← 2026 Salary Report / Emergency Medicine
Shift-based specialty facing market headwinds. Pay has grown slower than most specialties due to staffing model changes.
Training: 3-4 years post-medical school | 5-Year Change: +4% | Range (25th-75th): $280,000-$440,000
EM physician starting salaries are $300,000-$350,000 and often plateau or decline after age 45-50 as physicians reduce shift frequency. Night and weekend differentials significantly affect total comp. Unlike procedural specialties, experience doesn't compound income - a 20-year EM attending earns roughly the same hourly rate as a 5-year attending.
Rural and semi-rural emergency departments pay 25-40% above urban academic rates. States like Texas, Montana, and the Dakotas offer premium EM salaries. California EM pay is high in absolute terms but COL-adjusted ranks are middling.
CMG-employed EM physicians earn $300,000-$380,000. Independent democratic groups (becoming rarer) pay $350,000-$450,000 with partnership equity. The trend toward corporate staffing groups has compressed EM compensation over the past decade.
Three highest-leverage actions: (1) Target independent democratic groups - they pay $50,000-$100,000 more than CMGs. (2) Negotiate night/weekend differentials aggressively. (3) Consider ultrasound fellowship or toxicology for academic career tracks, or locum tenens for flexible high-hourly-rate work. Use the PhysicianWealth Salary Benchmark for a personalized comparison.
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