How Much Does a General Surgeon Make?
Last updated: August 2025
General surgery has long been considered one of the most rigorous paths in medicine. Surgeons carry a wide scope of responsibility, from emergency trauma care to complex abdominal procedures.
For many medical students and residents, the commitment to training and lifestyle demands naturally raises the question: How much does a general surgeon make?
In this article, we’ll review recent salary data, compare earnings by state, and explore the factors that influence pay.
U.S. General Surgeon Salary Overview
Based on SalaryDr data, the median annual salary for general surgeons in the United States is $528,000. This places general surgeons among higher-earning physician groups, although below certain highly specialized surgical fields.
Broken up by percentiles and a deeper dive into hourly wages, general surgeon salaries can be visualized as follows:
Salary Percentiles & Hourly Equivalents
Percentile | Annual Salary | Hourly Salary |
10th | $435,000 | $227/hr |
25th | $490,000 | $255/hr |
50th (Median) | $528,000 | $275/hr |
75th | $610,000 | $318/hr |
90th | $700,000 | $365/hr |
Estimates from Other Sources
Bureau of Labor Statistics: does not differentiate salaries above $239,000 (general surgeons exceed this threshold).
Medscape: average around $423,000.
Doximity: national mean $464,071.
These numbers represent medians across the profession, but there is wide variation depending on years of experience, practice type, and geography.
For example, an early-career surgeon working in an academic hospital may earn well below these averages, while a partner in a busy private practice may earn significantly more.
SalaryDr has a unique data gathering moat; they are not restricted to institutional reporting that does not differentiate between practice models, part time work, and experience in the field.
SalaryDr provides discrete data points filled out and submitted by physicians themselves offer more clarity on the variations in salary across:
Specialty
Geography
Contract structure
Practice type
SalaryDr’s Physician Salary Explorer leverages self-reported, discrete data points from physicians, which helps differentiate by specialty, geography, contract structure, and practice type.
Deeper Dives into Contract Structure
Beyond headline salary figures, the way a general surgeon’s income is structured can vary significantly depending on the type of contract and institution.
Base Pay vs. Incentives
The average base pay for general surgeons is $445,000, with an additional $80,000 typically earned through bonuses or RVU-based incentives.
Understanding RVUs
A key piece of the compensation puzzle is the Relative Value Unit (RVU). RVUs are a standardized way of measuring physician productivity across different types of procedures and patient visits.
Each surgical procedure is assigned a specific RVU value that reflects the time, complexity, and skill required. Compensation models then pay surgeons a set dollar amount per RVU generated.
For example, complex abdominal surgery will generate more RVUs than a skin lesion removal, reflecting the greater resources and expertise involved.
In practice, this means two surgeons with the same “salary” can take home very different amounts depending on how many RVUs they bill for.
RVUs combine both the volume of surgeries and complexity of procedures into one, productivity-based metric.
Practice Setting
When broken down by the type of health system a general physician works for, trends appear that generally mirror most other specialties:
Employment Type | Median Annual Salary |
Community Hospital | $592,392 |
Academic Hospital | $514,196 |
Private Practice | $593,082 |
While hospital-employed and private practice surgeons earn nearly identical median incomes, the underlying structures differ.
Hospital-employed surgeons typically receive a stable base salary with RVU or performance-based bonuses layered on top, offering predictability but limiting earning potential.
Private practice compensation is similar on average, but often more variable. Practice owners can see significantly higher earnings if case volume is strong, but income is offset by overhead costs, business risk, and economic downturn.
For example, people may choose to delay undergoing procedures, even urgent ones, when they face uncertain unemployment.
Academic surgeons earn less on average, with a median of $514,176. The trade-off is:
Reduced financial pressure
Lighter procedural volumes
Opportunities to pursue research, teaching, and leadership roles.
For many, the appeal lies in academic prestige and professional fulfillment rather than maximizing earnings.
Rural hospitals sometimes offer substantial bonuses or loan repayment to attract surgeons, which can offset a lower base salary.
Workload Realities
SalaryDr’s data also highlight that general surgeons report working about 57 hours per week on average.
This workload reflects not only scheduled operations and clinic visits but also emergency call responsibilities and hospital rounds.
The hours help explain why incentive structures matter. Those who take heavier call schedules or handle more complex cases often accumulate more RVUs and higher incentive pay.
