Starting salaries and total compensation for neurosurgeons and spine surgeons are determined based on experience, subspecialty focus and market competition.
Four insights on compensation of spine surgeons and neurosurgeons:
1. Among neurosurgeons, surgeons who devote at least 50 percent of their time to spine have the highest median compensation at $796,000, according to the Neurosurgery Executives' Resource Value and Education Society study.
2. The median compensation for neurosurgeons was $800,000 in 2018, according to the AMGA 2018 Medical Group Compensation and Productivity Survey. MGMA's Physician Compensation and Production Survey placed neurosurgeon compensation at an average of $821,691.
3. A report from Doximity, an online network of medical professionals, ranked neurosurgeons as the top-paid physician specialists, earning an average of $617,000 annually.
4. The national average salary for orthopedic spine surgeons is $238,521 per year, according to data collected from ZipRecruiter on May 22. New York spine surgeons have the highest annual salary, followed by those in Massachusetts and Maryland.