Healthcare

Surgeon Salary in Washington (2026)

The average Surgeon in Washington earns around $540,000/year. After taxes, your estimated take-home is $365,537/year ($30,461/month).✓ No state income tax

Take-Home Pay Breakdown

CategoryAmount
Annual Take-Home Pay
$365,537
Monthly Take-Home Pay
$30,461
Biweekly Take-Home Pay
$14,059
Hourly Take-Home Pay

based on 2,080 hrs/year

$176/hr
Federal Tax
$152,134
State Tax
$0
FICA Taxes
$22,329
Effective Tax Rate

total taxes ÷ gross salary

32.31%
Estimates only — not tax advice. · Full disclaimer →

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Surgeon Salary Ranges in Washington

Entry Level (0–3 yrs)

$410,000

/year

See tax breakdown →

Mid Level (3–7 yrs)

$540,000

/year

See tax breakdown →

Senior Level (7+ yrs)

$950,000

/year

See tax breakdown →

Not all Surgeons earn the same — not even close

Washington's surgeon market is concentrated at UW Medicine (University of Washington Medical Center plus Harborview Medical Center — UW's flagship campus operates one of the country's busiest Level 1 trauma centers serving the WAMI region of WA + AK + MT + ID), Virginia Mason Franciscan Health (post-2021 merger, ~20K employees), Swedish Medical Center (now part of Providence Health), Seattle Children's Hospital (top-15 nationally ranked pediatric), and MultiCare Health System (Tacoma-based ~20K employees). Surgical subspecialty depth is unusually strong for a non-NY/CA/MA market driven by WAMI trauma referral concentration.

Cardiothoracic Surgeon (CT)

$565,000–$945,000+ TC

UW Medicine CT surgery · Swedish + Virginia Mason + MultiCare · WAMI heart transplant referral

Neurosurgeon

$555,000–$925,000+ TC

Harborview Neurosurgery (busiest US Level 1 trauma neuro) · UW · Swedish · Providence

Orthopedic Surgeon (Sports / Joint Replacement)

$485,000–$815,000

UW Sports Med · Virginia Mason · MultiCare · Proliance Surgeons (largest US private orthopedic practice)

Trauma Surgeon (Harborview)

$515,000–$865,000

Harborview Medical Center · only Level 1 trauma center for WAMI region · 24/7 high acuity premium

General / Colorectal Surgeon

$385,000–$625,000

UW + Virginia Mason + Swedish + Providence · senior community-hospital private practice

Transplant Surgeon (Liver / Kidney)

$525,000–$895,000

UW Medicine Transplant Center · multi-organ specialty · academic leadership track

Urologic Surgeon

$415,000–$685,000

UW Urology · Virginia Mason · robotic prostatectomy + uro-oncology subspecialty premium

Pediatric Surgeon

$465,000–$735,000

Seattle Children's Hospital (top-15 nationally) · pediatric subspecialty academic premium

Plastic Surgeon (Reconstructive)

$425,000–$735,000

UW Plastic · Virginia Mason · post-mastectomy reconstruction + complex trauma + private cosmetic

Senior Surgical Fellow (PGY-6 to PGY-8+)

$80,000–$98,000

UW + Virginia Mason + Swedish surgical fellowship programs · PGY scale plus call

Worth knowing: Harborview Medical Center is the structural depth feature most national surgeon-market surveys understate for WA. Operated by UW Medicine and owned by King County, Harborview is the only Level 1 trauma center for the WAMI region (Washington, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) — covering ~27% of US land area but serving the trauma needs of all four states. This trauma concentration drives sustained surgical demand across neurosurgery, orthopedic trauma, general/trauma surgery, and burn surgery. Senior trauma surgeons at Harborview clear $515-865K TC. UW Medicine's transplant center plus Seattle Children's Hospital top-15 pediatric ranking add academic surgical specialty depth. Proliance Surgeons (Bellevue-based, ~750 physicians + advanced practice providers across 100+ care centers) is the largest US private orthopedic surgery practice — distinctively structured for WA. The WA 0% state income tax (no income tax) plus no city earnings tax means take-home for senior surgical subspecialists at $700K+ TC is among the highest US after-tax surgical comp — compared to $700K MA surgeon paying ~9% state combined ($63K state tax), WA surgeon at same TC pays $0 state. WA Capital Gains Tax 7% applies only above $270K threshold per RCW 82.87 — most surgeon income is fully exempt. WA Cares Fund 0.58% capped at $870/year on W-2 wages.

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