The Average Salary of an Obstetrician

As a specialized form of physician, obstetricians on average make very comfortable annual salaries. In return, they are expected to put in even longer hours and perform more difficult emotional labor than primary care physicians. However, when compared with salaries of physicians from other specialized medical fields, obstetricians earn very small hourly and annual salaries.

Size

• Among 20,000 obstetricians, as recorded by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean salary was slightly over $200,000 in 2009; the mean hourly wage was $98.31. This is greater than the mean annual salary for primary care physicians -- $186,000 in 2009 -- but among physician specialties, obstetricians and related women's care physicians make far less than the mean salary for all specialties.

Geography

• New Mexico is the state with the highest percentage of obstetricians in the work force; according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about one obstetrician works in the state for every 3,000 people in the work force. Other states with a higher percentage of working obstetricians are Hawaii, Connecticut, Montana and Mississippi. Among these states, the range of annual salaries runs from $148,000 (Montana) to $209,000 (Connecticut).

Considerations

• Obstetrics deals with the care of women during pregnancy and childbirth; much of the concern over women's reproductive health in obstetrics is also shared by the medical practice of gynecology. Both focus on maintaining a healthy reproductive system and treat any ailments specific to women's bodies.

Potential

• Current employment rates and salary figures indicate that obstetrics will be a growing career path in the future. Overall, there will be a greater need for physicians as time passes and the population grows. High-need areas include rural communities and low-income neighborhoods. Between 2008 and 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts physician employment to grow 22 percent; obstetricians made up 5.6 percent of all patient care physicians in 2009.

Features

• Although obstetricians don't need to perform many of the complicated procedures or possess the expansive knowledge that higher-paying physician specialties are concerned, certain aspects of an obstetrician's job are demanding and deserve increased compensation. Obstetricians generally remain with female patients throughout childbirth, which can last for more than a day. Obstetricians must also keep their patients calm through extreme physical distress.