Montana was ranked as the best state for physicians in 2026 by personal finance website Wallethub, earning a score of 66.15 out of 100.
The study gave all 50 states and Washington, D.C., a score based on 19 metrics, including physicians’ average annual wage, hospitals per capita and physician burnout.
There were two main categories for the metrics: Opportunity and competition, and medical environment. The opportunity and competition category was worth up to 70 points, with the medical environment category worth up to 30 points.
The U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Council for Community and Economic Research were among the data sources used by Wallethub to create the rankings
The rankings were published by Wallethub March 17.
Here are the best and worst 10 states for physicians in 2026, along with their scores out of 100:
Top 10:
- Montana:
- Indiana: 64.47
- Louisiana: 63.94
- South Dakota: 63.2
- Minnesota: 63.01
- North Dakota: 62.91
- Missouri: 62.65
- Nebraska: 62.37
- Iowa: 62.28
- Wisconsin: 61.43
Bottom 10:
- New York: 43.89
- New Jersey: 44.03
- Rhode Island: 45.86
- Hawaii: 45.98
- Washington, D.C.:46.59
- Illinois: 48.83
- New Mexico: 48.89
- Oregon: 49.37
- Maryland: 50.55
- Vermont: 50.79
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