Salary data, May 2025 release

What neurologists earn, state by state.

Bureau of Labor Statistics figures for neurologists from the May 2025 release, published May 15, 2026: national pay and its spread, every state BLS publishes, and the metro areas at the top, with the survey’s limits beside the numbers.

The national figures.

Verified BLS May 2025 national file

Employment
10,590
Jobs on employer payrolls, relative standard error 9.9%
Mean annual wage
$267,630
$128.67 an hour, relative standard error 6.6%
Median annual wage
$248,560
$119.50 an hour; half earn more, half less

Neurologists (29-1217), United States, all industries. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates, published May 15, 2026.

Who BLS counts here. “Diagnose, manage, and treat disorders and diseases of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves, with a primarily nonsurgical focus.” (BLS, 2018 occupation definitions)

Verified

Pay across the range, nationally

PercentileAnnual wageHourly wage
10th percentile$83,370$40.08
25th percentile$155,990$75.00
Median (50th percentile)$248,560$119.50
75th percentile$357,990$172.11
90th percentile$450,780$216.72
Mean$267,630$128.67
Ten percent of neurologists on payrolls earn less than the 10th percentile and ten percent more than the 90th. BLS, May 2025 release, national file.

By state.

BLS’s state file covers 54 areas: the states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For neurologists, 24 of them have a published mean wage, 5 show # (a wage at or above $239,200 a year), 3 show * (no wage estimate) and 22 have no row for neurologists at all.

Verified BLS May 2025 state file

Neurologists by state, May 2025

State EmploymentPer 1,000 jobsLocation quotientMean annual wageMedian annual wage
Alaska 100 0.304 4.46 $335,530 $354,760
Arizona 80 0.024 0.35 $358,190 $409,610
Arkansas 70 0.052 0.76 $296,780 $317,880
California 1,090 0.060 0.88 $306,860 $357,080
Colorado 120 0.042 0.62 $336,450 $356,250
Connecticut 120 0.069 1.02 $274,340 $320,680
District of Columbia 50 0.064 0.94 $276,260 $332,000
Florida 520 0.053 0.77 $241,970 $322,750
Georgia 120 0.024 0.35 * Not available * Not available
Illinois 240 0.040 0.58 $258,020 $237,080
Indiana 360 0.111 1.63 $303,170 $220,210
Kansas 60 0.042 0.62 # $239,200 or more # $239,200 or more
Kentucky 230 0.117 1.72 $301,190 $338,850
Maine 50 0.078 1.15 # $239,200 or more # $239,200 or more
Maryland ** Not available ** Not available ** Not available $281,640 $302,840
Michigan 120 0.028 0.41 * Not available * Not available
Minnesota 310 0.106 1.56 $330,010 $381,670
Nebraska 80 0.083 1.22 $266,560 $269,270
New Jersey 140 0.033 0.48 $243,370 $222,120
New York 2,810 0.290 4.25 $204,900 $155,990
North Carolina 180 0.036 0.52 $284,770 $325,550
Ohio 940 0.170 2.49 * Not available * Not available
Oregon ** Not available ** Not available ** Not available # $239,200 or more # $239,200 or more
Pennsylvania 30 0.006 0.08 # $239,200 or more # $239,200 or more
South Carolina 40 0.019 0.28 $354,250 $352,680
Tennessee 220 0.068 1.00 $292,700 $229,670
Texas 660 0.047 0.69 $325,270 $360,640
Utah 100 0.055 0.81 # $239,200 or more # $239,200 or more
Vermont 40 0.137 2.01 $344,860 $434,730
Washington 180 0.052 0.76 $274,740 $327,140
West Virginia 60 0.079 1.15 $131,410 $63,500
Wisconsin 130 0.043 0.63 $305,290 $342,520

In state order.

  • # BLS: indicates a wage equal to or greater than $115.00 per hour or $239,200 per year.
  • * BLS: indicates that a wage estimate is not available.
  • ** BLS: indicates that an employment estimate is not available.

The location quotient compares the occupation’s share of jobs in the state with its share nationally: above 1, the state has more neurologists for its size than the country does.

No estimate for neurologists: Alabama, Delaware, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virgin Islands, Virginia, Wyoming.

BLS, May 2025 release, state file.

Metro areas at the top.

BLS publishes figures for neurologists in 39 of its 393 metropolitan areas. The ten with the highest published mean wage and the ten with the most jobs:

Verified BLS May 2025 metro area file

Highest mean annual wage

Metro area EmploymentLocation quotientMean annual wageMedian annual wage
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY 80 2.23 $448,720 $451,510
Memphis, TN-MS-AR 30 0.79 $439,130 $535,950
Salt Lake City-Murray, UT 50 0.83 $388,860 $376,490
Cleveland, OH ** Not available ** Not available $367,340 $383,420
Burlington-South Burlington, VT ** Not available ** Not available $345,410 $434,730
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ 70 0.44 $344,530 $409,610
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO 60 0.55 $344,000 $356,250
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN ** Not available ** Not available $336,990 $365,500
Anchorage, AK ** Not available ** Not available $336,300 $354,760
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 120 0.93 $335,090 $335,420

Ranked on published figures only. 5 more metro areas show # for the mean, a wage at or above $239,200 a year, and cannot be placed in the ranking. BLS, May 2025 release, metropolitan area file.

