Texas is paying anesthesiologists an average of $735,040 to $754,453 annually, which is approximately $200,000 more than Connecticut and enough to make even a pain management specialist wince with envy. The national Anesthesia job market currently features 374 active listings spanning more than 40 states, with salary data disclosed in 75 positions. Compensation ranges from $250,000 to $900,000, with a national average between $510,119 and $576,672. The data reveals a market where geography determines compensation as much as skill set, and where the highest-volume states are not always the highest-paying.
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The Anesthesia Job Market at a Glance

Total listings: 374. Listings with salary data: 75. Full compensation range: $250,000 to $900,000. National average range: $510,119 to $576,672.

The spread is significant. A $650,000 gap separates the floor from the ceiling, and the average range itself spans only $66,553 (a relatively tight band suggesting market consensus on fair value). States with active listings include:

• Texas
• California
• New York
• Pennsylvania
• Florida
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Virginia
• Georgia
• North Carolina
• Ohio
• New Jersey
• Arizona
• Massachusetts
• Connecticut
• Maryland
• Delaware
• Colorado
• Washington
• Oklahoma
• Arkansas
• Hawaii
• Missouri
• Wisconsin
• Oregon
• Louisiana
• Alabama
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Iowa
• Nebraska
• New Hampshire
• Maine
• Vermont
• Alaska
• West Virginia
• Kentucky
• South Dakota
• South Carolina
• New Mexico
• Tennessee

The market is deep and distributed, but salary transparency is inconsistent. Only 20% of listings disclose compensation, which creates information asymmetry that benefits employers more than candidates. High-volume states like Pennsylvania, Florida, and Indiana posted zero salary data despite combining for 59 listings, while lower-volume states like Arkansas and Oklahoma disclosed figures on their single postings.
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How States Stack Up

Overperformers: Texas ($735,040 to $754,453 across 3 listings) leads the nation in average compensation and does so with 28 total postings, making it the rare market that delivers both volume and premium pay. Georgia ($655,200 to $709,280) and North Carolina ($655,200 to $709,280) tie for second place, each posting identical ranges across 2 salary-disclosed listings. Arkansas ($625,000 to $630,000) punches above its weight with a single disclosed listing that exceeds the national average by more than $100,000. Washington ($600,000 to $700,000) and Oklahoma ($599,000 to $600,000) round out the top tier, both offering six-figure premiums over near-average markets.

Near-average performers: California ($565,029 to $662,040) posts the second-highest job count nationally (29 listings) but pays slightly above average rather than at the top, a cost-of-living mismatch that should raise eyebrows. Virginia ($529,360 to $573,040) and Delaware ($518,400 to $569,760) cluster tightly around the national mean. New Jersey ($515,000 to $605,000) and Colorado ($509,667 to $576,667) sit just above the midpoint. Illinois ($483,333 to $547,778) offers 21 total listings but averages below the national benchmark despite being the fifth-highest volume state. New York ($494,579 to $576,541) similarly underperforms relative to its 25-listing footprint and cost of living.

Underperformers: South Dakota ($250,000 to $400,000) anchors the bottom of the disclosed salary range, posting figures that are roughly half the national average and likely reflect part-time or rural locum arrangements. Arizona ($422,240 to $457,600) and Maryland ($435,833 to $482,500) both fall meaningfully below the national average despite being established markets. Connecticut ($440,000 to $500,000) and Massachusetts ($450,000 to $516,667) trail the national mean by $60,000 to $110,000, a surprising outcome for high-cost Northeastern markets.

Volume leaders: California (29 listings), Texas (28), New York (25), Pennsylvania (21), Illinois (21), Florida (19), Indiana (19), Georgia (18), Wisconsin (14), and Arizona (12) account for the majority of national postings. Florida, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Wisconsin disclosed zero salary data despite combining for 73 listings. Texas remains the only high-volume state that also leads on compensation.
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What This Means If You’re a Physician

If your priority is maximum compensation: Texas offers the highest average pay in the country and meaningful job volume, but the single highest-paying listing is capped at $900,000 (location and employer not specified in the dataset). Georgia and North Carolina deliver $655,000+ averages with lower competition than Texas. Arkansas, Washington, and Oklahoma all clear $599,000 but offer limited postings.

If your priority is maximum optionality: California and Texas combine for 57 listings and above-average to top-tier pay. New York adds 25 more opportunities, though compensation trails both West Coast and Southern leaders. Illinois and Pennsylvania contribute 42 additional listings but disclosed no salary data, making them difficult to evaluate without direct outreach.

