Pulmonology Salary Map by State (2026)
Median pulmonology 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: $343,000.
Highest median
Ohio
$587,500
Best real purchasing power
Ohio
$633,259 adjusted
Best lifestyle score
Illinois
5.7/10 avg burnout score
Pulmonology pay by state
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Take-home, COL-adj. | Burnout score | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | $587,500 | $633,259 | $611,095 | 3.4/10 | 7 |
| Virginia | $443,113 | $438,274 | $413,074 | 4.8/10 | 5 |
| Illinois | $395,000 | $395,166 | $375,605 | 5.7/10 | 6 |
| Colorado | $384,800 | $373,404 | $356,974 | 5.4/10 | 12 |
| California | $365,000 | $329,660 | $299,002 | 4.4/10 | 9 |
| New York | $312,500 | $289,564 | $269,729 | 4.6/10 | 12 |
| Massachusetts | $275,000 | $260,030 | $247,029 | 4.2/10 | 5 |
| New Jersey | $240,000 | $220,578 | $206,527 | 4.4/10 | 9 |
Which state pays pulmonology physicians the most?
Ohio currently has the highest median pulmonology salary at $587,500, based on 7 real job listings.
Which state offers the best after-tax pulmonology pay?
Ohio currently leads the take-home view at $611,095 — 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 pulmonology 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 pulmonology lifestyle scores?
Illinois currently has the highest average WeekdayDoc burnout score (5.7/10, higher is better) for pulmonology 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 Pulmonology salary page.