Demand for locum tenens physicians is high across the U.S. for many specialties. Which ones pay the most? This year, specialties like physical medicine and rehabilitation, family medicine, anesthesiology, and neurology saw the biggest gains.
To help you see yourself in the picture and make sense of the nationwide compensation trends for 2024, we crunched the numbers to give you an idea of what you would make working locum tenens.
Anesthesiology
Pay for locum anesthesiologists is holding steady at $275 – $325 hourly in 2024 after a modest increase in 2023. Demand for anesthesiologists remains high this year with many open locums opportunities available across all U.S. regions. Currently, most opportunities are in the Midwest and East and are somewhat evenly distributed across the other areas. Assignments average around 20 days with typical working hours from 7 am – 4 pm.
Cardiothoracic surgery
Locum tenens compensation for cardiac surgeons has held steady at $2,000 – $2,500 per day since 2022. Cardiovascular surgeons remain in high demand, which opens significantly more locum tenens assignment options for this specialty. Demand is especially high in parts of the East and Midwest regions of the U.S. The average locums assignment length for cardiothoracic surgeons is five days. Hours range from 24-hour call to shift work, with options for long-term placement.
Emergency medicine
Locum physicians in emergency medicine stayed level in 2024, holding near the 2023 rate of $125 – $300 per hour. Locum EM physicians are still in high demand, with various opportunities. Job availability is fairly even across the U.S., with slightly higher demand in the Southeast and Midwest. This year, 12- or 24-hour shifts are the assignment trend again, with options to work from four to 12 shifts per month for up to six months or longer.
Family medicine
Family medicine physicians had a modest uptick in locums pay to $115 – $140 per hour in 2024, up from $90 – $130 per hour last year. Consistently high demand for this specialty nationwide contributed to the increase. Family medicine locums jobs are available in all U.S. regions, but the market is robust in the Southwest, followed by the East. Typical assignments last two to six months and have hours from 8 am – 5 pm Monday through Friday, usually with some call.
General surgery
Locums pay for general surgeons was up nearly 35% in 2023 over 2022 rates, but for 2024 compensation remained flat at $1,400 – $1,800 per day. Demand for this specialty remains consistent across all regions in the U.S. but is exceptionally high in the Midwest. Assignments can last anywhere from a few days to 12 months. Locum physicians can expect a lot of flexibility from shift work to long-term engagements. Typical clinic hours are 8 am – 5 pm Monday through Friday, along with 24-hour, night, and weekend calls.
Hospitalist
Hospitalists saw a slight increase in 2024 locums rates for an average of $150 – $190 per hour. Nationwide demand continues to be high this year, with the most locum tenens opportunities in the Southeast, Midwest, and West regions. Assignment durations range from two to 12 months, typically with 12-hour shifts on a seven-day rotation. Rotation schedules alternate between 7 am – 7 pm and 7 pm – 7 am and may include swing shift options.
Interventional cardiology
Pay for interventional cardiologists shifted to an average rate of $260 – $360 per hour. This year, locums for interventional cardiologists continue to be in high demand. Most often, assignments are 24-hour calls lasting five to seven days. Most of the current job demand is in the Midwest region (67 %), with the rest evenly distributed between the Southwest and East regions.
Neurological surgery
While rates have not increased significantly since 2022, a persistent shortage of neurosurgeons still makes this one of the top-paying locum tenens specialties. Neurosurgeons can earn between $300 – $400 per hour, with rates as high as $5000 per day when meeting the needs of stroke patients. While locums opportunities are open in all U.S. regions, demand is significantly higher in the West. Assignments are typically 24-hour call and may range from short-term shift work to optional long-term engagements.
Obstetrics & gynecology (OB/GYN)
This year, OB/GYN remains a high-demand specialty, with average locum tenens compensation holding steady in the $150 – $200 per hour range. The job market for this specialty is consistently strong across all regions in the U.S. (sustaining last year’s peak), especially in the Midwest and Southeast. Assignment durations average three to six months, with options for shift work and weekend coverage. Typical clinic hours for OB/GYN locums are from 8 am – 5 pm, Monday to Friday, with 1:3 call time.
Orthopedic surgery
Pay for locum tenens orthopedic surgeons increased slightly in 2024 to an average of $150 – $210 per hour. Like last year, demand for orthopedic surgeons is still moderate but with a wide variety of assignment types. Job opportunities are available in all U.S. regions but run higher in the Midwest and West. A typical orthopedic surgery locums assignment is seven days (call, clinic, and surgery) and lasts one to three months.
Pediatric anesthesiology
Locums pay for pediatric anesthesiology held steady in 2024 at an average rate of $285 – $350 per hour. Demand remains high for physicians in this specialty even though the compensation numbers didn’t move. The highest job volumes are currently in the Southeast and West regions of the U.S., but there’s demand in all areas. Typical locum assignment hours are Monday to Friday from 7 am – 4 pm, with assignments lasting about 20 days on average.
Physical medicine and rehabilitation
In 2023, PM&R physicians saw a big jump in locum compensation to $165 – $200 per hour (up from $125 – $190 in 2022). For 2024, however, average pay remained at 2023 levels. There’s moderate demand for these physicians, but many jobs are available in all U.S. regions. Most opportunities are currently in the Southeast, East, and West. Typical hours are Monday to Friday from 8 am – 5 pm with call. The average assignment length is one week.
Urology
Locum tenens urologist pay increased to $200 – $290 per hour in 2024, up from roughly $190 – $225 per hour in 2023. Demand is extremely high again this year. Due to a severe shortage in this specialty, there are plenty of assignment options and locations for locum tenens urologists to choose from in all U.S. regions. The most opportunities are in the Midwest, followed by the Southeast and West regions. Typical locums assignments last one to six months, consisting of eight-hour clinic shifts, call at night, and 24-hour weekend coverage hours.
Vascular/interventional radiology
2024 rates remained flat for vascular/interventional radiologists at $275 – $350, even with a spike in demand to “high” this year (from a 2023 rating of “moderate”). We’ll have more to say about demand drivers at the end of this guide. Most opportunities for this specialty are in the Midwest, West, and East regions. The average assignment duration is one to three months, with hours Monday through Friday from 8 am – 5 pm. Contracts may include night and weekend call.
Vascular surgery
Because of a chronic shortage of vascular surgeons, the job market remains especially hot for this specialty. Although rates did not increase for 2024, they are holding at the 2023 level of $1,800 – $2,800 per day, which remains substantially higher than 2022’s figure of $1,700 – $2,200 per day. Because of the high demand, vascular surgeons working locums can expect some assignment flexibility, from three-day weekends up to 12-month assignments. Schedules vary with 24-hour call, night call, and weekend call.
The big picture for locum tenens compensation
National demand for locum tenens physicians remains high, especially for the highlighted specialties. For a deeper dive, we invite you to explore this easy search tool that provides more information by specialty. The overall takeaway for 2024 is that locum tenens pay is trending up.
What’s driving demand? The short answer is — it’s complicated. Many interdependent factors influence demand, including things like population growth and aging, local funding for medical services, educational trends, long-term physician shortages in particular specialties, and the portion of the medical workforce approaching retirement age.
The demand and compensation data make clear that physicians will have more opportunities than ever to build a flexible, sustainable lifestyle with a supplemental or full-time locum schedule for the foreseeable future.