Medical professionals such as physicians and dentists overwhelmingly dominate the ranks of the highest-paying jobs in the United States. Of the top 20 highest-paying occupations, 19 were in the medical field, with airline pilots the only non-medical profession to make the list.
A recent USA Today analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) found that most of the top earners in 2024 were physicians and dentists.
In detail, pediatric surgeons had the highest average annual salary at $450,810 (about 693 million won). They were followed by cardiologists at $432,490 (about 664 million won) and orthopedic surgeons at $365,060 (about 561 million won).
It is not easy to find cases among ordinary salaried workers who earn more than doctors. Analysts say the search must be narrowed to a small elite group, such as corporate chief executive officers (CEOs) or partner attorneys at large law firms, to find those whose incomes exceed those of physicians.
The high pay of American doctors is seen as a result of a combination of factors, including long education periods, intensive training processes and heavy workloads.
To become a doctor in the United States, one typically must complete prerequisite courses such as biology and chemistry, needed for medical school admission, at a four-year university, then study for four years at a medical school. After that, depending on the chosen specialty, one must also complete a residency of about three to seven years.
Working hours in clinical settings are also considerable. Although this varies by specialty, American doctors are reported to work more than 40 hours a week, and in some cases more than 60 hours.
The American Medical Association (AMA) told USA Today that "doctors typically undergo 12 to 15 years of education and training," adding that "they enter society upon graduating from medical school carrying an average of $200,000 (about 300 million won) in student debt, and high incomes help pay off those loans and make up for income not earned during the long training period."
The fact that the supply of doctors has not increased enough relative to demand is also cited as a factor influencing the high-income structure.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United States had 2.7 doctors per 1,000 people in 2023. This is the same level as Korea and lower than the OECD average of 3.9. Germany had 4.6, while Norway, Italy and Austria each had five or more, all higher than the United States.
The way medical service prices are formed is also pointed to as a background factor. In the United States, Medicare, the federal health insurance program, serves as the benchmark for calculating medical fees. Within this structure, U.S. health care spending has remained high, reaching about 18% of gross domestic product (GDP).
Patients, on the other hand, find it difficult to directly influence the process of setting medical fees. Economists say that while demand for medical services has steadily increased due to government health insurance and medical cost support policies, the high-income structure has persisted as expansion of the doctor supply has been limited by high entry barriers.
