Why Minnesota Is Becoming A Go-to State For Doctors

If you are a doctor looking for a change of scenery, you could do worse than Minnesota! In fact, you can't do much better according to a recent study from Chip Lupo of WalletHub.

LOTS OF GREAT HEALTHCARE BASED IN MINNESOTA 

With several big healthcare companies based in Minnesota like CentraCare and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Lupo says that this state is the fifth-best in the country in 2026, up from being the seventh-best place in the US for practicing doctors in 2025.

One of the categories used to rank the states by WalletHub was 'Opportunity and Competition,' which consisted of things like annual wage, hospitals per capita and how many members of the states' population was insured.

WHAT MAKES MINNESOTA GREAT FOR DOCTORS

The other category focused on 'Medical Environment,' which included the quality of the public hospital system, physician assistants per capita and things pertaining to malpractice.

In the end, Minnesota finished in the top ten for Malpractice Award Payout Per Capita (3rd) and Annual Malpractice Liability Insurance (3rd).

WalletHub:

“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," Lupo said  "Meanwhile, residents living in one of the best states for doctors will have access to quality healthcare at a reasonable cost.”

Overall, Minnesota ranked 13th in Opportunity/Competition (12th last year) and 7th in Medical Environment Rank (8th last year).

Montana finished first overall and was followed by Indiana, Louisiana, South Dakota and Minnesota. The bottom five were New York (51st), New Jersey, Rhode Island, Hawaii and Washington, DC.