By VitalPost Editorial · August 20, 2026
The May 2024 BLS state-by-state wage table for anesthesiologists, plus the staffing-model dynamics that decide where anesthesia pay runs hottest.
Anesthesiology entered a genuine seller's market over the past several years: surgical volumes rebounded, the workforce aged, and hospitals discovered that an OR without anesthesia coverage generates no revenue at all. Stipends, premium locums rates, and aggressive retention offers followed — and the state-level federal data shows a specialty being paid like the bottleneck it is.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS program (May 2024), anesthesiologists in the United States earn an annual mean wage of $336,640.
The table below breaks the same May 2024 BLS OEWS dataset down by state.
| Rank | State | Annual mean wage |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minnesota | $465,340 |
| 2 | Montana | $459,360 |
| 3 | Maine | $415,540 |
| 4 | Florida | $404,100 |
| 5 | New Hampshire | $402,950 |
| 6 | North Carolina | $397,850 |
| 7 | Nebraska | $389,480 |
| 8 | Ohio | $386,200 |
| 9 | Iowa | $385,010 |
| 10 | Indiana | $378,850 |
| 11 | Tennessee | $364,200 |
| 12 | Maryland | $349,580 |
| 13 | Michigan | $337,220 |
| 14 | Virginia | $326,130 |
| 15 | Alabama | $323,940 |
| 16 | New Mexico | $318,450 |
| 17 | Kansas | $315,890 |
| 18 | South Carolina | $306,440 |
| 19 | Illinois | $301,580 |
| 20 | District of Columbia | $295,970 |
| 21 | Kentucky | $280,130 |
| 22 | New York | $262,530 |
| 23 | Texas | $254,010 |
| 24 | Georgia | $244,430 |
| 25 | West Virginia | $193,830 |
Figures are U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS annual mean wages, May 2024 (25 states/territories with published data; BLS suppresses states with samples too small to publish, and those are omitted rather than estimated).
Staffing model is destiny in anesthesia pay. Physician-only practices, care-team models with CRNA supervision ratios, and hospital-subsidized groups produce very different income for the same clinical week. The proliferation of hospital stipends to anesthesia groups — now common where coverage is scarce — is exactly the kind of money a wage survey underestimates.
Cost of living and real value. High-cost coastal markets often post strong nominal wages that buy less house and childcare than a smaller number in a lower-cost state. Compare offers after adjusting for local costs — our cost-of-living tool does exactly that, state versus state.
Supply, demand, and the rural premium. Hard-to-staff markets pay up. Rural hospitals, critical-access facilities, and fast-growing regions short on specialists routinely add premiums, sign-on bonuses, and loan repayment that never show up in a wage survey.
Setting and employer mix. A state dominated by large health systems prices differently than one with strong independent groups or academic centers. Academic roles often trade cash for protected time; employed positions trade upside for stability.
See who's hiring. Browse open Anesthesiology roles on VitalPost — free for clinicians, and pay is shown on a listing whenever the employer posts it.
Treat the state figures as a well-sourced baseline, not a personal quote.
Mean vs. median. The mean (average) is pulled by the highest and lowest earners; the median better reflects a typical clinician. When the two diverge, anchor on the median and then ask where your experience, setting, and productivity would place you relative to it.
Every setting is blended. Each state figure averages academic centers, community hospitals, outpatient practices, and every experience level into one number. Your subspecialty focus, call burden, and seniority can put you well above or below it.
Wages aren't total compensation. OEWS captures wages and salaries — not sign-on bonuses, productivity (wRVU) upside, call pay, retirement contributions, malpractice coverage, or loan repayment. Two offers with the same base can differ by six figures in real value.
Owners and partners are undercounted. The survey primarily measures W-2 employees. Physicians with partnership distributions or independent-contractor income often out-earn what a wage survey shows. When you negotiate, pair this federal baseline with specialty compensation surveys and real numbers from colleagues — the BLS data tells you the neighborhood; your diligence prices the house.
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