Specialty Satisfaction
Despite the demanding lifestyle and high burnout risk within the field, in the SalaryDr survey, 78% of respondents reported that they would choose general surgery again.
General Surgeon Salary by State
Location remains one of the strongest predictors of compensation. States with higher demand for surgeons or fewer available specialists often offer more competitive salaries.
Further analysis of SalaryDr data gives us the most recent state-by-state salary data, summarized below:
Top 5 States by Compensation
State | Approx. Annual Compensation | Live Data |
$586,000 | ||
$580,000 | ||
$572,000 | ||
$560,000 | ||
$502,000 |
Bottom 5 States by Compensation
State | Approx. Annual Compensation | Live Data |
$283,000 | ||
$339,000 | ||
$386,000 | ||
$423,000 | ||
$428,000 |
Why States Differ
Cost of Living & Market Demand: States with higher costs of living, such as California and New York, often pay more to attract and retain surgeons.
Conversely, states with lower population density or oversupply of surgeons may offer lower base compensation.
Hospital Competition & Incentives: In rural or underserved areas, hospitals sometimes offer generous sign-on bonuses or RVU multipliers to recruit talent.
Urban centers with academic institutions may pay less but provide stability, research opportunities, and prestige.
Practice Type Mix: Some states have a higher proportion of academic medical centers, which generally pay less than private practice or hospital-employed contracts.
Others lean heavily on private practice models that can boost compensation.
Trauma-heavy regions or states with limited surgical coverage often expect longer hours and higher call burdens, which may correlate with increased incentive pay.
Trauma Coverage & Call: Heavier call burdens and limited coverage can correlate with higher incentive pay.
The current SalaryDr dataset represents self-reported salaries from 95 general surgeons, which provides valuable insight but may not fully capture national averages.
Outliers, such as unusually high bonuses or incomplete responses, can also skew averages.
How General Surgery Compares to Other Specialties
General surgeons sit in the upper-middle tier of physician compensation.
Higher than: Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Psychiatry.
Comparable to: Gastroenterology, Anesthesiology.
Lower than: Orthopedic Surgery, Plastic Surgery, Neurosurgery, Cardiology.
Neurosurgeons remain the top earners (around $890,000), while Pediatricians average closer to $315,000.
General surgery sits between these extremes, reflecting the broad scope of the field rather than the niche nature of some subspecialties.
Job Outlook
The demand for general surgeons is projected to remain strong. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of surgeons is expected to grow about 4% over the next decade.
An aging population requires more surgical procedures.
Projected shortages of general surgeons, particularly in rural areas.
Advances in surgical technology creating new opportunities.
The Bottom Line
So, how much does a general surgeon make? Based on recent data, the national median salary is approximately $528,000 annually, with wide variation across states and practice settings. Explore more with the SalaryDr explorer.
A Surgeon’s Perspective
Compared with other specialties, general surgeons earn well above primary care physicians but below some of the highest-paying surgical subspecialties. The specialty is also stimulating and lends itself to a diverse practice with a variety of cases that span a broad range of clinical complexity.
That makes general surgery an attractive specialty. However, “gen surg” is also known for a demanding lifestyle and high risk of burnout, with rates between 25–44% for practicing surgeons. Additionally, for those wishing to balance a clinic-based practice with operating time, this may not be the right specialty. Besides a few office-based procedures like colonoscopies, general surgery is OR-intensive.
As someone who saw burnout up close, I would not underestimate lifestyle as one of the most important factors in deciding to pursue a career in general surgery. That said, with steady demand and competitive pay, general surgery continues to attract physicians willing to take on its rigorous workload and broad scope of practice.
References
SalaryDr. Physician Salary Explorer. Accessed August 21, 2025.
Surgeons, All Other. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed August 21, 2025.
Medscape General Surgeon Compensation Report 2024. Accessed August 21, 2025.
Doximity 2024 Physician Compensation Report. Accessed August 21, 2025.
Ellis RJ, Nicolas JD, Cheung E, et al. Ann Surg. 2021;274(1):6–11. doi:10.1097/SLA.0000000000004796
Hewitt DB, Ellis RJ, Hu Y, et al. JAMA Surg. 2020;155(11):1043–1049. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2020.3351