Understanding your worth as a gastroenterologist is crucial in today’s competitive job market. Salary transparency empowers physicians to negotiate effectively and ensures fair compensation. At thebootdoctor.net, we are committed to providing clear and accessible salary data. This article delves into the average gastroenterologist salary, exploring various factors that influence earnings and offering insights to help you maximize your compensation.
We believe that gastroenterologists deserve transparent information regarding their potential earnings and compensation packages. Unlike expensive databases, we offer this data freely to our members, gathered from our extensive physician online communities and physician salary and compensation database. This article is part of our ongoing series dedicated to compensation transparency across medical specialties, providing you with the information you need to navigate your career with confidence.
Understanding Gastroenterologist Salary Statistics
Our analysis is based on 90 data points collected anonymously between mid-2023 and mid-2024 from our physician compensation database. While we strive for larger datasets, this initial analysis provides valuable insights into the current salary landscape for gastroenterologists. Unless stated otherwise, the statistics presented are for full-time attending gastroenterologists, defined as those working 36 or more hours per week on average. Data from residents and fellows have been excluded to ensure accuracy and relevance for practicing physicians.
It is important to note that smaller datasets might not fully represent the entire specialty. We encourage you to use our comprehensive and free doctor salary and negotiation database to compare your personal situation with the most current data available. We are committed to continuously updating this information as more data becomes available.
If you haven’t yet contributed, we invite you to share your 2024 physician salary and negotiation data. Your contribution will help us expand this resource and benefit fellow gastroenterologists.
2024 Gastroenterologist Average Salary: Key Insights
For 2024, the average annual salary for gastroenterologists in our dataset is $606,000, encompassing both full-time and part-time practitioners. However, an overall average can be misleading due to various influencing factors. To provide a clearer picture, we have further broken down this figure to offer more relevant points of comparison.
Full-Time Gastroenterologist Salary in 2024
Full-time practice is the norm in gastroenterology, with over 90% of our contributors working full-time. When we focus solely on full-time gastroenterologists, the average annual salary rises to $625,000 for 2024. To illustrate the salary range around this average, consider these key statistics:
- Highest Reported Salary: $1,600,000 per year.
- Salaries Above $1 Million: 5 reported salaries exceeded $1,000,000 annually.
- Lowest Reported Salary: $230,000 per year.
- Salaries in the $300,000s Range: 11 salaries were reported within the $300,000s range.
- Median Salary: $600,000.
Further details on high earners in gastroenterology are discussed below.
Gastroenterologist Salary Based on Specialization
Gastroenterology is a highly specialized field, and sub-specialization can influence earning potential. While our current dataset doesn’t allow for definitive average salaries for each subspecialty, we can observe qualitative trends.
To expand this section in future updates, we encourage you to anonymously contribute your doctor salary and compensation data for the current year.
Advanced Endoscopy: Data points for gastroenterologists specializing in advanced endoscopy consistently show salaries exceeding the overall averages, suggesting a higher earning potential in this area.
Hepatology: Salaries for hepatology specialists in our data range considerably, from the lower end at $345,000 to well above average at $750,000. Interestingly, the lowest reported salaries were from academic hospital settings, while the highest were in private practices. This highlights the significant impact of practice environment on physician salaries, which we explore further below.
Pediatric Gastroenterology: We have separate data on pediatric specialties, including pediatric gastroenterology, which can provide more specific insights into salaries within this subspecialty.
Gender and Gastroenterologist Salary Differences
Analyzing our data by gender reveals notable differences in average earnings between male and female gastroenterologists.
Female gastroenterologists reported an average salary of $522,000, while male gastroenterologists reported a significantly higher average of $689,000.
This translates to a 32% average earnings gap, with male gastroenterologists earning considerably more than their female counterparts. This disparity is more pronounced than the general gender pay gap observed across other medical specialties in our series, but it aligns with procedure-heavy specialties like surgery. Refer to our article ‘How much do Surgeons Make?’ for a comparative perspective.
Notably, all of the top 12 highest reported salaries in our gastroenterology dataset were earned by male physicians.
