PhysEmp Job Market Index — Based on physician job listings posted on PhysEmp. This analysis is part of the PhysEmp Physician Salary Report series.
Physician Job Market Analysis Report: Gastroenterology
THE HOOK
Somewhere in America right now, a gastroenterologist is making $800,000 a year. Somewhere else, another gastroenterologist is making $200,000. They have the same medical degree, the same general area of expertise, and almost certainly the same jokes at dinner parties that make people change the subject.
The difference is geography, scope, and whether someone asked them to build a program from scratch — which, in recruiter language, means “we need you badly and have budgeted accordingly.”
The Gastroenterology job market currently lists 585 active positions nationwide , of which well over 75 include salary data — enough to draw real conclusions, not enough to fund a statistical regression you could publish in a journal. What the data does show is a market that is active, well-compensated, and geographically uneven in ways that reward physicians who pay attention.
THE NATIONAL SNAPSHOT
Total listings: 585 Listings with salary data: 75 Full salary range: $200,000 – $800,000 Average national range: $485,037 – $562,148
That $600,000 spread between floor and ceiling is not a typo. It reflects part-time roles at one end, Medical Director program-builder roles at the other, and a wide middle band of solid, market-rate positions that make up the bulk of what’s actually available.
The average range — $485K to $562K — is where most physicians will land, assuming they are not simultaneously managing a GI program in rural Nevada while also being very persuasive in salary negotiations.
States represented: New Jersey, New York, Indiana, Ohio, California, Colorado, Nevada, Tennessee, Washington, Illinois, Maryland, and Massachusetts — a geographically diverse group united by a shared need for people who understand what happens after lunch.
👉 Browse all current Gastroenterology listings
STATE BY STATE
Overperformers (the “yes, please” column):
- Illinois: $700,000 — one listing, zero ambiguity
- Tennessee: $625,000 – $645,000
- Nevada: $590,000 – $650,000 (plus a Medical Director role reaching $800,000)
- Washington: $530,000 – $672,000
Illinois leads with a single listing that doesn’t negotiate with averages. Nevada and Washington offer strong upside, particularly for physicians open to building or expanding programs — again, recruiter for “they really, really need you.”
Near-average performers (the “reliable sedan” column):
- Indiana: $525,000
- Maryland & Massachusetts: $500,000 – $550,000
- California: $475,000 – $535,000
- Ohio: $472,500 – $507,500
These markets offer compensation that tracks closely with the national average. No surprises. No yachts. Reliable.
Underperformers (with important context):
- New Jersey: $200,000 — part-time, 2.5 days/week. This is not a distress signal; it’s a pro-rated schedule for someone who enjoys long weekends.
- Colorado: $400,000 – $425,000 — below average, possibly offset by mountains, which do not deposit directly into a 401(k).
👉 Compare Gastroenterology compensation by region
Volume leaders:
- New York: 8 listings — the undisputed job-volume champion, with salaries ranging $462,074 – $571,713. Abundant opportunity. Average-ish pay. Classic New York.
- California: 3 listings
- Indiana, Ohio, Nevada: 2 each
- Everyone else: 1 (minimalist, but present)
FOR PHYSICIANS
The Gastroenterology market is actively hiring, and the salary ceiling is legitimately high for physicians willing to take on leadership or program-development roles. The Medical Director position in Gardnerville, NV — $680,000 to $800,000 — is the outlier that proves the point: scope of responsibility moves compensation more than geography alone.
If your priority is maximum income, target Illinois, Tennessee, Nevada, and Washington. If your priority is maximum optionality, New York and California offer the most listings. If your priority is balance — strong pay with real job volume — Nevada and Washington currently offer both.
A note on New York: eight listings is impressive, but compensation there runs below states like Tennessee and Illinois despite the higher cost of living, which is a thing New York does across many industries and has never apologized for.
👉 Search Gastroenterology jobs by location and compensation
FOR RECRUITERS AND HEALTHCARE EXECUTIVES
With 585 active listings and only 25 publishing salary data, there is a transparency gap that likely affects candidate pipeline quality. Physicians making relocation decisions — particularly those weighing Illinois at $700K against an unlisted-salary role in a comparable market — will consistently prioritize the listing that tells them what they need to know.
The data also surfaces a clear compensation signal for leadership roles: the $680K–$800K Gardnerville listing outperforms the national average by a meaningful margin, and that premium is explicitly tied to program-building scope. Recruiters filling similar roles in other markets should benchmark accordingly — or continue to wonder why candidates keep asking follow-up questions about compensation before scheduling interviews.
New York’s volume leadership (8 listings) combined with below-premium salaries suggests a competitive hiring environment where candidate experience and offer transparency may be the actual differentiators.
👉 Post Gastroenterology positions on PhysEmp
MARKET FORCES
A few structural dynamics shaping what you’re seeing in this data:
Program-building commands a premium. The highest-compensated listings — Nevada’s Medical Director role chief among them — explicitly involve building or expanding GI programs. This is a distinct skill set, and the market prices it distinctly. Physicians with administrative experience or an appetite for program development have meaningful leverage in these negotiations.
Part-time roles compress the floor. The $200,000 New Jersey listing is the statistical floor here, but it’s a part-time position. Removing it from the analysis raises the effective floor considerably and presents a more accurate picture of full-time market compensation.
Volume does not equal value. New York’s dominance in listing count does not translate to compensation leadership. The states with the highest salaries tend to have one or two listings each — often in markets with genuine access challenges or specialty shortages. Scarcity, as always, is doing its thing.
Geographic spread reflects demand distribution. The 12 states represented in this dataset span both coasts and the Midwest, suggesting national demand rather than regional concentration. For physicians open to relocation, the arbitrage opportunities — particularly between high-cost, average-paying markets and lower-cost, high-paying ones — are real.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The Gastroenterology job market is strong, the compensation ceiling is high, and the most interesting opportunities tend to be the ones that ask you to build something.
Or, more directly: 585 jobs, a national average north of $485,000, and at least one employer in Nevada who is apparently very serious about GI care. The market is moving. The only question is where you want to land in it.
👉 Browse all Gastroenterology jobs now 👉 Upload your CV to get matched with opportunities ( 👉 Set alerts for new Gastroenterology roles
Salary data based on 75 listings with disclosed compensation. Some figures reflect part-time or specialized roles. This report is informational and should not replace professional judgment, financial planning, or a frank conversation with someone who understands marginal tax rates.
