What to Know
- A recent ranking conducted by WalletHub looked at the working conditions for doctors in all states and the District of Columbia
- The study revealed that working conditions are not the same everywhere in the United States.
- The tri-state ranked low, with New Jersey being the worst state in the country to practice medicine
Even though doctors tend to be some of the highest paid and most educated professionals, it does not mean that all physicians are treated equally across all states.
A recent ranking conducted by the financial planning website, WalletHub, looked at the working conditions for doctors in all states and the District of Columbia to determine which location is best for practicing medicine. The study revealed that working conditions are not the same everywhere in the United States.
Looking at two dimension with a combined 16 key metrics, WalletHub determined that the state of New Jersey is the worst state for doctors.
With an overall ranking at No. 51, the Garden State scores low in the opportunity competition rank, which looks at the average annual wage, average starting salary, hospitals per capita, insured population rate and current and projected competition, among other criteria. In this specific category, New Jersey is in 48th place.
The state also came in at No. 49 in the medical environment rank, which looks into the quality of public hospitals, physician assistants per capita and malpractice award payout, among other criteria.
When it comes to the specific key metric that measures the state with the highest malpractice award payout amount per capita, New Jersey comes on top, as do New York and New Hampshire.
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The study also determined that New York is among the worst states to work in, coming in at No. 49 due to it being in 49th and 48th place in the opportunity competition and medical environment ranks, respectively.
The dismal ranking is a result of the state scoring low in the study’s key metrics. For example, among the highest average wage for physicians, New York came in 49th place. It also is expected to have the second most projected competition by 2024.
New York also has the most expensive annual malpractice liability insurance.
Connecticut also has an overall low ranking, coming in at No. 41.
The Midwest reigned supreme as South Dakota, Nebraska, Idaho, Iowa and Minnesota were the top five best states to practice medicine.
