Methodology

To create the list, WalletHub evaluated the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia on 19 different metrics across two key dimensions:

• Opportunity and competition, which includes physicians' average annual wage, hospitals per capita, the insured population rate, and current competition in an area (70 points)
• Medical environment, which includes the quality of the public hospital system, the percentage of "A" grade hospitals based on the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, and physician burnout (30 points)

Each metric was scored on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for physicians. A weighted average across all the metrics was used to calculate each state's overall score, which was then used to determine the rank order.

Data for the rankings was collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Council for Community and Economic Research, the Health Resources & Services Administration, and more.

The best (and worst) states for doctors

According to WalletHub, the top 10 best states for doctors were:

1.       Montana (Total score: 67.35)

2.       Indiana (Total score: 64.04)

3.       South Dakota (Total score: 62.77)

4.       Iowa (Total score: 62.50)

5.       Utah (Total score: 61.38)

6.       North Carolina (Total score: 61.18)

7.       Minnesota (Total score: 61.03)

8.       North Dakota (Total score: 60.99)

9.       Tennessee (Total score: 60.90)

10.   Wisconsin (Total score: 60.65)

In comparison, the 10 worst states for doctors were:

1.       Hawaii (Total score: 40.93)

2.       Rhode Island (Total score: 41.19)

3.       District of Columbia (Total score: 43.82)

4.       New Jersey (Total score: 44.15)

5.       Oregon (Total score: 45.68)

6.       Illinois (Total score: 46.85)

7.       New Mexico (Total score: 47.02)

8.       Maryland (Total score: 47.31)

9.       New York (Total score: 48.03)

10.   Alaska (Total score: 49.26)

"Setting up a practice in one of the best states for doctors can have a profound effect on your medical career. Not only will you be working in top-quality medical facilities and earning high salaries, you'll be less likely to burn out, and pay less for malpractice insurance," said Chip Lupo, an analyst at WalletHub. "Meanwhile, residents living in one of the best states for doctors will have access to quality healthcare at a reasonable cost."

The biggest issues doctors are facing today

WalletHub also spoke to several experts about the biggest issues facing doctors today.

Bruce Y. Lee, a professor of health policy and management at the City University of New York's School of Public Health, cited decreasing autonomy as one of doctors' biggest issues right now.

"Doctors are finding their decision-making and independence becoming increasingly restricted by hospital and healthcare system administrators, insurance companies, politicians, and others who may be motivated by things other than science and the well-being of patients," Lee said.

Todd M. Olszewski, an associate professor and chair of the department of health sciences at Providence College, called out several critical issues for doctors, including burnout, the rise of medical misinformation, growing administrative burden, and ongoing workforce shortages.

According to Christina M. Bivona-Tellez, an assistant professor at Azusa Pacific University, consolidation of medical practices and health systems is "pressuring all healthcare providers to do more with less."

"The promise of greater services, etc. is lip service, and it is the patients and staff who suffer while the leadership is profiting," Bivona-Tellez said. "I am concerned that as more consolidation occurs the focus is on profitability not looking at improving patient outcomes."

Finally, Elena Andreyeva, an assistant professor at Texas A&M University's School of Public Health, called out potential reductions in public funding, either through the loss of federal grants or lower indirect cost rates. Without this funding, there could be less medical research and slower adoption of new treatments.

"If some of the proposed cuts to Medicaid and ACA insurance subsides do materialize, that will lead to more uninsured patients, which in turn will lead to lower payment rates for physicians and hospitals threatening their ability to operate and leading to even more market consolidation," Andreyeva said.