How Much Is A Naturopathic Doctor's Salary?

Make no mistake – a naturopathic doctor earns his salary honestly. This is because he or she must go through medical school and then special training in holistic medical practices. This all takes many years of schooling. So, when you see a naturopathic doctor, you can know that not just anyone can claim to be one. Although a naturopathic doctor's salary is a substantial one, it's on the low end of the physician salary scale.

The Annual Gross

Before taxes, the average annual naturopathic doctor salary is $80,000 (US). Keep in mind that this is an average. There are those who only make $20,000 and those who make over $200,000 per year. Experience, costs of overhead and amount of specialization determine what a naturopathic doctor's annual salary is going to be. This information was taken from a survey of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians.

Cost Of College

Another reason any kind of doctor charges his or her patients so much is because they have a lot of student loans to pay off. It can be as much as $20,000 (US) per YEAR to go through medical school and get certification to practice naturopathic medicine. In order to keep up with recent developments, most doctors never stop learning and continue to go to classes. Naturopathic doctors often get certification in other alternative medical therapies like nutrition or homeopathic medicine.

Cost Of Overhead

Oddly enough, despite making an average of $80,000 per year, the naturopathic doctor's salary often is not enough to cover the cost of running a naturopathic physician's office. Many naturopathic and alternative physicians try to counter these rising costs by sharing office space or working as a team in one building, rather than each doctor having his or her own separate office.

One of the major reasons $80,000 per year is often not enough is because of the skyrocketing cost of insurance that doctors must carry. This includes liability and medical malpractice insurance. Just the insurance alone is estimated to take up to half of what a naturopathic doctor makes.

And the doctor also has to pay for staff, rent, further training, certification requirements, gas, clothes, food, utilities and advertising to try and bring in more clients to help pay for all of this. This translates into higher prices for the patient, since most health insurance plans will not cover naturopathic doctors or many forms of alternative medical therapies. Check with your naturopathic doctor's office and your medical insurance for details.