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Best states for a pain medicine physician

Quoted expert
Julie Aultman Ph.D.
  • Rank 1 - 10
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We decided to bring you a list of the best states for jobs for pain medicine physicians in the United States. Pain medicine physician positions are available in every state, but not all states are the same. Some states do not offer the same wages, benefits, time off, etc for pain medicine physicians.We wanted to look at the best states for pain medicine physicians -- where there are plenty of pain medicine physician jobs to go around and pain medicine physicians get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.
We figured that the best places for pain medicine physician jobs has three things everyone would agree on. There would be high annual wages, good career prospects (no matter what phase of the career you are in), and a lot of job opportunities.North Dakota is the best state, and Fairbanks is the city with the highest pay for pain medicine physicians.

10 best states for pain medicine physicians in 2025

  1. North Dakota #1 best state for pain medicine physicians

    1. North Dakota

    Total pain medicine physician jobs:115
    Average annual salary:$194,629
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$135,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$279,000
    Location Quotient:
    1.69
  2. Oklahoma #2 best state for pain medicine physicians

    2. Oklahoma

    Total pain medicine physician jobs:248
    Average annual salary:$195,043
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$136,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$278,000
    Location Quotient:
    1.1
  3. South Dakota #3 best state for pain medicine physicians

    3. South Dakota

    Total pain medicine physician jobs:165
    Average annual salary:$188,245
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$128,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$274,000
    Location Quotient:
    2.1
  4. Alaska #4 best state for pain medicine physicians

    4. Alaska

    Total pain medicine physician jobs:88
    Average annual salary:$195,896
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$135,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$282,000
    Location Quotient:
    1.44
  5. West Virginia #5 best state for pain medicine physicians

    5. West Virginia

    Total pain medicine physician jobs:104
    Average annual salary:$189,732
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$130,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$276,000
    Location Quotient:
    0.93
  6. Nebraska #6 best state for pain medicine physicians

    6. Nebraska

    Total pain medicine physician jobs:129
    Average annual salary:$194,293
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$135,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$279,000
    Location Quotient:
    0.79
  7. Georgia #7 best state for pain medicine physicians

    7. Georgia

    Total pain medicine physician jobs:634
    Average annual salary:$194,891
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$135,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$279,000
    Location Quotient:
    0.84
  8. Nevada #8 best state for pain medicine physicians

    8. Nevada

    Total pain medicine physician jobs:215
    Average annual salary:$188,675
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$130,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$273,000
    Location Quotient:
    1.4
  9. Minnesota #9 best state for pain medicine physicians

    9. Minnesota

    Total pain medicine physician jobs:606
    Average annual salary:$190,158
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$130,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$276,000
    Location Quotient:
    1.24
  10. Maine #10 best state for pain medicine physicians

    10. Maine

    Total pain medicine physician jobs:216
    Average annual salary:$186,282
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$126,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$273,000
    Location Quotient:
    2.22

Pain medicine physician jobsNear Columbus, OH

How Zippia determines the best states to be a pain medicine physician

You can read about how the best state rankings are calculated here.

