SOC 29-1215.00

    Family Medicine Physicians

    Diagnose, treat, and provide preventive care to individuals and families across the lifespan.

    Median pay
    $244,180
    Growth
    +3.3%
    As fast as average
    Openings a year
    2,900
    Typical education
    Doctoral or professional degree

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

    See the pathway

    Annual pay range

    Lowest 10% earn less than
    $76,830
    Median
    $244,180
    Highest 10% earn more than
    $428,550
    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    107,510 people work in this occupation.

    In short

    Family medicine physicians provide preventive care, diagnoses, and treatments to patients of all ages, earning a median annual salary of $244,180. They also refer patients to specialists when necessary.

    Written with AI from the BLS, O*NET and CareerOneStop data on this page. Every figure is checked against that data before it is published.

    What family medicine physicians do

    Job Zone 5: Extensive preparation

    Diagnose, treat, and provide preventive care to individuals and families across the lifespan. May refer patients to specialists when needed for further diagnosis or treatment.

    Most need a graduate degree, such as a master's, PhD, MD or JD.

    What the work is like

    Family medicine physicians focus on assisting and caring for others by treating individuals and families throughout their entire lives. On a daily basis, these doctors gather information, interpret medical data for patients, make critical decisions, and solve complex health problems. They must document and record patient information using computers and stay updated on medical knowledge to ensure all treatments comply with professional standards.

    Succeeding in this role requires strong skills in active listening, speaking, critical thinking, and reading comprehension. Because their primary interest area is social, these physicians must excel at establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships. They use knowledge of medicine, biology, therapy, counseling, and psychology to support their patients. To handle the daily demands of the job, family physicians rely on work styles such as empathy, sincerity, dependability, integrity, attention to detail, and high stress tolerance.

    How to get there

    Entering this career requires extensive preparation. Candidates typically need a doctoral or professional degree, such as a medical degree. The primary college major that leads to this profession is medicine.

    In addition to completing a graduate degree, some states list a license for this work. Practitioners can also pursue professional certifications to demonstrate their expertise. Examples of these credentials include Board Certification in Family Medicine, Board Certification in Family Medicine Obstetrics, Certification in Family Practice (and OMT), Certification in Sports Medicine, and an Associate credential in Infection Prevention and Control.

    Pay and outlook explained

    In 2025, the median annual pay for family medicine physicians was $244,180. Earnings can vary significantly based on experience and location; the lowest 10% of earners make less than $76,830, while the highest 10% earn more than $428,550. There are 107,510 people employed in this field. Between 2025 and 2035, employment is projected to grow by 3.3%, which is as fast as the average for all occupations. This growth is expected to result in approximately 2,900 job openings each year.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R)
    46 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    85 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    8 / 100
    Social (S) · strongest
    87 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    22 / 100
    Conventional (C)
    49 / 100
    How strongly each interest area describes the work, from O*NET (scores rescaled to 0–100). The interest code lists the strongest areas in order.

    Interest code SIC. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Assisting and Caring for Others
    100
    Documenting/Recording Information
    99
    Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
    97
    Getting Information
    90
    Working with Computers
    89
    Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others
    87
    Making Decisions and Solving Problems
    84
    Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
    83
    Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    83
    Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
    82
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Critical Thinking
    • Active Listening
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Speaking
    • Writing
    • Active Learning
    • Complex Problem Solving
    • Judgment and Decision Making
    • Monitoring
    • Time Management

    Knowledge

    • Medicine and Dentistry
    • English Language
    • Therapy and Counseling
    • Psychology
    • Biology
    • Customer and Personal Service
    • Computers and Electronics
    • Mathematics
    • Education and Training
    • Sociology and Anthropology

    Abilities

    • Problem Sensitivity
    • Oral Comprehension
    • Oral Expression
    • Deductive Reasoning
    • Written Comprehension
    • Inductive Reasoning
    • Speech Clarity
    • Written Expression
    • Near Vision
    • Speech Recognition

    Work styles

    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Integrity
    • Cooperation
    • Empathy
    • Cautiousness
    • Self-Control
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Sincerity
    • Intellectual Curiosity

    Also called

    Board Certified Family Physician · DO Physician (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Physician) · Doctor · Family Medicine PCP (Family Medicine Primary Care Physician) · Family Medicine Physician · Family Physician · Family Practice Medical Doctor (FP MD) · Family Practice Physician (FP Physician) · Family Practice Physician Traditional Practitioner · Family Practice Practitioner

    Career pathway

    From your interests to family medicine physicians

    Interests that fit the work, the career, majors that lead there and colleges whose graduates in those majors earn the most. Hover or focus a step to follow one path.

    1. Interests

    2. This career

      • Family Medicine Physicians$244,180 median pay

    3. Majors

    NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk

    Majors that lead here

    Related programs by four-digit CIP code. They are common routes in, not the only ones.

    CareerOneStop

    Certifications, licenses and pay by state

    What family medicine physicians may need beyond a degree, where a license is required, and what the work pays in each state.

    Certifications

    Core certifications employers recognise for this work.

    Search all certifications on CareerOneStop

    Training

    Programs of study that prepare people for this work.

    • Family Medicine Residency Program
    • Family Medicine Residency/Fellowship Programs, Other
    • Family Medicine/Emergency Medicine Combined Specialty Program
    • Family Medicine/Osteopathic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine Combined Specialty Program
    • Family Medicine/Preventive Medicine Combined Specialty Program
    • Family Medicine/Psychiatry Combined Specialty Program
    • Internal Medicine/Family Medicine Combined Specialty Program
    • Medicine
    • Osteopathic Medicine/Osteopathy

    Find training near you on CareerOneStop

    Licenses by state

    53 states list a license for this work. Open your state for the license and the agency that issues it.

    Federal

    Check license requirements on CareerOneStop

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 9, 2026.

    Your plan

    Build my pathway plan

    Courses, majors, colleges, scholarships and a timeline for this career, built from your profile.

    Related careers

    Careers with similar work, interests or skills.

    All careers

    Questions about family medicine physicians

    Written with AI from the BLS, O*NET and CareerOneStop data on this page. Every figure is checked against that data before it is published.

    What is the typical educational path for a family medicine physician?

    Prospective family physicians must earn a doctoral or professional degree, typically by majoring in medicine. This extensive preparation is classified as O*NET Job Zone 5.

    Are there specific certifications available for this career?

    Yes, physicians can earn certifications such as Board Certification in Family Medicine, Certification in Family Practice (and OMT), or Certification in Sports Medicine. Some states also list licensing requirements for this profession.

    How fast is this field growing and how many openings occur each year?

    Employment is projected to grow by 3.3% from 2025 to 2035, which is as fast as the average. This growth, along with normal turnover, is expected to lead to 2,900 job openings annually.

    Sources and attribution

    Every figure on this page comes from these public datasets. Missing values are shown as not reported, never estimated.

    O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 9, 2026.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.