The highest-paying Pain Management listing in the United States offers $700,000 annually in Eldorado, Illinois (population: approximately 200). The lowest starts at $300,000 in Manhattan. The Pain Management physician job market currently features 115 listings across 29 states, though only 14 employers were willing to disclose what they actually pay. The data reveals a specialty where compensation transparency remains the exception, geographic arbitrage opportunities abound, and a $400,000 spread separates the floor from the ceiling.
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The Pain Management Job Market at a Glance

Total listings: 115. Listings with salary data: 14. Full range: $300,000 to $700,000. Average range: $375,714 to $487,500.

The $400,000 gap between the lowest and highest disclosed salaries represents more than most physicians earn in their first year of practice. The national average floor of $375,714 sits $75,714 above the absolute minimum, suggesting the $300,000 listings represent either highly competitive urban markets where employers have leverage, part-time arrangements, or positions with scope limitations not reflected in the posting. The average high of $487,500 falls $212,500 short of the market ceiling, indicating that top-tier compensation exists but remains concentrated in specific geographic pockets or practice models.

States represented:

• Alabama
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Missouri
• Nevada
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Virginia
• Wisconsin

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How States Stack Up

Overperformers: Illinois leads nationally with an average range of $450,000 to $600,000 across two disclosed listings, anchored by the market-topping $700,000 ceiling in Eldorado. Colorado follows at $400,000 to $500,000 with full salary disclosure across both of its listings, offering transparency and above-average compensation. Delaware posts $410,000 to $425,000 on its single disclosed listing, delivering near-ceiling pay in a low-volume market. Kentucky offers a flat $400,000 on both ends of its disclosed range, suggesting either a salaried hospital position or a market that has settled on a standard rate.

Near-average: California averages $366,667 to $516,667 across three disclosed listings out of seven total, placing it slightly below the national floor but above the national average high (a statistical quirk that reflects the wide spread in its disclosed data). Massachusetts shows $350,000 to $500,000 on a single listing, delivering a competitive ceiling despite a below-average floor.

Underperformers: New York averages $333,333 to $383,333 across three disclosed listings, placing it $42,381 below the national average floor and $104,167 below the average high. New Jersey ties for the lowest starting salary nationally at $300,000, though its single disclosed listing reaches $600,000 on the high end, creating a $300,000 internal spread that suggests either significant performance incentives or a bait-and-switch compensation structure.

Volume leaders: Florida dominates with 15 listings but zero salary disclosures. Georgia contributes 12 listings, also with zero disclosed compensation. South Carolina adds 8 listings without a single salary figure. California leads among states with disclosed data at seven total listings and three with compensation information. Pennsylvania and Michigan each post 6 listings with no salary transparency. The volume-transparency inverse relationship suggests high-demand markets feel no pressure to lead with compensation.
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What This Means If You’re a Physician

If your priority is maximum compensation: Target Illinois, specifically the Eldorado listing offering $450,000 to $700,000 through CompHealth. The $700,000 ceiling represents the highest disclosed figure nationally and sits in a low-cost-of-living rural market, creating significant wealth accumulation potential. Colorado’s $400,000 to $500,000 range offers a secondary option with full transparency and access to a higher-amenity lifestyle.

If your priority is maximum optionality: Florida’s 15 listings provide the deepest job market, followed by Georgia’s 12 and South Carolina’s 8. None disclosed salary data, meaning you will negotiate in the dark or with information asymmetry in your favor if you arrive with market intelligence. High volume without transparency typically signals employer competition, which favors candidates willing to play multiple offers against each other.

