Analysts from GoodCall.com ranked the top metro areas in the country for physicians and surgeons to live and work. The Decatur area took the number 22 spot on the list, outranking other Illinois cities like Peoria that ranked 51. The report highlights areas of the country where physicians and surgeons are earning the most, as well as where they can find affordable housing, a comfortable lifestyle and solid working conditions.
To rank the top metropolitan areas, GoodCall looked at:
Average median salaries for physicians and surgeons (Bureau of Labor Statistics) Job Availability (Indeed.com)
Local amenities and housing affordability (U.S. Census Bureau)
The number of hospitals per capita (National Practitioner Database)
The number of malpractice payouts per capita (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)
Decatur ranked third for salary behind St. Joseph, MO and Laredo, TX, and scored highly on housing affordability and job availability. Physicians and surgeons in the area are earning an average median salary of $263,230, 41% more than the national average of $187,200.
“Having practiced internal medicine for 30 years in Decatur, I can validate Decatur ranking in the top 25 cities for best places in the United States for physicians and surgeons,” said David Baumberger, M.D., Vice President Quality Systems &
Medical Affairs, Decatur Memorial Hospital. “For me, the ranking is what my family and I have come to know and love about Decatur.”
“Physicians and surgeons put in countless hours working to promote the health of the communities they live in, from diagnosing and treating sick patients to teaching citizens about disease prevention. That’s why we wanted to find communities that give back to physicians and surgeons, too, providing them with a great quality of life and work,” says Paul Southerland, Lead Analyst for GoodCall.
“Being ranked in the top 25 cities for best places in the US for physicians and surgeons is confirmation that Decatur is an excellent city for doctors to have a good quality of life and a great place to raise a family,” said Timothy D. Stone Jr., Executive Vice President & Administrator, Decatur Memorial Hospital.
A total of 218 metropolitan areas were analyzed for this report.
The full report and methodology can be found here.