Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgeon Salary Guide

According to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the average cardiovascular & thoracic surgeon salary is $810,933 per year in the U.S. The average physician in the U.S. makes a total of $352,000 per year, according to Medscape’s 2023 physician compensation report, making this an extremely lucrative specialty. 

Locum tenens cardiovascular & thoracic surgeons can make upwards of $413 per hour on average, however, there are many factors that impact rates including location, years of experience, and the level of demand.

If you were to extrapolate that rate over a year (at 40 hours per week), the average locum salary comes out to around $859,040

That means locum tenens cardiovascular & thoracic surgeons can make about 5% more than the average provider. However, making direct salary comparisons can be complicated. While perm cardiovascular & thoracic surgeons are more likely to be salaried, locum tenens cardiovascular & thoracic surgeons are independent contractors earning an hourly rate, which can vary based on which assignments they take in a year. 

Furthermore, because locum tenens cardiovascular & thoracic surgeons are paid by the hour, the hours they work are directly reflected in their pay, while a salaried cardiovascular & thoracic surgeon’s additional hours may not be reflected in their salary.

Finally, paid time off and insurance may be reflected in the perm cardiovascular & thoracic surgeon salary structure, but locum tenens providers do have options when it comes to health insurance.

While the US Bureau of Labor Statistics was not able to break down cardiovascular & thoracic surgeon salaries, the BLS collected information for the top 5 highest paying states for surgeon salaries. That list includes: 

• Delaware
• Georgia
• New Hampshire 
• New Mexico 
• Oregon

This list can provide insight into the possible highest paying states for cardiovascular & thoracic surgeons, as the data for this specialty was not collected.

While cardiovascular & thoracic surgeons were not included in the Medscape 2023 physician compensation report, the top five specialties (plastic surgery, orthopedics, cardiology, urology, gastroenterology) all reported annual income of greater than $500,000. Based on the annual compensation reported by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, cardiovascular & thoracic surgeons are some of the top earners among their peers. 

Physician salaries have been on the rise over the last several years, with a 17% increase in reported salary since 2018. A safe estimate is that physicians’ salary will increase roughly 3% yearly. Based off this information, cardiovascular & thoracic surgeons will make around $835,260 in annual compensation in 2024.