Locum Tenens Specialty Pay Guide: Rates by Specialty (2026)

Locum tenens pay varies more by specialty than almost any other variable in the compensation equation. The difference between a family medicine locum assignment and an interventional radiology contract can exceed $300/hr — same 1099 structure, same agency relationship, dramatically different economics. This hub collects every specialty-specific guide published on this site, with current rate ranges and direct links to the full analysis for each.

How to Use This Guide

Each specialty guide below covers the full rate picture for that discipline: typical hourly ranges, what drives pay up or down within the specialty, coverage model considerations, and what to negotiate before signing. The rate ranges shown here are hub-level figures — the full guides contain the detail that matters for actual assignment evaluation.

If you are new to locum tenens compensation, start with How Locum Tenens Pay Works before diving into specialty-specific data. Understanding how hourly rates translate to annual income — accounting for 1099 taxes, benefits overhead, and unpaid gaps between assignments — changes how you read any rate figure.

Physician Specialty Pay Guides

Advanced Practice Provider Guides

What Drives Pay Differences Between Specialties

Three variables account for most of the spread between the top and bottom of the specialty rate table: procedural complexity, supply-demand imbalance, and coverage urgency.

Procedural complexity is the clearest driver. Specialties where the locum physician is performing irreplaceable technical work — IR procedures, surgical cases, anesthesia — command rates that reflect both the skill threshold and the liability exposure. Cognitive specialties without a procedural component tend to anchor lower, though psychiatry is a meaningful exception driven by extreme workforce shortage.

Supply-demand imbalance matters more in locum tenens than in permanent placement because facilities use locums specifically to fill gaps that the permanent market cannot cover. Psychiatry illustrates this clearly: the shortage is severe enough that demand has pushed rates well above what the cognitive-only billing profile would otherwise suggest. Radiology teleradiology coverage follows a similar logic in rural and critical access markets.

Coverage urgency — whether the assignment involves nights, weekends, call, or STAT coverage — creates a premium layer on top of the base specialty rate. An emergency medicine assignment with heavy overnight coverage pays differently than a daytime urgent care shift, even at the same facility. Understanding how urgency premiums are structured in each specialty is covered in the individual guides.

The 1099 Context Every Rate Figure Needs

Every rate figure on this page is a gross hourly number. What you keep depends on how your practice is structured, how efficiently you manage 1099 overhead, and whether an S-Corp election makes sense for your income level.

The foundational guides cover each layer of this in detail:

• How Locum Tenens Pay Works — gross-to-net translation, benefits overhead, and what agencies don’t tell you about your effective rate
• The Bill Rate Breakdown — what the facility actually pays and how much of that reaches you
• S-Corp Election for Locum Physicians — when it makes sense, when it doesn’t, and the 2026 tax specifics
• Malpractice Insurance — occurrence vs. claims-made, tail coverage, and who pays

Data Transparency Statement

Rate ranges on this page are drawn from specialty society surveys, publicly available agency compensation data (AMN, CompHealth, Weatherby), and current locum posting analysis as of 2026. Figures are updated as individual specialty guides are published or revised. Specialties marked “Guide in production” will have full rate analysis available as articles are completed. All figures are pre-tax gross hourly rates and do not account for 1099 benefit and overhead costs.