Median total clinical compensation rose 4.3% in 2025, according to AMGA’s 2026 Medical Group Compensation and Productivity Survey. Surgical specialties had the slowest growth of any group, according to a Sept. 17 summary of the data from compensation platform Marit.
The survey includes data from 451 medical groups and health systems that represent nearly 188,000 providers across more than 190 specialties. It reflects 2025 compensation.
Here are five things to know:
1. Overall pay growth slowed again. The 4.3% increase in total clinical compensation is down from 4.9% in the 2025 survey and 5.3% in the 2024 survey.
2. Surgical specialties had the smallest raises. Median compensation for surgical specialties rose 3.2%, down from 3.7% the year before and 5.3% two years earlier. Orthopedic surgery was the highest-paid specialty in the survey at $751,350, but its pay rose only 0.3%, the smallest increase among the 10 specialties AMGA highlighted. General surgery rose 4.5% to $530,000.
3. Radiology, anesthesiology and pathology led all groups. Compensation for the radiology, anesthesiology and pathology grouping rose 5.7%, up from 5.1% the year before. It was the largest increase of any specialty group.
4. Gastroenterology and cardiology passed $640,000. Gastroenterology’s median compensation rose 3.6% to $656,500. General noninvasive cardiology rose 5.4% to $648,852. Medical specialties overall saw a 4.3% increase.
5. Productivity accounts for about half the gains. Work relative value units rose 2.4%, and visit volume rose 2.0%. AMGA attributes about half of the growth in compensation to that added output rather than to better reimbursement.
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