By VitalPost Editorial · October 1, 2026
Dermatologist pay across the states that BLS publishes, May 2025 — a small, procedure-rich specialty where access shortages keep demand strong.
Dermatology pairs one of medicine's most competitive residency matches with enviable practice economics: procedure-rich clinic days, meaningful cosmetic revenue where a practice chooses to pursue it, and multi-month patient waitlists across much of the country. The workforce is small — which is also why BLS can only publish state data where its sample is large enough.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program (May 2025), dermatologists in the United States earn an annual mean wage of $323,530 and an annual median wage of $328,730. The median is the midpoint — half earn more, half earn less — and it is usually the safer "typical" reference because the mean gets pulled around by the highest earners.
The table below breaks the same May 2025 BLS OEWS dataset down by state.
| Rank | State | Annual mean wage |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minnesota | $510,270 |
| 2 | Wisconsin | $459,550 |
| 3 | New Hampshire | $438,070 |
| 4 | Washington | $412,360 |
| 5 | Alabama | $401,500 |
| 6 | Maryland | $384,980 |
| 7 | Arkansas | $378,500 |
| 8 | Delaware | $370,170 |
| 9 | Illinois | $367,430 |
| 10 | Iowa | $365,140 |
| 11 | North Carolina | $360,910 |
| 12 | Tennessee | $359,260 |
| 13 | Colorado | $357,840 |
| 14 | Nebraska | $352,480 |
| 15 | Indiana | $350,490 |
| 16 | Arizona | $346,080 |
| 17 | Michigan | $344,770 |
| 18 | Nevada | $337,610 |
| 19 | New York | $334,230 |
| 20 | Virginia | $327,140 |
| 21 | Idaho | $314,760 |
| 22 | Ohio | $312,020 |
| 23 | Texas | $291,630 |
| 24 | South Carolina | $287,560 |
| 25 | Connecticut | $268,770 |
| 26 | Kentucky | $249,200 |
Figures are U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS annual mean wages, May 2025 (26 states/territories with published data; BLS suppresses states with samples too small to publish, and those are omitted rather than estimated).
Payer mix is the dermatology-specific lever. The blend of medical dermatology, surgical work like Mohs, and cash-pay cosmetics defines a practice's economics more than its ZIP code does. Private-equity consolidation has also reshaped the employment landscape, changing how new associates are paid relative to practice owners.
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 Dermatology 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.
Browse open roles or create a free, anonymous profile and let employers come to you.
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