We briefly examined other factors influencing salary to understand this gender gap, but further investigation is needed. We are committed to exploring this issue in more depth with future data collection to identify the underlying causes of this significant gender-based salary difference in gastroenterology.
Impact of Practice Environment on Gastroenterologist Salary
The practice environment significantly influences physician compensation. Our data breakdown by work setting reveals substantial differences in average salaries.
- Group Private Practice (Non-Private Equity Backed): $719,000
- Non-Academic Hospital Employee: $686,000
- Academic Hospital Employee: $471,000
Among practice environments with sufficient data (10+ data points), gastroenterologists in non-private equity backed group private practices reported the highest average salaries. Their earnings were 5% higher than those in non-academic hospitals and a significant 53% higher than colleagues in academic hospitals.
Looking at the broader landscape, 39% of our gastroenterologists work in private practice, earning an average salary of $645,000. In contrast, 59% are employed in hospital settings, averaging 5% less at $615,000.
It’s crucial to remember that academic hospitals often offer Public Student Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) eligibility, a considerable benefit in the overall compensation package. This highlights the importance of considering the entire offer, not just the base salary, when evaluating different employment opportunities.
Gastroenterologist Salary by Employment Type
Employment type also plays a key role in salary variation.
All gastroenterologists in our dataset are either W2 employees or practice owners/partners. For locum tenens positions, we recommend exploring our dedicated locums pay and compensation database, which contains more specific data for this employment type. You can also find statistics on locum tenens compensation for doctors separately.
W2 employees in gastroenterology averaged $592,000 annually. Partners and owners in practices, however, reported significantly higher salaries, averaging 33% more at $787,000 for 2024. Many of these partners may also have ownership stakes in Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs), potentially further increasing their income.
Becoming a partner or owner can be a lucrative path in gastroenterology, offering higher earning potential for those willing to take on additional administrative responsibilities.
Explore related resources from PSG for further insights:
Top Earners in Gastroenterology: Common Traits
Nine of our data contributions reported salaries exceeding $900,000, with five reaching the 7-figure range. Analyzing this group of top earners reveals some common characteristics:
(This section is intentionally kept concise as the original article is also brief here. To expand, one would need more data on traits of high earners, which is not provided in the source.)
Location and Gastroenterologist Salary
Geographic location is a known factor in physician salaries. Currently, our data is spread across the country, and we lack sufficient data points to provide average salaries by state. We aim to expand this section in future updates as we gather more location-specific data.
Contribute your physician salary and compensation data today to help us provide location-based salary insights in the future.
Gastroenterologist Salary and Hours Worked
The “eat what you kill” nature of some medical specialties suggests a correlation between hours worked and income. We examined how average salaries in gastroenterology varied with reported weekly hours in 2024.
- 36-40 hours/week average: $597,000
- 41-45 hours/week average: $577,000
- 46-50 hours/week average: $631,000
- 51+ hours/week average: $713,000
While generally, higher hours worked correlate with higher salaries, we observed that gastroenterologists working 36-40 hours per week reported 3% higher salaries than those working 41-45 hours. This anomaly might be influenced by the presence of some of the highest-paid gastroenterologists within the 36-40 hour range, potentially skewing averages in our smaller dataset. This suggests that factors like employment type and practice environment may have a greater impact on salary than just hours worked.
Gastroenterologist Average Weekly Work Hours
Beyond salary related to hours, we looked at the typical work hours for gastroenterologists.
The majority of gastroenterologists work between 36 and 45 hours per week on average.
In addition to clinical hours, 27% of gastroenterologists reported spending at least five hours per week on charting outside of work hours. If charting is consuming significant time, consider exploring AI scribing solutions to enhance efficiency. We offer a free trial and discount for an AI scribing solution in our practice resources for physicians.
Gastroenterologist Salary Trends Over Time
Our data includes contributions from mid-2023 to mid-2024, reflecting our most recent salary database. We also analyzed our previous database, starting in 2018, to identify salary trends over time for gastroenterologists. We focused on full-time gastroenterologists (36+ hours/week) post-residency/fellowship for consistent comparison. For 2023 data, we combined data from both databases, carefully removing overlaps.
