U.S. Thoracic Surgery Physician Salary 2026: $810K Median

The median thoracic surgery physician salary in the United States is $810,000 per year, based on 20 approved salary reports on SalaryDr through May 22, 2025. The average is $787,500. At the average reported workweek of 62 hours, the median works out to about $251 per hour.

The middle 50% of reported thoracic surgery physician salaries fall between $710,000 (25th percentile) and $850,000 (75th percentile). The 10th to 90th percentile range is $550,000 to $1,000,000. Based on 20 reports.

Among states with at least 3 approved reports, the highest median thoracic surgery physician pay on SalaryDr is in Massachusetts ($850,000 median, 6 reports), California ($770,000 median, 4 reports), and Illinois ($750,000 median, 3 reports). State medians built from a handful of reports can move as new reports arrive.

In SalaryDr's reports, yes: private practice thoracic surgery physicians ($870,000 across 6 reports) report a higher average total compensation than hospital-employed thoracic surgery physicians ($788,333 across 9 reports).

Thoracic surgery physicians who reported their schedule average 62 hours per week (20 reports).

Average total compensation by years of experience in SalaryDr's thoracic surgery physician reports: 6–10 years, $820,000 (5 reports); 11–15 years, $940,000 (6 reports).

90% of approved thoracic surgery physician reports include bonus or incentive pay. Among those 18 reports, the median bonus is $85,000 and the average is $106,944.

Thoracic surgery physicians who rated their job gave it an average of 4.1 out of 5 (20 reports). 95% of the 20 reports that answered say they would choose the specialty again.

These figures come from 20 reports that thoracic surgery physicians submitted anonymously to SalaryDr and that were approved before publication; the most recent is from May 22, 2025. Reports are self-reported: approval means a report passed SalaryDr's review checks, not that the submitter's pay was independently verified.