What’s the Average Internal Medicine Salary in 2025?
What is the average salary of an internal medicine physician in the United States? According to Medscape, the average full-time internal medicine salary is $294,000. Doximity, however, reports a higher figure—$326,116—while Marit lists the average at $307,000 per year.
These are all reputable sources that gather data directly from physicians, yet their estimates differ significantly. This variation highlights how factors such as survey methods, sample size, and regional representation can influence reported averages.
To provide a more balanced view, we calculated a new composite average using data from all three databases.
*All average salaries are based on 2025 data.
Average Internal Medicine Salary
When we take the average internal medicine salary from Medscape ($294,000), Doximity ($326,116) and Marit ($307,000), we arrive at an unweighted average of $309,039 a year for physicians.
This is no doubt still not the true value, but it’s better than relying on any single database!
Breakdown by Subspecialty
Now let’s do the same thing for some internal medicine subspecialties. To find what the average earnings are, we’ll stick with data from our three sample sources: Medscape, Doximity, and Marit.
This is what we find:
Cardiology
- Medscape: $506,000
- Doximity: $587,360
- Marit: $582,000
Average salary: $558,453
Gastroenterology
- Medscape: $513,000
- Doximity: $537,870
- Marit: $568,000
Average salary: $539,623
Oncology
- Medscape: $472,000
- Doximity: $502,465
- Marit: $561,000
Average salary: $511,822
Hematology
- Medscape: $472,000
- Doximity: $421,482
- Marit: $480,000
Average salary: $457,827
Critical Care
- Medscape: $418,000
- Doximity: No listing (possibly due to sample size)
- Marit: $447,033
Average salary: $432,516
Pulmonology
- Medscape: $402,000
- Doximity: $425,700
- Marit: $431,000
Average salary: $419,567
Nephrology
- Medscape: $363,000
- Doximity: $367,425
- Marit: $331,000
Average salary: $353,808
Rheumatology
- Medscape: $284,000
- Doximity: $324,954
- Marit: $277,000
Average salary: $295,318
Endocrinology
- Medscape: $274,000
- Doximity: $290,606
- Marit: $297,000
Average salary: $287,202
Variations Within the Average Internal Medicine Salary
Let’s put some of these numbers into a bit of context, as they can be affected by a number of things.
Two factors that can have a big impact on what you earn are where you live and how long you‘ve been working.
Location & Years of Experience
Doctors working in the Midwest and the Southeast do, generally speaking, earn more than their colleagues in the Northeast or on the West Coast.
The differences in compensation are substantial in some cases, but what can really make living in the Midwest or Southeast an attractive option from a financial standpoint is the cost of living is usually much less in these regions. So not only will you be earning more, you’ll be spending less, a combination that can lead to serious wealth accumulation in the long run.
The number of years you’ve worked also plays a part in determining how much money you’re bringing in. Let’s look at a resource that creates a salary estimate for you based on where you work and how long you’ve been at it.
This salary explorer tool combines the variables of geography and experience in a single search tool for you, so you can get an estimate of what you’ll be earning in a particular part of the country based on how many years you’ve been working. Just enter your specialty, where you’re planning to work, and how many years of experience you have.
It’s a great tool, but keep in mind it’s based on data accumulated by Medscape. The number it gives you includes base salary, bonuses, and profit sharing contributions. Other sites will provide you with different numbers.
Within Subspecialties
Based on the numbers we’ve provided, it’s easy to start thinking your specialty plays a large role in how much money you’ll make.
It can, but as Dr. Jim Dahle points out in an interesting article for the White Coat Investor, salary variation within specialties is greater than it is among them.
For example, Dahle notes that while cardiologists are indeed well compensated on average, there are many family practitioners that make more than the average cardiologist!
And no matter what your specialty is, there are ways to substantially increase your income so that you’re making well over the average salary.
He discusses the case of an internist that makes half a million dollars a year because he’s a business owner. And they almost always make more than employees, even if that employee is working in one of the better compensated specialties (e.g., cardiology).
Final Thoughts
As we’ve seen, the exact average internal medicine salary is easy to seek but hard to find. There are many data sets out there, and it’s tough to know what numbers to trust. Hopefully, we’ve presented the data in a way that will make things a bit easier for you.
Remember, it’s best not to get too focused on an average salary number when it comes to your potential earnings. As Jim Dahle points out, every doctor working in every specialty can do things to drastically increase their pay!
For more (free!) articles on physician finances & more, check out these other posts on the blog:
- Financial Literacy for Physicians: Blogs, Books, and Podcasts to Teach You the Basics
- Managing Your Finances During Residency: A Physician’s Guide
- The 5-Step Guide to Thriving After Residency Graduation
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