Somewhere in Illinois, an Otolaryngology physician is earning up to $850,000 annually to treat sinus infections and remove tonsils. In Ohio, a colleague doing the same work starts at $350,000. The national Otolaryngology job market currently features 105 active listings spanning 36 states, with 23 positions disclosing compensation data. Salaries range from $350,000 to $1,000,000, averaging $507,541 to $561,713. The data reveals a market defined by extreme geographic variance, selective transparency, and a compensation ceiling that rewards strategic location choices.
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The Otolaryngology Job Market at a Glance
Total listings: 105. Listings with salary data: 23. Full range: $350,000 to $1,000,000. Average range: $507,541 to $561,713.
The $650,000 spread between floor and ceiling represents one of the wider compensation bands in physician specialties, driven less by subspecialty differentiation and more by geography and market desperation. Most disclosed salaries cluster in the $400,000 to $550,000 range, suggesting the national average captures the true center of gravity. The $1,000,000 ceiling appears to be an outlier (likely reflecting partnership track or highly underserved markets), but the consistency of mid-six-figure offers confirms that Otolaryngology remains a reliably lucrative field. The 21.9% transparency rate means four out of five employers are betting on reputation and lifestyle over disclosed numbers.
States represented: California, New York, Illinois, Texas, Florida, Washington, Nevada, Missouri, Wisconsin, Ohio, Colorado, Maryland, Vermont, New Jersey, Indiana, Minnesota, Kentucky, Iowa, Oklahoma, Tennessee, South Dakota, North Carolina, South Carolina, Arkansas, New Hampshire, Georgia, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maine, Kansas, New Mexico, Massachusetts, West Virginia, Hawaii, Montana, Nebraska.
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How States Stack Up
Overperformers: Illinois leads the nation with an average range of $800,000 to $850,000, proving that the Midwest can outpay the coasts when it wants your services badly enough. Wyoming offers a flat $650,000, a figure that buys significantly more square footage than it would in Manhattan. Washington averages $521,000 to $656,500, with the national high of $778,000 posted in Prosser (population 6,000, give or take). Missouri averages $566,667 to $583,333, positioning itself as a high-value alternative to coastal markets.
Near-average performers: New York ranges from $500,000 to $550,000, which is respectable but unremarkable given the cost of living. Maryland sits at $480,000 to $550,000, tracking closely with the national midpoint. California averages $463,360 to $583,350, a range wide enough to encompass both Fresno and San Francisco. Colorado posts $458,000 to $508,000, slightly below average but competitive for the Mountain West. New Jersey offers $440,000, a figure that will not go far in Bergen County.
Underperformers: Ohio averages $350,000 to $400,000, the lowest in the dataset and a reminder that not all Rust Belt markets are created equal. Vermont and Wisconsin both average $400,000, offering modest pay in exchange for quality of life (your mileage may vary). Indiana comes in at $425,000, trailing the national benchmark despite a reasonable cost of living. Nevada averages $437,500 to $475,000, a disappointing figure given the state’s seven active listings and lack of income tax.
Volume leaders: New York leads with 12 listings, followed by Illinois with 9, Nevada with 7, and South Carolina, Missouri, and Pennsylvania with 5 each. New York combines high volume with average pay, a dynamic that favors employers. Illinois pairs high volume with the highest compensation, a rare win for physicians. Nevada posts strong volume but below-average pay, suggesting competition among candidates or aggressive employer negotiation.
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What This Means If You’re a Physician
If your priority is maximum compensation: Target Illinois and Washington. Illinois offers the highest average range in the country ($800,000 to $850,000) with meaningful job volume (9 listings). The single highest-paying position identified is in Prosser, WA, offering $778,000 annually. Wyoming’s $650,000 flat rate also merits consideration, particularly for physicians open to rural practice and low cost of living.
