Average Salary

• The mean annual wage for a physician in the United States is $173,860, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For those specifically working in emergency rooms, PayScale states that the salary average ranges from $148,811 to $272,803, an estimate that includes profit sharing and bonuses.
  
  

Experience

• The more time a physician spends in the emergency room honing his skills, the higher his salary is likely to be. An ER physician with under a year of experience earns between $100,000 and $197,002, while one to four years of experience brings in up to $203,254, according to PayScale. With over five years of experience an emergency room physician can earn between $139,757 and $238,126, and after then years that range increases more to between $146,674 and $245,451.
  
  

Location

• Hospitals and outpatient care clinics must take the local cost of living and demand for physicians into account when setting salaries. Texas is the top-paying state for ER physicians at a salary range of $114,803 to $250,256, according to PayScale. California ranks in second with a range of $121,099 to $238,540, followed by Pennsylvania at a range of $124,291 to $237,983. Ohio and Michigan follow with salary ranges that peak at $215,681 and $214,598 respectively.
  
  

Hospital Setting

• An ER physician can be employed by a variety of types of hospitals and clinics, each of which offers different salary ranges. According to PayScale, general hospitals offer ER physicians a range of $132,755 to $230,923, while ambulatory care and surgery centers offer slightly less at a range of $100,369 to $224,331. The military employs emergency room physicians at a salary range of $73,698 to $147,518, while ER doctors at physician's offices and in private practices earn between $15,000 and $220,368.