🇺🇸 Orthopaedic surgeon pay in the United States:
what the data shows.
Checked 19 October 2026 · figures are self-reported averages, not offers
National average pay.
Doximity’s annual survey of full-time US physicians puts the average orthopaedic surgery compensation at US$696,852 (surveys completed in 2025). The previous report gave US$679,517 for 2024. The sections of the report we read do not say whether this is base or total pay, so treat it as a headline figure, not a contract.
What that pay looks like after federal tax.
Using this site’s United States model on US$696,852 of employment income, single filer:
- Federal income tax
- US$207,835 (29.8%)
- Employee FICA estimate
- US$26,015
- After federal tax and FICA
- US$463,001
State and city income taxes are not included. New York State and New York City residents, California residents and others pay substantial additional income tax, so take-home pay in those cities is lower than shown. Private-practice owners are taxed on business profit, not on this figure. How the US model works ↗
New Jersey.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the average pay of orthopaedic surgeons (except pediatric) employed in New Jersey at US$377,750 a year (May 2023). That estimate covers about 250 wage and salary employees (employment standard error 33.0%, wage standard error 3.6%), so it is imprecise and excludes practice owners and partners. Median hourly wage is shown only as equal to or greater than USD115.00 (USD239,200 a year). BLS New Jersey table ↗
Doximity lists no New Jersey metro area of its own, so there is no survey-based New Jersey figure to set beside it. The two figures differ by nearly half. Part of that gap is probably who is counted (employees only against self-reported full-time physicians), but we cannot separate it from other causes.
After federal tax, FICA and New Jersey income tax
| Pay level | Gross | Federal tax | FICA | New Jersey tax | Remaining |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLS New Jersey average, May 2023 | US$377,750 | US$95,347 | US$18,516 | US$21,873 | US$242,014 |
| Doximity US average, 2025 surveys | US$696,852 | US$207,835 | US$26,015 | US$47,292 | US$415,710 |
Single filer, employment income, New Jersey resident. New Jersey tax uses the 2025 resident schedule (1.4% to 10.75%) with only the US$1,000 personal exemption, because the rates for later years are not confirmed here. Not included: New Jersey payroll deductions such as disability and family leave contributions, local taxes, retirement contributions, and the interaction of state tax with the federal return. Work done in another state may add tax there. NJ-1040 instructions ↗
Pay by city: only all-physician averages exist.
We found no verifiable source that publishes orthopaedic surgeon pay for New York, Los Angeles or other individual cities. The table below is the average for all physicians combined, from the same Doximity reports. It shows how pay varies by city but it is not an orthopaedic figure, and orthopaedic surgeons are paid well above the all-physician average.
| Metro area | 2024 surveys | 2025 surveys |
|---|---|---|
| New York, NY | US$435,986 | Not published |
| Los Angeles, CA | US$470,198 | US$469,047 |
| Chicago, IL | US$420,738 | Not published |
| Houston, TX | US$422,458 | Not published |
| Dallas, TX | US$427,258 | Not published |
| Philadelphia, PA | US$398,252 | Not published |
| Miami, FL | US$442,490 | Not published |
| Atlanta, GA | US$430,858 | Not published |
| Washington, DC | US$386,731 | Not published |
| Boston, MA | US$390,799 | US$394,518 |
| San Francisco, CA | US$449,830 | US$462,806 |
| Seattle, WA | US$424,151 | US$456,523 |
| Phoenix, AZ | US$459,082 | US$458,686 |
| San Diego, CA | US$438,375 | Not published |
| Denver, CO | US$397,309 | Not published |
“Not published” means the 2026 report prints only its top and bottom ten metros. Doximity includes 60 metros and notes that some are omitted for sample size.
Why we do not use US government wage data here.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes occupational wages for orthopaedic surgeons (except pediatric), but for most cities the figures cannot answer this question. Its state estimate for New Jersey is the exception and is used in the New Jersey section above; it covers wage and salary employees, not practice owners. For May 2023, the New York metro mean wage is marked “Estimate not released”, Los Angeles does not appear, and Chicago’s mean is shown as US$217,530. BLS also caps reported wages at US$239,200 a year, so the median and upper percentiles show only “equal to or greater than” that amount, and its national mean of US$378,250 is far below survey-based averages. BLS table ↗
Limits and what would improve this page.
Self-reported survey data from people who use one platform; no city-by-specialty breakdown; compensation definition unconfirmed; no adjustment for hours, call, overhead or partnership buy-in. Paid surveys such as MGMA and AMGA publish orthopaedic pay by region and would be better sources. If you have one we can cite, please use the corrections page.