If your priority is maximum optionality: Focus on New York (12 listings), Illinois (9 listings), and Nevada (7 listings). New York provides the most opportunities but pays near the national average ($500,000 to $550,000), a mismatch worth scrutinizing given the metro area cost of living. Illinois offers both volume and elite compensation. Nevada delivers volume but subpar pay relative to its tax advantages.
If your priority is balance: California and Maryland offer near-average compensation with established healthcare infrastructure and livable metro areas. California’s $463,360 to $583,350 range provides flexibility across markets from Sacramento to San Diego. Maryland’s $480,000 to $550,000 sits comfortably at the national midpoint. Both states offer predictable compensation without the geographic or lifestyle tradeoffs required by top-paying markets.
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What This Means If You’re a Recruiter
Salary transparency rate: 21.9% (23 of 105 listings). This is low even by physician recruitment standards, and it creates a candidate pipeline problem. Physicians evaluating 105 opportunities must make decisions with incomplete information in 78% of cases, which advantages employers with strong brands and disadvantages smaller systems in competitive markets.
The volume-pay misalignment is most pronounced in New York and Nevada. New York posts 12 listings but pays $500,000 to $550,000, below what Illinois offers with comparable volume. Nevada lists 7 opportunities but averages just $437,500 to $475,000, failing to capitalize on its tax structure. Recruiters in these states will need to lead with lifestyle, partnership track, or subspecialty exposure rather than base compensation.
Illinois represents the opposite dynamic: high volume (9 listings) paired with the highest pay ($800,000 to $850,000). This suggests either acute shortages or aggressive health system competition. Either way, Illinois recruiters can lead with numbers. Everywhere else, you’re selling something other than the salary.
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What’s Driving the Numbers
Geographic scarcity commands a steep premium, but only in select markets.
Illinois and Washington pay well above the national average, likely reflecting provider shortages in specific metro or rural markets. Prosser, WA (population 6,000) offers $778,000, a figure that only makes sense if the alternative is flying in locum coverage indefinitely. Wyoming’s $650,000 flat rate follows the same logic. But Nevada, despite its tax advantages and seven active listings, pays below average ($437,500 to $475,000), suggesting that scarcity alone does not drive compensation. Desirability matters. Reno is not Prosser, and the market knows it.
High job volume does not correlate with high pay, and sometimes predicts the opposite.
New York leads the nation in listings (12) but pays near the national average. Illinois combines high volume (9 listings) with the highest compensation, a rare exception. Nevada posts 7 listings but below-average pay. The pattern suggests that volume reflects demand intensity, not employer desperation. In saturated markets, employers can afford to wait. In undersupplied markets, they cannot.
The $350,000 floor is a red flag, not a benchmark.
The lowest salaries in the dataset ($350,000 in Ohio, Nevada, and Missouri) fall 31% below the national average low of $507,541. These are not entry-level offers or part-time roles; they represent either poorly capitalized employers, unfavorable payer mixes, or markets where physicians have limited negotiating leverage. Ohio’s $350,000 to $400,000 range is particularly concerning given the state’s three active listings, none of which approach competitive pay.
The $1,000,000 ceiling likely reflects partnership or ownership structures, not employed salaries.
The national high of $1,000,000 is an outlier, appearing in the data without a corresponding state or city attribution. No disclosed listing approaches this figure (the highest identified is $778,000 in Prosser, WA). This suggests the $1,000,000 data point represents a partnership buy-in, profit-sharing arrangement, or hybrid compensation model rather than a W-2 salary. Physicians chasing seven figures should clarify the structure before relocating.
The Bottom Line
The Otolaryngology job market offers broad geographic opportunity, selective transparency, and a compensation range wide enough to justify a spreadsheet. Illinois and Washington pay the most. Ohio and Wisconsin pay the least. New York offers the most jobs but not the most money. The $650,000 gap between the floor and ceiling is not driven by subspecialty expertise or procedural volume; it is driven by zip code, market leverage, and employer desperation.
There is a lot of money available for fixing ears, noses, and throats, but only if you’re willing to move for it.
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Salary data based on 23 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.
