Rhode Island — a state with exactly two Psychiatry listings — is outpaying New York by $64,943 on average. The national market contains 489 active listings spread across 48 states, from Wyoming’s single posting to California’s 57. Only 152 positions disclosed compensation, but those that did reveal a floor of $125,000 and a ceiling of $550,000. The Psychiatry job market rewards physicians who follow the money, not the volume.
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The Psychiatry Job Market at a Glance

Total listings: 489. Listings with salary data: 152. Full compensation range: $125,000 to $550,000. National average range: $303,612 to $347,643.

The $425,000 spread between floor and ceiling reflects a market divided by practice setting, geography, and employer desperation. Most positions cluster between $250,000 and $400,000, a comfortable band for a specialty where demand consistently outpaces supply. The upper end belongs to underserved markets and high-acuity settings willing to pay for scarcity. The lower end includes part-time roles, academic positions, and markets where institutional employers still believe prestige offsets compensation.

States represented: New York, Illinois, California, Alabama, Maryland, Ohio, Washington, Tennessee, Kentucky, Connecticut, Missouri, Texas, Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Iowa, Virginia, Florida, South Carolina, Utah, Indiana, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Oregon, Alaska, Kansas, Colorado, Georgia, New Mexico, Maine, Arkansas, North Dakota, Mississippi, New Jersey, Nebraska, New Hampshire, West Virginia, Michigan, Delaware, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Idaho, Louisiana.
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How States Stack Up

Overperformers:

Rhode Island ($384,800 to $457,600) leads the nation with two listings and zero competition. Tennessee ($416,000 flat) pays top dollar for exactly one disclosed position. Texas ($416,000 flat) matches Tennessee with the same single-listing confidence. Arizona ($416,000 flat) rounds out the $416,000 club with one listing in what is presumably a very quiet desert town. Florida ($416,000 flat) offers the same figure, proving that sunshine alone does not drive compensation strategy. Kentucky ($408,000 flat) sits just below the top tier with two listings and strong regional pull. Idaho ($400,000 flat) pays handsomely for one listing in a state where the population density favors the physician. Delaware ($350,000 to $400,000) punches above its weight with a single well-compensated position. Nevada ($373,000 flat) offers two listings at a rate that reflects both tax advantages and staffing challenges. South Carolina ($350,000 flat) discloses one position at a respectable rate for the region.

Near-average:

Ohio ($334,466 to $353,195) sits comfortably above the national average with five salary-disclosed listings. Alabama ($335,250 to $339,000) clusters near the midpoint with four listings. Illinois ($318,929 to $341,429) offers 21 total listings and 14 with salary data, making it a reliable benchmark market. Massachusetts ($330,000 to $350,000) discloses two positions at a rate that trails its cost of living. Minnesota ($309,003 to $325,392) provides nine salary listings and a predictable range. Washington ($309,000 to $347,000) offers two disclosed positions near the national average. Hawaii ($306,667 to $316,667) provides three salary listings that do not account for the state’s notorious cost of living. New Jersey ($300,000 to $310,000) discloses two positions at the lower end of competitive. Connecticut ($299,077 to $334,308) offers 13 salary listings across 24 total postings, making it a volume player with average pay. Iowa ($300,000 flat) and Colorado ($300,000 flat) each report one listing at the baseline.

Underperformers:

California ($296,469 to $383,915) leads the nation in volume with 57 listings but pays below Tennessee, Texas, and Rhode Island on average. New York ($279,857 to $319,934) offers 55 listings and 35 with salary data, yet trails the national average by nearly $24,000 on the low end. Missouri ($285,000 to $325,000) discloses two positions at rates that reflect neither scarcity nor urgency. Maryland ($273,000 to $315,000) offers five salary listings well below the national average. Pennsylvania ($262,500 to $331,000) provides 31 total listings but only four with salary data, and those four are among the lowest in the country. Virginia ($220,000 to $350,000) reports the widest range and the lowest floor among disclosed states, with two listings that span $130,000.

Volume leaders: California (57 listings), New York (55), Pennsylvania (31), Connecticut (24), Indiana (22), Illinois (21), Florida (20), Wisconsin (19), North Carolina (18). California and New York dominate in quantity but not in compensation. Pennsylvania offers high volume and low pay, a combination that will require recruiters to lean heavily on location and lifestyle. Indiana, Wisconsin, and North Carolina provided zero salary data despite double-digit listing counts.
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What This Means If You’re a Physician

If your priority is maximum compensation: Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Arizona, Florida, Kentucky, and Idaho represent the top tier. The highest single disclosed listing sits at $550,000, though the raw data does not specify city or scope. Among clearly identified positions, Columbus, OH and Nashville, TN offer $200 per hour ($416,000 annualized), while Anaheim and Los Angeles, CA list ranges between $301,000 and $415,000. Rhode Island’s $384,800 to $457,600 range applies to exactly two listings, meaning competition will be minimal and leverage will be high.