Detailed list of the best states for a pain medicine physician

RankStateAverage salaryLowest 10% earnPopulationJob count
1North Dakota$194,629$135,000755,393115
2Oklahoma$195,043$136,0003,930,864248
3South Dakota$188,245$128,000869,666165
4Alaska$195,896$135,000739,79588
5West Virginia$189,732$130,0001,815,857104
6Nebraska$194,293$135,0001,920,076129
7Georgia$194,891$135,00010,429,379634
8Nevada$188,675$130,0002,998,039215
9Minnesota$190,158$130,0005,576,606606
10Maine$186,282$126,0001,335,907216
11Oregon$191,593$132,0004,142,776350
12New York$190,239$131,00019,849,3991,456
13Montana$187,283$128,0001,050,493120
14Wisconsin$185,179$125,0005,795,483717
15Kentucky$186,004$126,0004,454,189218
16Pennsylvania$184,408$125,00012,805,5371,207
17Iowa$186,407$126,0003,145,711212
18Wyoming$186,137$126,000579,31535
19Idaho$189,106$130,0001,716,94369
20Alabama$186,182$126,0004,874,747226
21Washington$188,304$129,0007,405,743562
22Vermont$185,419$126,000623,65784
23Rhode Island$188,554$129,0001,059,63968
24North Carolina$183,944$124,00010,273,419720
25Missouri$185,754$126,0006,113,532333
26Delaware$189,747$130,000961,93950
27Indiana$181,453$121,0006,666,818510
28New Hampshire$181,573$122,0001,342,795199
29South Carolina$181,001$121,0005,024,369411
30Utah$186,477$127,0003,101,833126
31District of Columbia$190,556$131,000693,97257
32Mississippi$184,675$125,0002,984,10085
33Colorado$187,630$128,0005,607,154294
34Ohio$182,089$122,00011,658,609484
35Louisiana$181,353$122,0004,684,333224
36New Mexico$174,367$115,0002,088,070267
37Virginia$182,853$123,0008,470,020552
38Maryland$182,315$122,0006,052,177430
39Connecticut$179,425$120,0003,588,184295
40Arkansas$179,319$120,0003,004,27998
41Arizona$175,289$116,0007,016,270550
42New Jersey$180,371$121,0009,005,644585
43Massachusetts$181,078$121,0006,859,819597
44Illinois$177,591$118,00012,802,023872
45Tennessee$171,359$112,0006,715,984348
46Texas$173,988$115,00028,304,5961,456
47Michigan$172,548$113,0009,962,311506
48Kansas$176,535$117,0002,913,123156
49Hawaii$124,627$70,0001,427,538103
50California$179,024$120,00039,536,6531,702
51Florida$165,291$105,00020,984,4001,102

Highest paying states for pain medicine physicians

RankStateAvg. Pain Medicine Physician Salary
1North Dakota$194,629
2Oklahoma$195,043
3South Dakota$188,245
4Alaska$195,896
5West Virginia$189,732
6Nebraska$194,293
7Georgia$194,891
8Nevada$188,675
9Minnesota$190,158
10Maine$186,282
11Oregon$191,593
12New York$190,239
13Montana$187,283
14Wisconsin$185,179
15Kentucky$186,004
16Pennsylvania$184,408
17Iowa$186,407
18Wyoming$186,137
19Idaho$189,106
20Alabama$186,182
21Washington$188,304
22Vermont$185,419
23Rhode Island$188,554
24North Carolina$183,944
25Missouri$185,754
26Delaware$189,747
27Indiana$181,453
28New Hampshire$181,573
29South Carolina$181,001
30Utah$186,477
31District of Columbia$190,556
32Mississippi$184,675
33Colorado$187,630
34Ohio$182,089
35Louisiana$181,353
36New Mexico$174,367
37Virginia$182,853
38Maryland$182,315
39Connecticut$179,425
40Arkansas$179,319
41Arizona$175,289
42New Jersey$180,371
43Massachusetts$181,078
44Illinois$177,591
45Tennessee$171,359
46Texas$173,988
47Michigan$172,548
48Kansas$176,535
49Hawaii$124,627
50California$179,024
51Florida$165,291

Expert opinions on the best states for pain medicine physicians

  • Are there any particularly good places in the United States for pain medicine physicians to find work opportunities?

    Julie Aultman Ph.D.Julie Aultman Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

    Professor of Family and Community Medicine, Northeast Ohio Medical University

    We need this future workforce to be innovative, to make important changes - from environmental and global warming initiatives (bioethicists who have a passion for environmental ethics) to being researchers and advocates for patients and others who might fall victim to the negative impact of the pandemic (clinical ethics, health humanities scholars). The transition to work will be slow, as the revitalization of our national economy, but there will be work.

    We need these future minds more than anything right now. But again, mentors are going to be essential for helping these graduates get to that next phase in their lives. I am fully confident my dual-enrolled students (medical or pharmacy students who are also taking the Masters program in Medical Ethics and Humanities) will find work opportunities. For my traditional graduate students who are not in the health professions, there will be roles for these students in medicine and science (e.g., regulatory compliance).

    However, I do encourage them to work toward a doctoral program as the MA degree is a non-terminal degree. I have had students receive work prior to the pandemic, and I would suspect similar opportunities post-pandemic, particularly in the sciences where ethics and compliance are so essential.

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