Chiropractor, sole practitioner vs primary care physician

The differences between chiropractors, sole practitioner and primary care physicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a chiropractor, sole practitioner, becoming a primary care physician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a primary care physician has an average salary of $214,843, which is higher than the $96,749 average annual salary of a chiropractor, sole practitioner.

The top three skills for a chiropractor, sole practitioner include litigation, real estate transactions and probate. The most important skills for a primary care physician are patients, internal medicine, and family practice.

Chiropractor, sole practitioner vs primary care physician overview

	Chiropractor, Sole Practitioner	Primary Care Physician
Yearly salary	$96,749	$214,843
Hourly rate	$46.51	$103.29
Growth rate	40%	7%
Number of jobs	23,120	130,606
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 50%	Doctoral Degree, 40%
Average age	43	48
Years of experience	2	4

Chiropractor, sole practitioner vs primary care physician salary

Chiropractors, sole practitioner and primary care physicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Chiropractor, Sole Practitioner	Primary Care Physician
Average salary	$96,749	$214,843
Salary range	Between $54,000 And $170,000	Between $134,000 And $344,000
Highest paying City	-	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	-	North Dakota
Best paying company	-	Alameda Health System
Best paying industry	-	Insurance

Differences between chiropractor, sole practitioner and primary care physician education

There are a few differences between a chiropractor, sole practitioner and a primary care physician in terms of educational background:

	Chiropractor, Sole Practitioner	Primary Care Physician
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 50%	Doctoral Degree, 40%
Most common major	Law	Medicine
Most common college	Stanford University	Duke University

Chiropractor, sole practitioner vs primary care physician demographics

Here are the differences between chiropractors, sole practitioner' and primary care physicians' demographics:

	Chiropractor, Sole Practitioner	Primary Care Physician
Average age	43	48
Gender ratio	Male, 63.2% Female, 36.8%	Male, 49.4% Female, 50.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 6.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 77.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 19.1% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	12%	13%

Differences between chiropractor, sole practitioner and primary care physician duties and responsibilities

Chiropractor, sole practitioner example responsibilities.

Participate in arbitration and mediation efforts.
Provide consultation and advice to agency regarding human resource matters and assist with civil service appeals.
Litigate cases involving complex federal governmental statutory benefits programs such as ERISA and Medicare.

Primary care physician example responsibilities.

Full spectrum of family medicine, including obstetrics, pediatrics and inpatient medicine.
Maintain renewal for physicians' licenses, DEA certificates, ACLS certifications and CME records.
Attend ICU patient care rounds with the medical team.
Display technical proficiency in using NaturaeSoft electronic medical record (EMR).
Provide on-site, immediate response for all hospital emergencies following ACLS protocols.
Enter prescriptions on computer, giving injections, filing charting information in patient chart.

Chiropractor, sole practitioner vs primary care physician skills

Common chiropractor, sole practitioner skills

Litigation, 18%
Real Estate Transactions, 9%
Probate, 5%
Bench Trials, 5%
Financial Statements, 4%
Estate Planning, 3%

Common primary care physician skills

Patients, 25%
Internal Medicine, 14%
Family Practice, 11%
Urgent Care, 8%
Pediatrics, 7%
Patient Care, 6%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Chiropractor, Sole Practitioner
Chiropractor, Sole Practitioner vs Primary Care Physician

Updated January 8, 2025

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