Julian Knight
Hitting a sweet spot with cost-of-living, annual physician income, and the percent of primary medical needs met, South Dakota wins our #1 spot as the best income-tax-free state for physicians. Another plus? It ranks #3 on the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. Happy doctors equal happy patients.
Although Alaska has a relatively high cost-of-living, it is ranked as the 4th lowest state by percent of primary medical needs met. This means there is great opportunity here for physicians. But what puts it over the top is it's award-winning #1 position on the most recent Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.
A high annual income combined with Wyoming's low cost-of-living extends your buck the extra mile. It doesn't do bad on the Well-Being Index either, scoring the 4th spot in the nation.
Florida has a mid-range cost-of-living, annual income and well-being score, placing it squarely in our 4th spot on the list. A big plus for Florida though is that only 42% of their primary medical needs are currently being met. There's plenty of opportunity in "The Sunshine State".
With a lower cost-of-living but a lower average income, Texas averages out in the upper mid-range for making money. Where Texas excels though, is in the well-being index, scoring the 10th spot in the Gallup-Healthways report.
In a similar fashion to Texas, the combination of a higher cost-of-living and a higher annual income, Washington sits in the mid-range for making money. While the well-being ranking is also mid-range, the strong point of Washington is the opportunity available here: only 46% of their primary medical needs are met.
Nevada and Washington are very comparable in terms of cost-of-living, annual income, physician shortage, and well-being index. Both cost-of-living and annual income are slightly lower, the percentage of primary medical needs met is slightly higher, and the well being index is slightly lower.
New Hampshire combines a higher cost-of-living with a similar annual income to Nevada which results in a lower adjusted annual income for physicians. With about 60% of its medical needs met and scoring the 21st spot on the well-being index, New Hampshire sits at number 8 on our list.
And finally, Tennessee sits in the ninth position on our list, but not because of money. Tennessee has the 2nd lowest cost-of-living in the country, and a mid-range annual income leading to a pretty good ranking for adjusted annual income. What puts them in last place here though is the percent of primary medical needs met (76%), and the well-being ranking of 44th in the nation.
