Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 29-1211

Anesthesiologists

The published band from $101,460 to $557,130 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Pediatric Surgeons.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Anesthesiologists: Pediatric Surgeons ($559K) , Physicians, All Other ($266K) , Physicians, Pathologists ($312K) , Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric ($359K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Anesthesiologists publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 29-1211 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Monitor patient before, during, and after anesthesia and counteract adverse reactions or complications
  2. 2. Record type and amount of anesthesia and patient condition throughout procedure
  3. 3. Provide and maintain life support and airway management and help prepare patients for emergency surgery
  4. 4. Administer anesthetic or sedation during medical procedures, using local, intravenous, spinal, or caudal methods
  5. 5. Examine patient, obtain medical history, and use diagnostic tests to determine risk during surgical, obstetrical, and other medical proce…
  6. 6. Position patient on operating table to maximize patient comfort and surgical accessibility
  7. 7. Coordinate administration of anesthetics with surgeons during operation
  8. 8. Decide when patients have recovered or stabilized enough to be sent to another room or ward or to be sent home following outpatient surgery
  9. 9. Confer with other medical professionals to determine type and method of anesthetic or sedation to render patient insensible to pain
  10. 10. Order laboratory tests, x-rays, and other diagnostic procedures
  11. 11. Inform students and staff of types and methods of anesthesia administration, signs of complications, and emergency methods to counteract…
  12. 12. Provide medical care and consultation in many settings, prescribing medication and treatment and referring patients for surgery

Anesthesiologists: O*NET ranks Critical Thinking first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 29-1211 - lead skill Critical Thinking at 4.5 ; lead knowledge Medicine and Dentistry. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Critical Thinking 4.5
  2. 2. Active Listening 4.1
  3. 3. Monitoring 4.1
  4. 4. Judgment and Decision Making 4.1
  5. 5. Reading Comprehension 4.0
  6. 6. Writing 4.0
  7. 7. Science 4.0
  8. 8. Complex Problem Solving 4.0

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Medicine and Dentistry 4.9
  2. 2. Biology 4.3
  3. 3. English Language 3.7
  4. 4. Chemistry 3.6
  5. 5. Customer and Personal Service 3.6
  6. 6. Psychology 3.4
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$101,460 to $557,130
median $391,490 · ~5.5× spread
$391K
National median
↑ +3%
Growth 2024-2034
1,300
Annual openings
38,760
Estimated US jobs
Pediatric Surgeons
Highest-pay peer · $559K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Doctoral or professional degree

Top Paying States for Anesthesiologists

1. Connecticut $481,820
2. Virginia $488,310
3. Idaho $449,990
4. Minnesota $496,510
5. New York $445,660
6. Pennsylvania $461,390
7. Florida $465,370
8. Ohio $490,530
9. New Hampshire $481,640
10. Washington $499,990

Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations titles

  1. 1. Physicians, Pathologists $312,400
  2. 2. Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric $358,550
  3. 3. Physicians, All Other $265,930
  4. 4. Orthodontists $289,140
  5. 5. Pediatric Surgeons $559,030
  6. 6. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons $352,220

The OEWS band for Anesthesiologists runs from $101,460 (10th) to $557,130 (90th), about 5.5× wide, with median $391,490. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +3% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 1,300 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Doctoral or professional degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Connecticut at $481,820. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Pediatric Surgeons at $559,030. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Anesthesiologists pay-rank #5 in Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations

Among 71 detailed Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations with a published OEWS median, Anesthesiologists is pay-rank #5, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 29-1211 · national median $391,490 · upper third of Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations (#5/71). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Anesthesiologists salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 29-1211

Connecticut · top state for Anesthesiologists

$482K published median

Virginia · #2 state pay

$488K · behind Connecticut

Pediatric Surgeons

Highest-pay peer vs Anesthesiologists · $559K

Physicians, All Other

Lower-pay peer beside Anesthesiologists · $266K

Compare Anesthesiologists

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Anesthesiologists with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations titles sit near Anesthesiologists at the top of the pay table? ▼
Anesthesiologists is pay-rank #5 of 71 detailed Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Surgeons, All Other ($414K), Radiologists ($421K), Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric ($359K), Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons ($352K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do anesthesiologists do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Anesthesiologists. Leading ones include: Monitor patient before, during, and after anesthesia and counteract adverse reactions or complications; Record type and amount of anesthesia and patient condition throughout procedure; Provide and maintain life support and airway management and help prepare patients for emergency surgery; Administer anesthetic or sedation during medical procedures, using local, intravenous, spinal, or caudal methods. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for anesthesiologists? ▼
For SOC 29-1211, O*NET importance scores lead with Critical Thinking (4.5), Active Listening (4.1), Monitoring (4.1), Judgment and Decision Making (4.1). Knowledge areas emphasize Medicine and Dentistry, Biology, English Language. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Anesthesiologists? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $101,460 and the 90th at $557,130 for Anesthesiologists (5.5× spread). The national median is $391,490. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Anesthesiologists? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Anesthesiologists is +3%. Projected annual openings: about 1,300. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Anesthesiologists? ▼
BLS assigns Doctoral or professional degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Anesthesiologists. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Anesthesiologists? ▼
Connecticut ($481,820), Virginia ($488,310), Idaho ($449,990) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Anesthesiologists card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 29-1211. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Anesthesiologists. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics