Ophthalmology Salary Map by State (2026)
Median ophthalmology pay across 5 states from real job listings — switch views to adjust for cost of living or overlay burnout scores. Medians blend permanent salaries with annualized locums/contract rates. National median: $325,000.
Highest median
Minnesota
$517,500
Best real purchasing power
Minnesota
$524,736 adjusted
Best lifestyle score
Illinois
7.1/10 avg burnout score
Ophthalmology pay by state
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Take-home, COL-adj. | Burnout score | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | $517,500 | $524,736 | $473,050 | 6.1/10 | 8 |
| Illinois | $437,500 | $437,684 | $416,018 | 7.1/10 | 5 |
| New York | $300,000 | $277,981 | $258,939 | 4.5/10 | 12 |
| Washington | $200,000 | $186,893 | $186,893 | 4.9/10 | 5 |
| Maryland | $156,052 | $148,679 | $140,130 | 2.8/10 | 6 |
Which state pays ophthalmology physicians the most?
Minnesota currently has the highest median ophthalmology salary at $517,500, based on 8 real job listings.
Which state offers the best after-tax ophthalmology pay?
Minnesota currently leads the take-home view at $473,050 — the state median after its state income tax (Tax Foundation state income tax rates (2025)), divided by the local cost-of-living index. No-income-tax states like Texas, Florida and Tennessee often outrank nominally higher-paying states here.
Why adjust ophthalmology salaries for cost of living?
Prices differ across states. The adjusted view divides each state's pay benchmark by its regional price index (U.S. average = 100). Source: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). This is a state-level comparison, not a personal budget or a city-level cost estimate. Missing price data is shown as unavailable.
Which state has the best ophthalmology lifestyle scores?
Illinois currently has the highest average WeekdayDoc burnout score (7.1/10, higher is better) for ophthalmology listings — a measure of call burden, weekend requirements, and schedule flexibility across postings.
Medians computed from real WeekdayDoc job listings after outlier removal; states with fewer than 5 qualifying listings are excluded. Cost-of-living adjustment uses BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). The take-home view additionally deducts state income tax at each state's marginal rate for ~$300k single-filer income (Tax Foundation state income tax rates (2025)); federal tax is omitted since it's uniform across states, and local/property taxes are not modeled. Burnout scores are WeekdayDoc's proprietary 0–10 lifestyle rating (higher is better).
More salary maps
See the full percentile breakdown on the Ophthalmology salary page.