A list that should make Hoosier doctors smile

When it comes to state rankings, Indiana will never make a Top 10 list for Best Ocean Views or Smoothest City Roads.

But here’s a list Indiana does make over and over: Top-earning States for Physicians.

For the third year in a row, Indiana finished in the Top 10 in Medscape’s Physician Compensation Report. (Warning: access to the report requires signing up for a free account).

This year’s report, released last week, ranked Indiana at No. 10, with an average salary of $322,000.

That’s a few slots down from last year, when the state ranked No. 6, with an average salary of $304,000.

Two years ago, Indiana ranked No. 10, with an average salary of $286,000. Previous reports did not rank states.

You might think Indiana shares the Top 10 with such wealthy states as New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

But those states are nowhere on this year’s list. Here are the Top 10, in order, starting with the top-earning state for physicians: North Dakota, Alaska, South Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Utah, Iowa, Minnesota and Indiana.

Medscape, a website for doctors and health professionals, said it gathered the data by compiling information from 19,270 doctors in an online survey between Dec. 20 and March 7. The margin of error was plus or minus 0.69 percent.

Its findings seem to be backed up, largely, by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which ranked the best-paying states for physicians and surgeons as New Hampshire, Wyoming, Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota.

According to BLS data reported in May 2016, the national average compensation for doctors was $205,560. Indiana topped that with an average of $229,120.

So which medical specialties pay the best? According to Medscape, here’s a breakdown of the 10 best-paying:

1. Orthopedics: $489,000

2. Plastic surgery: $440,000

3. Cardiology: $410,000

4. Urology: $400,000

5. Otolaryngology: $345,000

6. Radiology: $396,000

7. Gastroenterology: $391,000

8. Dermatology: $386,000

9. Anesthesiology: $364,000

10. General Surgery: $352,000.