Family Practice Doctor Salary Guide

The average annual  family practice physician salary is $224,460 per year in the U.S., according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, family practice physicians make $255,000 per year, according to Medscape’s 2023 physician compensation report.  

The compensation for family practice physicians has remained relatively stagnant over the past few years. The average compensation for family practice physicians has increased 31% since 2015. 

Locum tenens family practice doctors can make up to $125 per hour however, there are many factors that impact rates including location, years of experience, and the level of demand.

If you were to extrapolate that rate over a year (at 40 hours per week), the average locum salary comes out to around $260,000.  

That means locum tenens family practice doctors can make up to 2% more than the average provider. However, making direct salary comparisons can be complicated. While perm family practice doctors  are more likely to be salaried, locum tenens family practice doctors are independent contractors earning an hourly rate, which can vary based on which assignments they take in a year. 

Furthermore, because locum tenens family practice doctors are paid by the hour, the hours they work are directly reflected in their pay, while a salaried family practice doctor’s additional hours may not be reflected in their salary. Finally, paid time off and insurance may be reflected in the perm family practice doctor salary structure, but locum tenens providers do have options when it comes to health insurance.

The most recent state breakdown of family practice physician salaries comes from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS was not able to collect enough data for all 50 states, however the top 5 highest paying states for family practice physicians salary are:

• South Carolina (Average Salary of $309,270)
• Alaska (Average Salary of $297,870)
• Wyoming (Average Salary of $295,570)
• Nebraska (Average Salary of $267,760)
• Oklahoma (Average Salary of $266,800)

Family practice doctors are in the bottom half of the 30+ physician specialties surveyed in the Medscape 2023 compensation report. The top five specialties (plastic surgery, orthopedics, cardiology, urology, gastroenterology) all reported annual income of greater than $500,000.

Family practice doctor salaries have been stagnant over the last several years. In 2023, family practice physician’s average compensation remained the same from the previous year. A safe estimate is that family practice doctors will make what they did in 2023, meaning that family practice doctors will make around $255,000 in annual salary in 2024.

That being said, overall compensation for physicians in the U.S. have generally increased over the past decade, so an increase in compensation for family practice doctors is not impossible.