Yes, doctors in the United States and Canada are generally considered part of the upper-middle class, defined by high levels of education, specialized skills, and, for established physicians, high income. While they often enjoy a comfortable, high-earning lifestyle, many doctors, particularly early in their careers, may feel more "middle class" due to high student debt,, long training periods, and, in some cases, lower reimbursement rates.
Research suggests that doctors are the single most socioeconomically exclusive profession in the UK, with data from 2014 showing that only 4% of practising doctors came from lower-income working-class backgrounds.
Nearly 25 percent of all medical students come from the top five percent of household incomes (greater than $270,000 in 2019), and 37% of these high-income students will be paying for medical school primarily using family or personal funds.
Nationwide, upper-middle class households earn a median income between $117,000 and $150,000, according to a new GOBankingRates analysis of 2023 Census Bureau data. The analysis is based on Pew Research's definition of middle class: households earning between two-thirds and twice their state's median income.
In fact, the top 1% of physicians in the United States earned an average of $4 million per year, with much of that income coming from business ownership and capital gains.
These are the upper-middle-class people. The upper-middle-class usually evolves out of people from the middle-class tier who are particularly resourceful or who achieve higher levels of education than the rest of the middle class. Examples of these people in today's society are doctors and lawyers.
Cardiac Anesthesiologist – $700K Annual Compensation.
Key Signs You're in the Upper-Middle Class
One-quarter of doctors in their 60s are not even millionaires. The chart from the prior year was even more stunning, as it showed 11%-12% of doctors in their 60s didn't even have a net worth over $500,000, and only 48% of doctors over 65 were multi-millionaires.
Engineers often have a financial advantage in the early stages of their careers due to earlier workforce entry and earnings. Doctors surpass engineers in cumulative earnings around the age of 43, assuming they specialize and earn higher salaries.
Factoring in all types of specialties, doctors in the US make an average of $374,000 per year. This average is across every type of MD doctor, including specialists. (This data comes from Medscape.) On average, specialists make more due to the extra training it requires to become a specialist.
If you're working as a specialty doctor you'll earn a basic salary of £61,542 to £99,216. If you are a specialist grade doctor you'll earn a basic salary of £100,870 to £111,441 (from 1 April 2025).
Historically and still today, the traditional upper class is identified as the aristocracy, and social climbers tend to aspire for their descendants to be eventually absorbed by it. The aristocracy can be broadly divided into two categories: the peerage and the gentry.
Here's a wealth class framework described by Bo Hanson, CFA, CFP® that breaks out 5 groups by net worth: the bottom 25%, the lower middle class, upper middle class, upper class, and the wealthiest 10%.
Professions for this class may include but are not limited to: physicians, lawyers, senior military officers, psychologists, certified public accountants, pharmacists, optometrists, financial planners, dentists, engineers, scientists, professors, architects, urban planners, civil service executives, civilian ...
Top Earning Metro Areas/Cities for Doctors
Here are the top 10 metro areas where doctors are paid the highest average annual salary: San Jose, CA: $474,977. Los Angeles, CA: $448,121.
Yes, being a doctor is often highly stressful, given the immense responsibilities and pressures associated with the profession. One significant source of stress is the necessity to make critical decisions quickly and accurately, sometimes in life-threatening situations.