If your priority is balance: Delaware and Kentucky offer near-average compensation with full transparency and manageable cost-of-living profiles. Delaware’s $410,000 to $425,000 range and Kentucky’s flat $400,000 eliminate negotiation uncertainty while delivering compensation that exceeds the national average floor. Both states offer lower listing volume, suggesting less competition for available positions.
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What This Means If You’re a Recruiter

Salary transparency rate: 12.2% (14 disclosed listings divided by 115 total listings). This represents one of the lowest transparency rates across physician specialties and creates significant friction in candidate pipeline development. Physicians evaluating Pain Management opportunities must engage with recruiters to access basic compensation information in 87.8% of listings, adding time and effort to the search process and likely reducing application rates among passive candidates.

The volume-pay misalignment is striking: Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina combine for 35 listings (30.4% of the national total) without a single disclosed salary figure. If these high-volume states pay below the national average, they are hiding it. If they pay above average, they are underselling their competitive position. Either scenario represents a strategic misstep. Recruiters in these markets will need to lead with lifestyle factors, partnership tracks, or procedural volume rather than compensation, which works only if candidates reach the conversation stage.

California’s partial transparency (three disclosed out of seven total) reveals a $366,667 average floor that sits below the national average despite the state’s high cost of living. This suggests either that California employers are relying on geographic desirability to offset below-market pay, or that the disclosed listings represent less competitive offers while the undisclosed positions carry premium compensation. Recruiters should clarify which scenario applies before losing candidates to Midwest markets offering $80,000+ premiums.
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What’s Driving the Numbers

Geographic arbitrage opportunities are substantial and explicit. A physician accepting the $700,000 Eldorado, Illinois listing earns $400,000 more annually than a colleague taking the $300,000 New York City position. Even accounting for state income tax differentials (Illinois: 4.95% flat; New York: up to 10.9%), the Illinois physician nets approximately $370,000 more per year. Over a five-year contract, that delta approaches $1,850,000 before accounting for cost-of-living differences that further favor the rural market. Pain Management physicians willing to practice outside major metros can compress decades of wealth accumulation into years.

Transparency inversely correlates with volume, suggesting demand-rich markets feel no pressure to compete on disclosed compensation. The three highest-volume states (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina) combine for 35 listings and zero salary disclosures, while lower-volume markets like Colorado, Delaware, and Kentucky lead with full compensation transparency. This pattern implies that employers in high-demand regions believe their job volume speaks for itself, or that they face sufficient local candidate supply to avoid national recruitment. Physicians should interpret non-disclosure in high-volume markets as either a red flag or a negotiation opportunity, depending on risk tolerance.

The $300,000 floor appears in two of the nation’s highest cost-of-living markets (New York City and Freehold, New Jersey), raising questions about whether these represent full-time positions, fellowship-trained requirements, or employers exploiting geographic desirability. A $300,000 salary in Manhattan delivers substantially less purchasing power than the same figure in markets with median home prices below $200,000. The presence of these listings at the national floor suggests either that some Pain Management positions carry scope limitations not reflected in the posting, or that certain employers are testing how low the market will bear in prestige locations.

Part-time and scope variations likely distort the lower end of the range, though the data does not explicitly identify such roles. The $300,000 floor and the tight clustering of New York listings between $300,000 and $383,333 suggest possible part-time arrangements, outpatient-only scopes, or employed positions without procedural volume. The $700,000 ceiling, by contrast, almost certainly reflects a full-scope interventional practice with call responsibilities, partnership potential, or productivity incentives. Physicians evaluating offers should clarify whether quoted compensation assumes full-time hours, hospital privileges, and procedural case volume.

The Bottom Line

The Pain Management job market offers abundant opportunity, limited transparency, and a compensation structure that rewards geographic flexibility more than almost any other specialty. Physicians willing to practice in rural Illinois can earn more than twice what their colleagues make in Manhattan, while those prioritizing coastal markets face below-average compensation and above-average living costs. The 12.2% transparency rate means most physicians will negotiate without knowing whether their offer sits at the 25th or 75th percentile, creating information asymmetry that favors prepared candidates and punishes those who accept the first number presented.

There is substantial money available for managing chronic pain, but you will likely have to ask what it is.
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Salary data based on 14 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.