What’s the best state for doctors? Mississippi ranks near the top, report says
Mississippi is one of the best states in the nation for practicing medicine, according to a new report.
The Magnolia State ranked No. 9 on WalletHub’s list of Best & Worst States for Doctors in 2021. It was one of only two Southern states to land in the top 10 in the rankings released Monday by the personal finance website.
The rankings, which are based on Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics data, compared the nation’s states across 19 metrics, including doctors’ average annual wage, hospitals per capita, quality of the public hospital system and physician burnout.
Mississippi ranked 12th for “opportunity and compensation,” according to the report. The state has the highest average annual wage for doctors, adjusted for the cost of living.
The state is also No. 3 for “lowest projected competition by 2028,” the report says.
While it may be an attractive place for doctors, Mississippi typically earns worse marks when it comes to health care for residents. A report released last year by WalletHub ranked the state No. 47 for health care, based on a lack of doctors and dentists per capita, the number of uninsured adults and high infant mortality rates.
Those factors are likely reflected in the new report about doctors, as Mississippi ranked No. 29 for “medical environment.”
So what’s the best state to practice medicine? Montana was ranked No. 1, followed by Minnesota, Idaho, Wisconsin and Kansas to round out the top five.
WalletHub ranked Rhode Island, Alaska, New York and Washington, D.C., among the worst places to practice medicine.
This story was originally published March 22, 2021 at 10:33 AM.