Physician Job Market Analysis Report: Pediatrics (PhysEmp Market Intelligence | physemp.com)
THE HOOK
Pediatrics is the specialty where you spend your days treating patients who are too young to pretend they’re fine, too honest to lie about how much something hurts, and fully prepared to cry about it while also asking you why dinosaurs don’t exist anymore. It is, by most accounts, a calling.
It is also a specialty with 607 active job listings nationwide and a compensation range that runs from $164,000 to $355,000 — a $191,000 spread that reflects differences in geography, employer type, and how urgently someone needs a pediatrician in Victorville, California.
The market is active. The data is instructive. And California, as it turns out, is doing a lot of heavy lifting.
👉 Explore Pediatrics job market insights and trends
THE NATIONAL SNAPSHOT
Total listings: 607 Listings with salary data: 75 Full salary range: $164,000 – $355,000 Average national range: $230,777 – $262,522
The spread here is narrower than some specialties — Pediatrics doesn’t have the $800,000 Medical Director outliers of Gastroenterology — but the variation is still meaningful enough to matter when you’re deciding where to practice. A $90,000 annual difference between a top-end California offer and a floor-level Illinois posting compounds rather aggressively over a career.
The average range, $230K to $262K, is where most full-time positions cluster. It is a respectable, stable band of compensation for a specialty that arguably deserves more, but that is a separate conversation.
States represented: California, Washington, Connecticut, Nevada, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Colorado — a geographically spread group united by a shared need for physicians willing to discuss ear infections with the patience of someone who has discussed many, many ear infections.
👉 Browse Pediatrics physician job opportunities
STATE BY STATE
Overperformers (the “yes, please” column):
- Connecticut: $270,000 – $290,000 — strong top-end pay in a small state that is quietly serious about compensation
- California: $245,693 – $277,820 — leads the nation in both volume and pay, which is genuinely unusual and worth noting
- Colorado: $223,446 – $274,810 — competitive range, plus mountains, which remain non-depositable but broadly appreciated
California achieving both the highest listing count and above-average compensation is the kind of market alignment that doesn’t happen often. Physicians who have been told “more jobs means lower pay” can use California as their counterexample.
Near-average performers (the “reliable sedan” column):
- Washington: $225,000 – $240,000
- Massachusetts: $195,000 – $247,500
Both track closely to the national average. No surprises, no dramatic upside, solid fundamentals. Massachusetts’s lower floor is worth noting for physicians evaluating specific roles rather than state-level ranges.
Underperformers (with context):
- New York: $190,000 – $200,000 — notably below the national average for a high-cost market, which is the kind of math that rewards scrutiny
- Illinois: $204,333 – $240,667 — moderate volume, below-average pay; a market that offers options without particularly rewarding them
- Nevada: $190,000 – $250,000 — wide range suggesting meaningful variation between roles; due diligence recommended
Volume leaders:
- California: 15 listings — not a typo. California doesn’t just lead; it laps the field
- Illinois: 3 listings
- Everyone else: 1–2 each (present, accounted for, not competing with California)
👉 Compare Pediatrics compensation and opportunities by region
FOR PHYSICIANS
The Pediatrics market is hiring broadly, California is the headline, and the compensation ceiling — while lower than procedural specialties — is high enough that geography matters considerably in long-term earnings.
If your priority is maximum compensation, Connecticut and the top end of California are your targets. If your priority is maximum optionality, California’s 15 listings give you negotiating leverage and the ability to be selective. If your priority is balance — reasonable pay, reasonable cost of living, reasonable proximity to things that aren’t Los Angeles — Colorado and Washington are worth serious evaluation.
A note on New York: compensation running $190K–$200K in one of the most expensive cities in the country is a gap worth modeling out before accepting. The role itself may have compensating factors — academic affiliation, subspecialty exposure, specific training opportunities — but the base numbers deserve scrutiny.
The top listing in the dataset, $275,000–$355,000 in Victorville, CA, reflects what demand in underserved markets produces. It is the highest-paying entry in this analysis and a reminder that geography cuts both ways — sometimes the places that need you most are also the places that pay you most.
👉 Search all Pediatrics physician jobs now
FOR RECRUITERS AND HEALTHCARE EXECUTIVES
607 listings, 25 with salary data. That’s a 4% transparency rate in a market where candidates are making six-figure, multi-year career decisions. The listings that publish compensation ranges will consistently outperform unlisted postings for candidate pipeline volume — particularly in a specialty where physicians are already doing cost-of-living math in their heads.
California’s dominance (15 of 25 salary-disclosing listings) may not be coincidental. Competitive markets reward transparency because candidates have options and will deprioritize listings that require a phone call to learn the salary range.
Illinois presents an interesting tension: three listings, below-average compensation, and a high-volume job board presence. In a market where California is competing directly for the same candidates at higher salaries, the differentiator for Illinois roles will need to be something other than pay — quality of life, institutional reputation, specific clinical environment, or the deeply underrated appeal of affordable real estate.
👉 Post Pediatrics positions on PhysEmp
MARKET FORCES
California is structurally dominant here. Fifteen listings with above-average compensation in a 25-listing salary dataset is not a regional quirk — it’s a market signal. Demand for Pediatricians in California is high, and at least some of that demand is translating directly into compensation. Physicians evaluating the national market should weight California more heavily than its geographic footprint might suggest.
Underserved markets are pricing in scarcity. The Victorville listing at $275K–$355K is the clearest example: a market with genuine access challenges is offering the highest compensation in the dataset. This pattern repeats across specialties and geographies. Physicians open to non-urban practice have real financial leverage.
New York’s compensation gap is notable. $190K–$200K in a market with New York’s cost of living implies either a specific role type (academic, part-time, subspecialty training) or a pricing dynamic that doesn’t fully account for candidate alternatives. Either way, it’s a number that deserves context before acceptance.
The volume-pay relationship is complicated. California breaks the rule. Illinois confirms it. The lesson is that volume and compensation are independent variables, and treating them as correlated in either direction will produce bad decisions.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The Pediatrics job market is active, California is the center of gravity, and the compensation ceiling is meaningfully higher in markets that need you most.
Or more directly: 607 jobs, a national average above $230,000, and one listing in Victorville paying $355,000 to someone willing to go where the need is. The market for people who treat small patients is, it turns out, quite serious.
👉 Browse all Pediatrics physician jobs 👉 Upload your CV to get matched with opportunities and 👉 Set alerts for new Pediatrics roles
Salary data based on 75 listings with disclosed compensation. Figures may reflect specific roles, settings, and contract structures. This report is informational and should not replace professional judgment, financial planning, or a realistic assessment of how you feel about Victorville.
