Pathology Salary Map by State (2026)
Median pathology pay across 8 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: $306,000.
Highest median
Washington
$411,500
Best real purchasing power
Minnesota
$402,805 adjusted
Best lifestyle score
New Jersey
6.3/10 avg burnout score
Pathology pay by state
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Take-home, COL-adj. | Burnout score | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $411,500 | $384,533 | $384,533 | 4.8/10 | 8 |
| Minnesota | $397,250 | $402,805 | $363,128 | 5.9/10 | 17 |
| California | $358,800 | $324,061 | $293,923 | 5.5/10 | 15 |
| Illinois | $330,000 | $330,139 | $313,797 | 5.5/10 | 12 |
| Massachusetts | $329,250 | $311,327 | $295,761 | 3.7/10 | 14 |
| New York | $317,500 | $294,197 | $274,044 | 5.1/10 | 20 |
| Maryland | $165,750 | $157,919 | $148,838 | 4.6/10 | 5 |
| New Jersey | $165,000 | $151,647 | $141,988 | 6.3/10 | 5 |
Which state pays pathology physicians the most?
Washington currently has the highest median pathology salary at $411,500, based on 8 real job listings. Adjusted for cost of living, Minnesota offers the highest real purchasing power at $402,805.
Which state offers the best after-tax pathology pay?
Washington currently leads the take-home view at $384,533 — 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 pathology 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 pathology lifestyle scores?
New Jersey currently has the highest average WeekdayDoc burnout score (6.3/10, higher is better) for pathology 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 Pathology salary page.