Verified BLS May 2025 metro area file

Most jobs

Metro area EmploymentLocation quotientMean annual wageMedian annual wage
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 300 1.10 $327,030 $360,640
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 190 0.90 $208,430 $161,560
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 180 2.38 $186,460 $101,210
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN 170 0.56 $242,360 $136,030
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 130 0.90 $278,990 $331,080
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX 120 0.55 $268,540 $277,960
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 120 0.93 $335,090 $335,420
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 90 1.00 $312,080 $337,600
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 90 2.09 $240,860 $178,920
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY 80 2.23 $448,720 $451,510

Ranked on published employment only. BLS, May 2025 release, metropolitan area file.

  • ** BLS: indicates that an employment estimate is not available.

What these figures leave out.

BLS’s own notes on the survey, in plain words, with the page each one comes from.

An employer survey
BLS asks employers, not physicians. The survey measures employment and wages for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments, so every figure here describes physicians on a payroll. (BLS technical notes)
No self-employed physicians
The survey does not count the self-employed or owners and partners in unincorporated firms, so physicians in their own unincorporated practice are left out. Salaried officers and staff of incorporated practices are counted. (BLS technical notes)
What counts as a wage
Wages are straight-time gross pay. The base rate, incentive pay and production bonuses are in; overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and the employer’s cost of benefits are not. (BLS technical notes)
A ceiling on some wages
Where a cell shows #, BLS gives no figure, only that the wage is equal to or greater than $115.00 per hour or $239,200 per year. This page prints that floor; the wage itself may be well above it. (BLS national file notes)
Three years of responses
The May 2025 figures combine six semiannual panels of survey responses collected over three years, from November 2022 to May 2025. Wages reported in the earlier panels are adjusted to the May 2025 reference date. (BLS technical notes)
Standard errors
Each estimate comes with a percent relative standard error, a measure of how precise it is. Nationally, the employment figure for neurologists carries one of 9.9 percent and the mean wage one of 6.6 percent; each state and metro row carries its own. (BLS national file notes)
Rounded counts
Employment is rounded to the nearest ten, and BLS leaves out a state or metro area, or marks a cell, where it publishes no estimate. (BLS national file notes)

Using these figures.

Physician recruitment cost calculator

Prices a vacancy route by route, with the national mean on this page as first-year pay for the agency fee unless you enter the offer you have in mind.

Questions about pay for neurologists.

What does a neurologist make in my state?

Find the state in the state table: it gives the mean and median annual wage BLS publishes for neurologists there, with employment and the location quotient. Nationally the mean annual wage is $267,630 and the median $248,560 (BLS, May 2025 release).

24 of the 54 state-level areas have a published mean. 5 more show #, a wage at or above $239,200 a year that BLS does not print. The rest have no wage estimate for neurologists; they are listed under the table.

Why is this lower than a physician pay survey I saw?

It may not be. Where it is, look first at who and what BLS counts:

  • The survey does not count the self-employed or owners and partners in unincorporated firms, so physicians in their own unincorporated practice are left out. Salaried officers and staff of incorporated practices are counted.
  • Wages are straight-time gross pay. The base rate, incentive pay and production bonuses are in; overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and the employer’s cost of benefits are not.
  • The May 2025 figures combine six semiannual panels of survey responses collected over three years, from November 2022 to May 2025. Wages reported in the earlier panels are adjusted to the May 2025 reference date.
  • A wage shown as # is at least $239,200 a year and may be far above it; the page prints only the floor.

A survey that asks physicians or medical groups directly counts different people and different pay. Compare the same specialty, the same kind of employer and the same year.

How many neurologists work in the United States?

BLS counts 10,590 neurologists on employer payrolls (BLS, May 2025 release), rounded to the nearest ten, with a relative standard error of 9.9%. Self-employed physicians and owners of unincorporated practices are not in that count, so it describes the employed part of the field.

Which metro area pays neurologists the most?

Of the 39 metro areas where BLS publishes figures for neurologists, Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY has the highest published mean annual wage: $448,720 (BLS, May 2025 release), on employment of 80. 5 more show # for the mean, at or above $239,200 a year, so they cannot be ranked against it. A small metro area can lead on a few dozen jobs, so read the employment and the standard error with the wage. The metro tables show the top ten by mean wage and by employment.

What do *, ** and # mean in these tables?

They are the marks BLS puts in a cell instead of a figure. In its own words: # indicates a wage equal to or greater than $115.00 per hour or $239,200 per year; * indicates that a wage estimate is not available; ** indicates that an employment estimate is not available. This page prints “Not available” for the first two and the floor for the third (“$239,200 or more”), never a zero.