By VitalPost Editorial · July 23, 2026
What general surgeons earn state by state, using the May 2024 BLS wage data — plus what the federal survey can and can't tell you about surgical pay.
General surgery sits at the demanding center of hospital medicine: broad case mix, significant call, and a training pipeline that hasn't kept up with demand in much of the country. That imbalance shows up in pay — and in how widely pay varies from state to state. Rural hospitals in particular lean hard on general surgeons, because a community that loses its only surgeon often loses its emergency and obstetric capabilities with them.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS program (May 2024), surgeons in this BLS category in the United States earn an annual mean wage of $371,280.
A classification note before the table: BLS does not publish a standalone "general surgeon" series. The figures below are its Surgeons, All Other category — the bucket that holds general surgeons along with vascular, plastic, trauma, and other surgical subspecialists once orthopedic, ophthalmic, and pediatric surgeons are split out. General surgeons are the largest group inside it, but read the numbers as "surgical" rather than "general surgery only."
The table below breaks the same May 2024 BLS OEWS dataset down by state.
| Rank | State | Annual mean wage |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Dakota | $556,400 |
| 2 | Louisiana | $544,450 |
| 3 | Ohio | $505,370 |
| 4 | Michigan | $498,340 |
| 5 | Wisconsin | $478,880 |
| 6 | Georgia | $449,500 |
| 7 | Indiana | $443,860 |
| 8 | Arizona | $432,580 |
| 9 | Maine | $424,260 |
| 10 | Vermont | $403,630 |
| 11 | New Mexico | $400,000 |
| 12 | North Carolina | $398,550 |
| 13 | Iowa | $394,050 |
| 14 | New Hampshire | $381,510 |
| 15 | Minnesota | $373,920 |
| 16 | Wyoming | $371,800 |
| 17 | West Virginia | $371,230 |
| 18 | Tennessee | $366,430 |
| 19 | Massachusetts | $362,300 |
| 20 | South Carolina | $358,310 |
| 21 | Washington | $354,640 |
| 22 | Illinois | $352,040 |
| 23 | Maryland | $349,250 |
| 24 | Virginia | $321,470 |
| 25 | Colorado | $311,400 |
| 26 | California | $308,430 |
| 27 | Texas | $298,900 |
| 28 | District of Columbia | $295,680 |
| 29 | New York | $262,640 |
Figures are U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS annual mean wages, May 2024 (29 states/territories with published data; BLS suppresses states with samples too small to publish, and those are omitted rather than estimated).
Call coverage is the hidden variable in surgical pay. Two general-surgery offers with similar bases can be thousands of dollars apart in real terms once you price the call schedule: uncompensated call at a community hospital versus paid call panels, trauma activations, and stipends for covering multiple facilities. Rural and critical-access markets frequently pay a meaningful premium precisely because the call is relentless.
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 General Surgery 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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