Whether you’re a hospitalist considering ways to make more money, a facility looking to fairly compensate your workers, or a medical student interested in learning more about the industry, you need to know how much hospitalists make on average. Knowing the average pay for hospitalists and what factors influence compensation can assist with salary negotiations and guide your search for a new job, and for new job applicants.
How Much Do Hospitalists Make on Average?
As of 2023, hospitalist physicians in the United States make $255,115 a year on average, and the majority of yearly salaries for hospitalists range between $224,341 and $288,983. However, those in the bottom 10% of hospitalists’ salaries make $196,322 a year or less, while those in the top 10% make $319,819 a year or more.
What Affects Hospitalist’s Average Pay?
A variety of factors influence a hospitalist’s pay. For example, a hospitalist’s education and any additional certifications they’ve earned can influence their salary. As you might expect, a hospitalist who has been working longer will be more likely to earn more money than someone just starting. If you’re already working as a full-time hospitalist, you might be able to earn more money by earning more relevant certifications or taking advantage of opportunities to broaden your skills.
Another key consideration that can affect a hospitalist’s salary is location. While the average salary for hospitalists in New York is well above the average at $336,364 a year, the average salary for hospitalists in Arkansas is below the average at $218,919 a year. Due to the wide range in average hospitalist salary, it’s often best to look up state and city averages for hospitalist pay when you’re looking for a hospitalist position.
Hospitalists can also earn more pay by working as moonlighting or locum tenens hospitalists. Locum tenens hospitalists agree to work temporarily for a hospital with a well-defined schedule and role. Though locum tenens positions are only temporary, hospitalists will typically agree to work for the hospital over a specific duration of time. While moonlighting is very similar to locum tenens, moonlighting hospitalists tend to work for hospitals longer than those on locum tenens contracts, with some of these partnerships lasting for years.
In contrast, per diem hospitalists only work on an “as needed” basis for hospitals. Instead of agreeing to a long-term contract, hospitalists who work on per diem will pick up shifts here and there from local hospitals to make more money.
How Much Do Moonlighting, Locum Tenens, or Per Diem Hospitalists Earn?
If you’d like to earn more money as a hospitalist, moonlighting and locum tenens positions can help. For example, full-time locum tenens or moonlighting hospitalists tend to earn more money a year than permanent hospitalists. While some hospitalists prefer to work locum tenens jobs full-time, you can still work as a permanent hospitalist and take per diem jobs on the side. These side jobs tend to pay well and allow you to make more money on top of your regular hospitalist job.
How Much Can Locum Tenens and Moonlighting Physicians Make?
In December of 2023, the average locum tenens physician salary was $308,331 a year, according to ZipRecruiter. Based on this average salary, locum tenens hospitalists make close to $50,000 more on average than permanent hospitalists.
Of course, those who only want to take on extra shifts on top of their permanent hospitalist job won’t make as much money as those working full-time as a locum tenens physician. However, hospitalists interested in per diem shifts can often earn a similar (or higher!) hourly rate than permanent hospitalists.
Since hospitals often need locum tenens or per diem staff to fill vacancies and shortages, they’re often willing to pay more to find a highly qualified physician. So, while you might not make $300,000 a year if you only pick up a few per diem shifts a month, you can still take home a good amount of pay.
Turn to OnCall Solutions for Hospitalist Staffing Services
At OnCall Solutions, we’re proud to help partner physicians and facilities through full-time, per diem, moonlighting, and locum tenens positions. As a medical staffing partner, we take the time to understand both the needs of healthcare professionals and facilities to help them address their needs in the most effective manner. Since we use a local model, we make it easy for hospitalists to find opportunities in their area.
Learn more about our physician staffing solutions today. If you have any questions or are ready to see how we can find open positions that fit your pay and availability requirements, please contact us.
