Radiologists No. 1 among physician specialists with $5M or more in net worth: Medscape
Radiologists are ranked No. 1 among physician specialists with $5 million or more in net worth, according to new survey data from Medscape.
About 39% of rads polled by the news website said they fall in this income bracket, placing the profession in a tie with orthopedists. Cardiologists came in third on the list at 35%, while anesthesiologists (31%) and plastic surgeons (29%) rounded out the top 5.
In the survey, “net worth” includes home equity, personal property such as cars and jewelry, financial investments and savings. Medscape noted that the overall share of physicians with $5 million or more in assets appears to be rising. About 19% of docs reported being in this bracket in 2026, the survey found, up from 11% in 2023.
“At this stage in my career, I am quite satisfied,” one unidentified physician told Medscape in the survey’s free-text portion. “It feels rewarding to know that my efforts are translating into financial stability, allowing me to focus on my patients without financial stress.”
The findings are based on a survey of almost 6,000 physicians across approximately 3o specialties, including about 177 radiologists, conducted between September and December. In comparison, about 31% of radiologists said they had $5 million or more in assets in the previous survey, placing rads second behind urologists (33%).
About 25% of physicians surveyed said they hold assets of between $2 million and under $5 million, the most popular answer. Another 24% estimated their wealth is under $500,000, while about 19% have between $1 million and $2 million. Medscape noted that factors such as rising home values and AI-related gains in the stock market may be helping to drive physician incomes upward. Docs who perform lots of medical procedures dominated the top 10, while those focused on seeing lots of patients (i.e., pediatricians or PCPs) are on the bottom end.
“As a family physician, I really have no idea how the specialists live,” an Iowa doctor told Medscape.
The website also highlighted a persisting gender gap. About 22% of male physicians surveyed said they hold assets of $5 million or more versus 14% among females. Women have made gains since the last report in 2024, the website noted. Around 50% of men and 37% of women reported a net worth of $2 million or more, up from 45% and 30%, respectively. However, while women’s wealth rates rose overall, the divide didn’t narrow much.
“As a woman physician, I believe there is a gender gap, which needs to be addressed at every career stage,” an Illinois cardiologist said.
Read more about the results from Medscape. The website also recently released its annual salary findings, reporting that rads earn an average of about $571,000, up 9% year over year.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.