Explore OB-GYN physician salary ranges, hourly rates, and how locum tenens work changes earning potential.
Most OB/GYN physicians earn between $281,000 and $390,000 annually, with higher compensation tied to subspecialty practice, partnership models, and high-call environments.
OB/GYN compensation is shaped by:
OB/GYN is one of the clearest examples in medicine where lifestyle and compensation are directly linked. The physicians taking the most call and managing the highest-acuity coverage consistently earn more.
| Source | What it Measures | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Bureau of Labor Statistics, SOC 29-1218 (May 2024) | Mean annual wage, cross-industry | $281,130 |
| Medscape Physician Compensation Report (2025) | Average total compensation | $372,000 |
| Physician Side Gigs (2024) | Community-reported average | $375,000 |
| Marit Health (as of April 2026, n=352) | Real-time median compensation | $380,011 |
| Doximity Physician Compensation Report (2025) | Median total compensation | $389,566 |
| Merritt Hawkins (2025) | Average starting salary | $371,000 |
The spread between BLS and physician-reported benchmarks reflects practice structure. Physician-reported datasets capture bonuses, partnership income, and high-call environments that wage surveys often miss.
The spread across benchmarks reflects real differences in methodology.
BLS (SOC 29-1218) reports employer-paid wages from a semiannual survey of establishments. It captures W-2 wages and excludes self-employed physicians, bonus income, and partnership distributions. The May 2024 national mean of $281,130 sits below the physician-reported surveys because of this structural scope difference.
Doximity and Medscape survey practicing physicians directly and report total compensation including bonuses, incentives, and profit-sharing.
Marit Health aggregates community-verified submissions in real time. Its median reflects a self-selected panel of 352 OB/GYN submissions as of April 2026.
Merritt Hawkins tracks starting salaries from physician search assignments. The 2025 average starting salary of $371,000 declined 4.5% year-over-year, reflecting a different population than the Medscape survey, which showed a 6% increase. Starting offers and total compensation for established physicians move independently.
ACOG does not publish a public compensation survey with specific salary figures. ACOG workforce studies focus on workforce adequacy and practice patterns rather than compensation benchmarks. Directional findings are referenced in this guide where applicable.
| Compensation Type | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|
| BLS mean hourly wage (SOC 29-1218) | $135 per hour |
| Locum tenens market rate | $120 to $200 per hour |
Sources: BLS OES (May 2024) and aggregated public locum market data from ZipRecruiter (Feb 2026), Sermo (2025), Physician Side Gigs (2025),
The top end of the locum market reflects hard-to-fill call coverage, rural demand, and subspecialty assignments, not standard outpatient work.
Physicians who remove obstetrics from practice often trade roughly six figures of compensation for lower call burden and more predictable schedules.
| Subspecialty | Average Annual Compensation |
|---|---|
| Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM) | $513,000 |
| Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility (REI) | $461,000 |
| Urogynecology | $402,000 |
| OB Hospitalist | $297,000 |
| Gynecology-only (no obstetrics) | ~$100,000 less than OB+GYN |
Sources: Physician Side Gigs (2024), ACOG workforce study via Contemporary OB/GYN
The subspecialty premium shows up in the locum market as well. OnCall Solutions citing Salary.com (2025) reports locum hourly rates of $218 per hour for MFM, $172 per hour for gynecologic oncology, and $152 per hour for urogynecology, with locum premiums running approximately 36% above permanent rates.
Physicians who drop obstetrics from their practice earn approximately $100,000 less per year, according to ACOG workforce data. The trade-off is lifestyle: no call, no deliveries, and a more predictable schedule.
The highest-paying OB/GYN paths typically carry the highest lifestyle intensity. Compensation and schedule flexibility move in opposite directions more than most specialties.
Practice model data specific to OB/GYN is limited in publicly available benchmarks. Physician Side Gigs (2024) reports the following community-sourced breakdown:
| Practice Model | Average Annual Compensation |
|---|---|
| Partner / Owner | $439,000 |
| W-2 Employee | $368,000 |
The $71,000 gap between partnership and employed models is consistent with other procedural specialties. Partners absorb more overhead and business risk but retain a larger share of revenue.
