Anesthesiologist pay keeps climbing even as the reimbursement underneath it keeps shrinking, which is a gap ASCs are increasingly bridging themselves.
Here’s what anesthesiologist compensation looks like right now in 10 numbers:
$568,454. The average total compensation for anesthesiologists nationally, based on 1,260 self-reported salaries on physician salary transparency platform Marit Health, as of Aug. 6.
$388K to $811K+. The spread between the bottom and top of the distribution. Anesthesiologists at or below the fifth percentile average $388,000 a year; those above the 95th percentile average more than $811,000, more than a twofold gap within the same specialty.
$649K. Portland, Ore., is the highest-paying major metro for anesthesiologists among the cities Marit tracks, followed by St. Louis ($596,000), Seattle ($586,000), New York ($581,000) and Indianapolis ($569,000).
$159,000. The gap between the highest- and lowest-paid anesthesia subspecialties. Cardiac anesthesiologists lead at roughly $610,000 a year; OB anesthesiologists trail the field at about $451,000.
$205,000. Practice setting matters more than most specialties. Self-employed anesthesiologists average $600,000, the highest of any employment type, while those in government or military roles average just $395,000, which is the widest gap by practice type Marit tracks.
4.3%. Anesthesiologists in non-academic settings out-earn their academic counterparts by about $23,500 a year on average ($568,000 versus $544,500), according to Marit.
$10,000. The gender pay gap among anesthesiologists, men average $569,000, women $559,000, is notably narrower than the gap seen in most other physician specialties.
$46,500. Experience buys less of a raise than many assume. Compensation rises from about $526,500 for anesthesiologists with zero to two years of experience to roughly $573,000 for those with 11-plus years — a relatively flat career-long climb.
44%. The share of ASCs that expected to pay anesthesia stipends in 2025, up from 28% in 2024, according to a survey from VMG Health, which is a direct byproduct of the same compensation numbers above, as facilities compete for a limited anesthesiologist supply.
$247,000. For comparison, anesthesiologist assistants, increasingly used to fill ASC coverage gaps, earn less than half of what physician anesthesiologists make, according to a separate Marit Health breakdown of 170 AA salaries.