If your priority is maximum optionality: California (57 listings), New York (55), and Pennsylvania (31) offer the most opportunities, though compensation lags. Connecticut (24 listings, $299,077 to $334,308 average) provides a better balance of volume and pay. Illinois (21 listings, $318,929 to $341,429 average) offers strong compensation and reasonable volume. Indiana (22 listings) and Wisconsin (19 listings) provide high volume but zero salary transparency, a red flag for physicians who prefer to negotiate from a position of information.

If your priority is balance: Ohio, Alabama, and Illinois offer above-average pay with manageable cost of living. Minnesota and Washington provide near-average compensation in livable markets. Connecticut combines volume (24 listings) with near-average pay and proximity to major metros. Avoid Virginia ($220,000 floor) and Pennsylvania ($262,500 floor) unless the total package includes loan repayment, signing bonuses, or equity.
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What This Means If You’re a Recruiter

Salary transparency rate: 31.1% (152 listings with disclosed compensation out of 489 total). This is a candidate-hostile figure in a specialty where supply constraints give physicians the upper hand. Employers withholding salary data in a Psychiatry market are either operating from outdated playbooks or pricing below market and hoping to avoid early-stage attrition.

Candidate pipeline implications: High-volume states like Indiana (22 listings, 0% transparency), Wisconsin (19 listings, 0% transparency), and North Carolina (18 listings, 0% transparency) are forcing candidates to apply blind or skip entirely. In a market where Rhode Island is paying $457,600 for two positions, opacity is a competitive disadvantage. Pennsylvania’s 31 listings and four disclosed salaries (12.9% transparency) will lose candidates to Tennessee, Texas, and Arizona before the first phone screen.

Volume-pay misalignments: New York and California lead in listings but trail in compensation. Recruiters in these states will need to lead with cost of living, cultural amenities, academic affiliation, and career progression rather than base salary. Pennsylvania’s combination of high volume (31 listings) and low pay ($262,500 average floor) means recruiters will spend more time justifying the offer than closing the candidate. Florida’s single disclosed listing at $416,000 suggests that employers willing to pay are filling roles quickly, while those withholding data are sitting on open requisitions.
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What’s Driving the Numbers

Low-volume states command premium compensation.

Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Arizona, Florida, and Idaho each report one or two disclosed listings at or above $400,000. This is not coincidence. It is scarcity pricing. Employers in these markets are competing with higher-volume states for the same candidate pool and are forced to lead with compensation because they cannot lead with density of opportunity. The strategy works: a physician choosing between 55 New York listings at $279,857 and one Tennessee listing at $416,000 is making a lifestyle decision, not a financial one.

High-volume states are underpricing or underreporting.

California and New York represent 23% of all national listings but pay below Rhode Island, Kentucky, and Nevada on average. Pennsylvania offers 31 listings and discloses salary on only four, three of which sit below the national average. This is either a deliberate strategy to filter for mission-driven candidates or a structural failure to recognize that Psychiatry is a seller’s market. Either way, it creates arbitrage opportunities for physicians willing to relocate and leverage for recruiters in higher-paying states.

Part-time roles and hourly listings distort the floor but clarify the ceiling.

The $125,000 floor is almost certainly a part-time or highly specialized role. The $200/hour positions in Columbus and Nashville annualize to $416,000 and sit at the top of the disclosed range, suggesting that part-time work in Psychiatry is not a discount model but a premium one. Employers offering part-time roles at $200/hour are competing for physicians who have options, not those who need full-time benefits. This bifurcation means the market is segmenting into full-time institutional roles (lower pay, benefits, stability) and part-time or contract roles (higher pay, flexibility, risk).

Transparency correlates with competitiveness.

States with higher salary disclosure rates (California 63%, New York 64%, Illinois 67%) are also states with higher listing volumes, suggesting that employers in competitive markets understand they must disclose to compete. States with zero transparency despite double-digit listings (Indiana, Wisconsin, North Carolina) are either pricing below market or operating in systems where HR policy overrides recruitment strategy. The result is predictable: candidates will self-select out, and time-to-fill will extend.

The Bottom Line

The Psychiatry market is geographically diffuse, compensation is inversely correlated with volume, and salary transparency remains a competitive advantage that most employers are choosing not to deploy. Physicians with leverage should follow the money to Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Those prioritizing optionality should focus on California, Illinois, and Connecticut. Those seeking balance should target Ohio, Alabama, and Minnesota. Recruiters in low-transparency, high-volume states will spend the next 12 months explaining why their $262,500 offer in Pennsylvania is competitive with a $416,000 offer in Nashville.

There is a lot of money available for ensuring people do not feel things about their feelings, but only if you are willing to go where the feelings are underserved.
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Salary data based on 152 listings with disclosed compensation. Figures may reflect part-time or specialized roles. This report is informational and should not replace professional judgment or financial planning.