Healthcare Hotspots

Today we published a ranking of the Top 10 Healthcare Hotspots. How did we determine these you ask? Well being salary experts, we of course factored in the median pay of healthcare jobs in these metros, but we also factored in the relative prevalence of healthcare jobs in these metros compared to the national average.

Therefore, the top healthcare hotspots are determined by both typical pay levels and typical employment levels. Read on to learn more about the top healthcare hotspots and find out who the winner is.

Are you in healthcare and wondering if you are earning what you are worth? Find out with PayScale's comprehensive and accurate salary survey.

Healthcare Hot Spots: And the Winner is....

McAllen, Texas. It is the Healthcare Hotspot both because it employs almost double the national average of healthcare workers and because it offers median pay almost 10% higher than the national average ($50,600).

An interesting fact about McAllen, a Texas border town, is it has the 2nd highest cost of healthcare based on a per capita basis. In fact, Obama even used McAllen as an exampleas to why we need healthcare reform.

Another interesting insight from the data is 3 of the Top 10 Healthcare Hotspots are in Florida, a place known for retirement. One key interest of retirees is good healthcare since they utilize it more than average. Therefore we see the laws of demand and supply here. The demand for healthcare is huge due to the retirees, and thus the employment levels and pay are high.

Healthcare Hotspots: A Little More Information on Methodology

Using PayScale's extensive database, we examine the 100 largest metros (as determined by population) and determine the top 10 Healthcare Hotspots based upon employment opportunities and relative pay.

First we look at the ratio of healthcare workers (e.g. physicians, nurses, health techs, etc.) relative to all workers within the metro and compare this to the national average. This number tells us if the metro has an above average presence of healthcare workers.

Second we find the median pay of healthcare workers for each of the metros and compare it to the national median pay for healthcare workers, which is $50,600.

Lastly we calculate a score that takes into account both the relative presence of healthcare workers and the relative median pay of these workers. The 10 metros with the highest score are the top 10 Healthcare Hot Spots.

Since we account for both pay and employment levels, it is possible to be a hotspot and have below average pay due to a high presence of healthcare jobs. This happens for 4 of the Healthcare Hotspots:

  • Sarasota, FL ($48,500)
  • Augusta, GA ($45,300)
  • Lakeland, FL ($45,800)
  • Youngstown, OH ($45,000)

Healthcare Hotspots: What If It Was Just Based on Pay?

What if we decided to simply rank the 10 metros with the highest pay for healthcare jobs? The list changes a lot and can be seen below:

  1. San Jose, CA ($74,500)
  2. San Francisco, CA ($70,600)
  3. Sacramento, CA ($64,200)
  4. Modesto, CA ($63,500)
  5. New York, NY ($62,600)
  6. Los Angeles, CA ($61,800)
  7. Stamford, CT ($60,300)
  8. Honolulu, HI ($59,700)
  9. Bakersfield, CA ($59,300)
  10. San Diego, CA ($59,100)

As you can see, the list is dominated by California metros, places known for their high cost of living and thus higher pay. The only city on this list that is on the original list is Modesto, CA.

Do you wonder if pay for your job is high enough to offset your living cost? When you want powerful salary data and comparisons customized for your exact position or job offer, be sure to build a complete profile by taking PayScale's full salary survey.


Katie Bardaro
Research Analyst, PayScale, Inc.


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