Real-pay ranking

Best states for dermatology

Ranked by what's actually left: each state's wage, minus estimated federal, FICA and state income tax, then adjusted for local prices. The biggest headline salary is often not the best deal.

For dermatology, adjusted take-home is highest in Minnesota at $307,351 — about 77% further than Connecticut, the lowest of the 26 states BLS publishes.

#StateAnnual meanEst. take-homeAdjusted take-home
1Minnesota$510,270$303,048$307,351
2Wisconsin$459,550$288,368$306,448
3Alabama$401,500$258,239$290,810
4New Hampshire$438,070$301,035$288,901
5Arkansas$378,500$249,133$286,689
6Iowa$365,140$241,469$275,022
7Tennessee$359,260$251,661$273,842
8Washington$412,360$284,928$266,288
9Nebraska$352,480$230,009$255,282
10Indiana$350,490$235,652$252,574
11North Carolina$360,910$237,898$252,278
12Illinois$367,430$238,592$238,592
13Nevada$337,610$238,097$238,097
14Michigan$344,770$227,930$236,933
15Delaware$370,170$235,296$235,768
16Maryland$384,980$247,408$235,627
17Arizona$346,080$235,127$233,493
18Ohio$312,020$212,611$229,107
19Colorado$357,840$235,686$228,599
20Idaho$314,760$206,710$216,450
21Texas$291,630$209,291$215,542
22Virginia$327,140$213,473$211,150
23South Carolina$287,560$190,520$203,330
24New York$334,230$216,032$200,215
25Kentucky$249,200$172,381$191,110
26Connecticut$268,770$179,674$173,431

Method: annual mean wage from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 (“Dermatologists”, May 2025); take-home estimated for a single filer taking the standard deduction (federal + FICA + state income tax, wages only — Tax Foundation for state brackets); adjusted using U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities (2024) price levels where US average = 100. Only states with both a published wage and a published price level can be ranked honestly, so 26 states appear. This is an estimate for comparison, not tax advice, and wages exclude many self-employed/partnership physicians. VitalPost shows sourced public data for context only.