11 Best States for Doctors to Practice Medicine

Every medical student should consider one of these 11 best states for doctors to practice medicine in. Ranked by various criteria, these are the best places in the United States to be a doctor.

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Just finished medical school and have a truckload of student debt you have no idea how to pay off? Not to worry, we have you covered. We have a list of best states in the country to start your fledgling medical career. On average, medical school graduate finishes their education with $176,000 in student loans. If any serious dent is going to be made in that mountain of debt, they have to start making some real money as soon as possible, and states on our list are ideal places to start. Any position from the list of the best paying jobs for doctors in the US in these states will get you out of those student loans in no time.

How does one determine the best state for doctors to practice medicine? First, we start with the most obvious, how much money on average doctors make in said state. But the number on a paycheck won’t tell you much unless you factor in state taxes and costs of living. While doctors in San Francisco earn $250,000 per year, a good chunk of that money goes to their landlords, with average rent in Bay area being $3,458. And that’s not taking into account how much the great state of California will charge you in taxes. So, to get a clear perspective on earnings, we have to take a look at doctor’s disposable income.

Another important factor is the amount of medical malpractice payouts local courts award to the patients. The best way to judge this is by looking into per capita malpractice payouts. These amounts vary wildly across the states. For instance, in 2013 in Alabama per capita malpractice payouts were %5.18, while in New York they reached $38.83. These figures affect the insurance doctors pay, further reducing their disposable income.

But there’s more to life than just salary and worrying about insurance payoffs. The quality of entertainment and cultural offerings is also important, so they were also taken into account when determining 11 best states for doctors to practice medicine.