By Sophie Eydis

Gastroenterologists are now offered the highest average starting salary of any physician at $654,000, surpassing orthopedic surgeons, who had led the rankings for four consecutive years.

Average starting salaries offered to orthopedic surgeons fell 12% year over year to $507,000, while the average for gastroenterologists rose 18.5%, according to the 2026 Review of Physician and Advanced Practitioner Recruiting Incentives.

The average signing bonus offered to physicians also rose 29% to $49,306, up from $38,215 last year, which was attributed to hospitals and medical groups competing harder for specialists.

Specialists accounted for 84% of physician searches, compared with 16% for primary care. Family medicine physicians were offered an average starting salary of $291,000, while internal medicine physicians averaged $289,000.

The report also found that academic positions offered lower starting salaries than non-academic roles, averaging $362,000 versus $452,000. Nurse practitioners remained the most requested recruiting category for the sixth consecutive year, with average starting salaries of $180,000.

The findings are based on a representative sample of 1,293 permanent physician and advanced practitioner search engagements conducted or ongoing from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026.