprising2.2
Conventional3.4

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.

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.

Urologist: frequently asked questions

How much do Urologists make?

Urologists 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 an Urologist?

Yes, and beyond a bachelor's: BLS lists a doctoral or professional degree as the typical entry requirement for Urologists. BLS also lists internship/residency as typical on-the-job training. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 64.4% hold post-doctoral training.

Is Urologist 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 an Urologist do?

Physicians and surgeons diagnose and treat injuries or illnesses and address health maintenance. A core O*NET task: diagnose or treat diseases or disorders of genitourinary organs and tracts including erectile dysfunction (ED), infertility, incontinence, bladder cancer, prostate cancer, urethral stones, or premature ejaculation. Employers most often ask for Medical software, Office suite software, Presentation software.

Which states pay Urologists the most?

The highest state medians for Urologists are North Dakota ($454,550), Montana ($438,850), Maine ($419,410) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

What personality type suits an Urologist?

O*NET scores Urologists 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 ISTJ, INTJ, ISTP. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 923 occupations in the bank.