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The Worst State for Doctors

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According to a new study, Hawaii is the worst state for doctors. They face harsh competition and a difficult medical environment. (Here are the 22 jobs with the fastest-changing skill requirements.)
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The Hawaii ranking came from a new study by WalletHub. Its “2023’s Best and Worst States for Doctors” looked at 19 yardsticks, which included annual salaries, annual starting salaries, the number of hospitals compared to the population, the percentage of the population that is elderly and the quality of the hospital systems.

Data was pulled from the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Council for Community and Economic Research, Health Resources & Services Administration, Association of American Medical Colleges, Projections Central’s State Occupational Projections, Federation of State Medical Boards, Leapfrog Group, Public Health Accreditation Board, Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, Arthur J. Gallagher, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, WebMD, Public Citizen and MEDPLI Insurance Services.

States at the top tended to be sparsely populated: Montana, South Dakota, Idaho, Utah and Nebraska.


Although the states near the bottom were not necessarily the largest by population, they were among the most crowded based on residents per square mile. The District of Columbia, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York were just ahead of Hawaii at the bottom of the list.

There are over 900,000 doctors in the United States. They are not only spread across the states. They are also spread by specialty. There are over 20 specialties. The best and worst states for each of these may vary from doctor to doctor.

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