OB/GYN has a documented gender pay gap that is larger than in many specialties, and more consequential given that women now represent the majority of OB/GYN residents.
| Population | Female | Male | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time OB/GYN (Physician Side Gigs, 2024) | $368,000 | $436,000 | 18% |
| Gynecologic oncologists (SGO member survey, 2025) | $380,000 | $500,000 | 24% |
The SGO survey of 263 gynecologic oncology society members found women at a $380,000 median compared to $500,000 for men, underscoring a pattern that extends across OB/GYN broadly.
Physicians should benchmark compensation against gender-stratified data, not just specialty averages. The gap is structural and persists even in high-demand markets.
The highest-paying OB/GYN opportunities consistently emerge in rural and underserved markets where hospitals struggle to maintain labor and delivery coverage. States like Kentucky, Louisiana, and Maryland report compensation levels well above national averages, while several high-cost coastal markets lag behind despite higher living expenses.
| State | Mean Annual Wage |
|---|---|
| Kentucky | $354,210 |
| Louisiana | $343,330 |
| Maryland | $342,330 |
| Delaware | $319,490 |
| Massachusetts | $320,720 |
| State | Mean Annual Wage |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $206,010 |
| Michigan | $230,120 |
| Idaho | $241,530 |
| Indiana | $245,450 |
| Connecticut | $248,760 |
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES May 2024, SOC 29-1218
OB/GYN pay follows coverage gaps more than cost of living. Hospitals pay a premium when losing coverage threatens labor and delivery access.
Compensation has continued rising across physician-reported benchmarks, driven by persistent workforce shortages and growing demand for women’s health services.
At the same time:
Those shortages are highly regional, with rural and community hospitals under the most pressure.
The OB/GYN shortage is not evenly distributed. Rural and hard-to-staff markets are driving both compensation growth and sustained locum demand.
Locum work gives OB/GYN physicians direct control over call burden, geography, and schedule structure.
To exceed $600K:
OB/GYN locum income scales directly with coverage intensity. Labor and delivery gaps create some of the strongest rate premiums in medicine.
A high locum rate creates more than just additional income potential. 1099 OB/GYN physicians gain flexibility in how income, taxes, and workload are structured over time.
While independent physicians manage their own benefits, retirement planning, and taxes, they also gain access to advantages unavailable in most employed models, including business deductions, larger retirement contribution limits, the Qualified Business Income deduction, and S-corp tax optimization at higher income levels.
For many physicians, the larger shift is control. Schedule, geography, and workload become variables they can actively design around their career goals.
Most physicians do not optimize this alone. Barton partners with Earned, a wealth and tax firm built specifically for doctors, to give locum clinicians entity formation, tax planning, and long-term financial strategy designed around how physicians earn.
OB/GYN compensation follows a trajectory that differs from surgical specialties. Early-career physicians typically start at or near the Merritt Hawkins 2025 average starting salary of $371,000, with a signing bonus averaging $38,215. Compensation growth from there depends on practice model, subspecialization, and geography more than seniority alone.
The highest-earning OB/GYNs tend to be in one of three positions: subspecialty practice (MFM at $513,000 or REI at $461,000), partnership or ownership models ($439,000 average), or high-volume locum work at the upper end of the rate band. For mid-career physicians managing burnout, locum work offers schedule control that employed roles typically do not.
Career progression in OB/GYN is less about tenure and more about how physicians choose to structure their practice.
Smaller agencies often introduce friction through credentialing delays, licensing gaps, unclear malpractice coverage, and payment issues. That’s where Barton shines.
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Most earn between $281K and $390K annually depending on structure and subspecialty.
~$135/hr W-2, $120–$200/hr locum.
Often yes, especially with call-heavy and underserved assignments.
Yes. Physician-reported surveys continue to show a meaningful compensation gap.
Rural hospitals, underserved markets, and high-acuity subspecialty roles.
Yes. Rural and community hospitals continue to face major OB/GYN coverage gaps.
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