If your priority is balance: Delaware, Virginia, and Colorado all pay near the national average with lower job counts, which may translate to less competition and faster placement. New Jersey ($515,000 to $605,000) offers a reasonable middle ground between New York’s volume and Texas’s premium. Hawaii posts a flat $500,000 average, which is below the national mean but may appeal to physicians prioritizing lifestyle over maximum earnings.

The California paradox deserves scrutiny: the state leads in job volume but pays $170,000 less on average than Texas, despite higher taxes and cost of living. Physicians considering California should negotiate aggressively or consider Texas, Georgia, or North Carolina instead.
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What This Means If You’re a Recruiter

Salary transparency rate: 20.1% (75 listings with disclosed compensation divided by 374 total listings). This is low even by physician recruitment standards and creates a candidate experience problem. Anesthesiologists are highly sought, highly paid, and highly mobile; they will not engage with black-box compensation structures when competing offers are explicit.

Candidate pipeline implications: High-volume states with zero disclosed salary data (Florida, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Wisconsin) are likely losing top-tier candidates to Texas, Georgia, and California before the first phone screen. Physicians reviewing job boards will skip over listings that require multiple conversations to learn whether a position pays $400,000 or $700,000. Recruiters in non-disclosing states will need to lead with non-financial differentiators: partnership track timelines, call schedules, subspecialty case mix, and administrative support models.

Volume-pay misalignment: Illinois posts 21 listings but averages $483,333 to $547,778, which is $27,000 to $29,000 below the national mean. New York’s 25 listings average $494,579 to $576,541, also below expectations for a high-cost market. Both states are being outbid by lower-volume competitors. Recruiters in these markets should emphasize academic affiliation, subspecialty training opportunities, or metropolitan amenities that justify the discount.
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What’s Driving the Numbers

Geography commands a larger premium than scope or subspecialty. Texas outpays Massachusetts by $285,000 on average, and Georgia outpays Maryland by $220,000. These gaps are too large to be explained by case complexity, call burden, or subspecialty focus alone. They reflect regional supply-demand imbalances, cost-of-living arbitrage, and the willingness of health systems in competitive markets to pay for scarcity. Anesthesiologists willing to relocate to the South or Mountain West will capture premiums that exceed what coastal markets offer, even after adjusting for taxes and expenses.

Part-time and locum roles distort the floor but not the ceiling. South Dakota’s $250,000 figure is an outlier that likely represents a 0.5 FTE or short-term locum assignment, not a full-time employed position. The $900,000 ceiling, by contrast, reflects genuine market pricing for high-demand full-time roles. Physicians evaluating offers should confirm FTE status, call expectations, and benefits before comparing nominal salary figures. Recruiters should annualize part-time roles and disclose workload in job descriptions to avoid wasting candidate time.

Underserved markets price in scarcity, but not consistently. Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Washington all pay above the national average despite lower population density and fewer listings. South Dakota, by contrast, pays well below average despite similar rural characteristics. The difference is likely employer type: critical access hospitals and small group practices in underserved areas often cannot compete on compensation, while large health systems and locum agencies serving those markets can and do. Physicians seeking premium pay in underserved areas should target roles backed by well-capitalized sponsors, not small independent practices.

The volume-pay relationship is broken in legacy markets. California, New York, Illinois, and Pennsylvania combine for 96 listings but all pay below Texas despite higher costs of living and comparable (or greater) case complexity. This suggests that these states are relying on non-financial advantages (prestige, geography, lifestyle) to attract candidates, but the data indicates that strategy is producing volume without pricing power. Health systems in these states are competing on brand rather than compensation, which works until it does not. Texas has figured out that paying $200,000 more than Connecticut is cheaper than losing a search to a competitor.

The Bottom Line

The Anesthesia job market is geographically fragmented, inconsistently transparent, and heavily tilted toward states that treat compensation as a competitive weapon rather than a line item. Texas has separated itself from the field by combining volume with a $200,000 premium over peer markets, while high-volume coastal states are underpricing their own cost structures and losing candidates accordingly. Physicians have leverage, options, and a $650,000 spread to navigate. Recruiters without salary data will lose to recruiters with it, and health systems in underperforming states will need to decide whether they are competing on compensation or conceding the market to those who do.

There is a lot of money available for ensuring people do not feel things, but where you practice determines how much of it you keep.
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Salary data based on 75 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.