- 2018-2019: $467,000
- 2020-2021: $462,000
- 2022-2023: $491,000
- 2024: $625,000
Similar to other specialties involving elective procedures, we observed a salary dip during the COVID-19 pandemic, reinforcing the “eat what you kill” compensation model in medicine.
We see a 6% salary increase from 2022-2023 compared to 2020-2021, followed by a significant jump in 2024. However, caution is advised in drawing firm conclusions due to potential variations in the contributor demographics across different datasets, particularly regarding employment type (hospital vs. private practice). Employment environment strongly influences salaries, and while a general upward trend is evident, dataset composition may influence the magnitude of the 2024 increase compared to previous years.
Additional Components of Gastroenterologist Compensation Packages
Beyond salary, our database includes data on other compensation elements. A detailed analysis of complete compensation packages is planned for the future, but we offer initial insights into key components relevant to gastroenterologists.
Sign-On and Relocation Bonuses
Sign-On Bonuses: 55% of gastroenterologists reported receiving a sign-on bonus, averaging $31,000. Bonuses ranged widely from $5,000 to $100,000. Some members noted that sign-on bonuses were structured as retention bonuses, paid over multiple years.
Learn more about signing bonuses for physicians.
Relocation Bonuses: 33% received a relocation bonus, averaging $12,000, with a range of $3,000 to $25,000.
Vacation Days
Gastroenterologists average 24 vacation days annually. The median was 20 days, indicating some variation. Reported vacation time ranged from three to seven weeks of paid time off. Some members also noted a combined paid time off (PTO) pool for vacation, sick, and CME days.
CME Stipends
72% of gastroenterologists reported receiving a CME stipend, ranging from $1,000 to $8,000 annually, with an average of $3,500.
Student Loan Debt
While not direct compensation, student loan debt is a significant financial factor. Among gastroenterologists reporting student loan debt at graduation, the average was $267,000. Higher federal loan debt increases the value of repayment and loan forgiveness programs.
Learn more about doctor student loans and explore student loan refinancing options.
Additional Insights from Gastroenterologists Themselves
In addition to quantitative data, our physician online community members provide valuable qualitative comments with their salary contributions. These insights can be beneficial for job selection and contract negotiations. Here are a few notable points:
(This section is intentionally kept concise as the original article is also brief here. To expand, one would need more qualitative feedback, which is not provided in the source.)
Strategies to Increase Your Gastroenterologist Salary
If this salary data prompts you to re-evaluate your current compensation, several avenues exist to increase your income in gastroenterology. Remember to consider the complete picture – salary is vital, but it’s one part of a well-negotiated physician employment contract.
If you are content with your workplace but not your pay, consider initiating a conversation with management. As a valued team member, they might be open to renegotiating your contract to avoid losing you. While the answer might be no, asking is worthwhile. Base your expectations on realistic market data, utilizing resources like our physician salary and compensation database to understand comparable situations.
Exploring new career opportunities can also be beneficial. If your current employer is unable or unwilling to meet your compensation expectations, the broader market may offer better prospects. Interviewing for other positions provides market insights from the employer’s perspective. Explore open positions on our Physician Side Gigs job board and utilize our physician career resources and education to aid your job search.
While our data is a valuable negotiation tool, we strongly recommend consulting a local contract review attorney for physicians to review your contract. Their expertise in physician contract negotiation, including identifying potential red flags, is invaluable.
If you are already earning at or above market rate but seek additional income, consider exploring side gigs for gastroenterologists to supplement your earnings.
Additional Resources for Gastroenterologist Salary and Career Information
Explore our related articles and resources on physician compensation and salaries for further information.
If you haven’t recently, please contribute your data! Your anonymous contributions are crucial for enhancing our database, helping physicians like you negotiate better compensation through salary transparency. Data is exclusively used for our database and accessible only to members of our Physician Side Gigs Facebook group. Contribution links are available on our compensation data for physicians page.
Looking for new career opportunities? Explore the Physician Side Gigs job board for current openings.
For guidance on negotiating your next contract for the best possible terms, explore our resources on contract negotiation.
Also, explore our side gigs for gastroenterologists to discover additional income streams.
