Explore dermatologist salary ranges, hourly rates, and how ownership, procedure mix, and locum work shape earning potential.
Dermatology is one of the highest-compensated specialties in medicine. Compensation depends heavily on practice ownership versus employment, procedure mix, and geography. Across the major national benchmarks, most working dermatologists land in the $454,000 to $508,000 range, with self-reported data from smaller panels running considerably higher.
| Source | What it Measures | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Bureau of Labor Statistics (OES May 2024) | Mean annual wage, SOC 29-1213 | $349,026 |
| Medscape Physician Compensation Report (2025) | Average total compensation | $454,000 |
| Merritt Hawkins (2024 Review of Physician Recruiting Incentives) | Average starting salary | $475,000 |
| Doximity Physician Compensation Report (2025) | Median total compensation (data year 2024) | $508,401 |
| SalaryDr (as of April 2026, based on 84 physician submissions) | Median verified compensation | $650,000 |
The spread between BLS and physician-reported benchmarks reflects how ownership and procedural income reshape dermatology compensation at the top of the market.
The biggest compensation lever in dermatology is not geography. In practice, the largest drivers of compensation are ownership vs employment, cosmetic and procedural volume, and practice setting and payer mix.
| Compensation Type | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|
| BLS national hourly mean (employer-reported) | $167 per hour |
| Locum tenens — lower band | ~$228 per hour |
| Locum tenens — upper band | $200 to $300 per hour |
Sources: BLS OES May 2024 and Sermo Locum Tenens Salary (2025 data).
The top end of the locum market reflects procedural dermatology, hard-to-fill assignments, and underserved markets where access gaps persist.
Dermatology has distinct subspecialty tracks that shape earning potential differently.
Procedure mix shapes dermatology compensation more than fellowship label alone. A high-volume cosmetic or procedural dermatologist can out-earn many subspecialists in employed settings.
Practice structure matters more in dermatology than in most physician specialties. Employed dermatologists typically operate within fixed compensation bands, while practice owners benefit from procedural revenue, ancillary services, and ownership distributions layered on top of clinical income.
That gap explains why physician-reported compensation surveys consistently land well above employer wage data.
Ownership and locm tenens are the single largest long-term compensation levers in dermatology.
The highest-paying dermatology opportunities consistently emerge in underserved and hard-to-staff markets rather than in major coastal cities. States like Maryland, Louisiana, and Minnesota report compensation levels well above national benchmarks, while several high-cost metro areas trend lower despite stronger consumer markets.
Dermatology pay follows access gaps more than prestige geography. Rural and underserved markets consistently pay premiums to secure stable coverage.
Dermatology compensation has continued to rise across the major benchmarks. Medscape (2025) reports 3 percent year-over-year growth in average total compensation, while Doximity (2025) reports 3.7 percent year-over-year growth in median compensation (data year 2024). Both trends are consistent with a specialty where demand remains stable and supply growth is constrained by residency slots.
HRSA workforce projections do not flag a major national shortage in dermatology, but access gaps persist in rural and underserved communities where dermatology coverage is thin. Those coverage gaps drive locum tenens demand and premium rates in markets that employed positions do not consistently fill.
The dermatology market is not defined by a national shortage. It is defined by uneven access, and those local gaps create long-term compensation leverage.
Locum dermatology offers one of the most flexible income models in medicine, giving physicians direct control over schedule, geography, and clinic volume.
Dermatology income scales with procedure mix and ownership leverage. The physicians controlling those variables consistently earn at the top of the market.
The advantage is not just higher rates. It is the ability to structure income and workload more intentionally over time.
The difference between staffing firms shows up after placement. That’s where reliability matters most.
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We’ll schedule a phone consultation to discuss your interests, goals, and work history to find the right opportunities.
Your Barton rep will submit your information to the facility you want to take an assignment at and work on next steps.
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Most earn between $454K and $508K annually, with cosmetic and ownership-heavy practices earning more.
~$168–$228/hr W-2, $200–$300/hr locum.
Often yes, especially in procedural and underserved markets.
Ownership, cosmetic procedures, and high-volume procedural work.
Not nationally, but underserved communities continue facing major access gaps.
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