Anesthesiologist salary in California
Use this page to benchmark how anesthesiologist pay is showing up in California right now, which metro markets appear strongest, and how the state compares with the broader national picture.
As of September 2026, Anesthesiologists in California earn a median of $600,000 per year on Anesthesio, with the middle half of salary-bearing postings between $512,500 and $676,000. The figures come from 149 active openings that publish pay, not from survey estimates, and refresh as postings change. That is above the national Anesthesiologist midpoint of $550,000.
Median
25th percentile
75th percentile
Market signal from live postings
About 390 Anesthesiologist postings are active in California on Anesthesio. The tables below split posted pay by employment type and by practice setting, using every active posting that publishes compensation; a row appears only when at least ten postings support it. 25% of permanent postings advertise a sign-on bonus. Computed September 26, 2026.
| Employment type | Median | Middle range | Active postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent (employed / W-2) | $600,000 | $500,000 – $675,500 | about 190 |
| LocumsHourly rates annualized at 2,080 hours | $676,000 | $624,000 – $712,400 | about 130 |
| Per diemDaily rates annualized at 220 shifts | $655,200 | $624,000 – $660,000 | about 20 |
| Setting | Median | Middle range | Active postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hospital | $600,000 | $525,000 – $675,000 | about 130 |
| Ambulatory surgery center |
Locums and per diem figures convert posted hourly or daily rates to an annual equivalent so the rows compare on one scale; they are gross contract rates, not W-2 salaries with benefits. Postings without a published rate are excluded. Educational context only, not tax or legal advice.
These cities have enough current salary-bearing listings to surface a directional compensation snapshot.
Median $550,000
Median $525,000
Median $676,000
Median $500,000
A few current examples from the live job feed so the salary page stays tied to real market openings.
Move from salary benchmarking into matching live openings, then use the offer comparison tool once one package is real enough to pressure-test.
Use the role-wide salary rankings page to see where California sits relative to the other published Anesthesiologists markets, then move back into any state page for local context.
Start with the strongest state-level salary markets where Anesthesio has enough active compensation data to publish a useful snapshot.
Once you know how California compares on pay, the next useful move is usually checking broader compensation framing, role tradeoffs, or real offer math before you commit to a package story.
Use the broader compensation hub when a physician state salary page needs more context around taxes, benefits, or package shape.
Use the physician guide when one state-market signal needs broader practice-model, locums, and offer-evaluation context.
Pressure-test one physician market against the broader anesthesiologist salary leaderboard.
Practical market context, not a synthetic salary survey.
These salary pages are built from active Anesthesiologist job postings on Anesthesio that include structured compensation data. We use salary ranges from current listings, compute midpoints for directional market comparisons, and surface percentile bands to show spread rather than pretending the market has one exact number.
That means this page is best used for market orientation: understanding where current openings cluster, how wide compensation ranges look, and which states or metros are paying above or below the middle of the market right now.
Based on current salary-bearing Anesthesiologist listings on Anesthesio, the market midpoint in California is around $600,000, with most current salary ranges clustering between $512,500 and $676,000.
California currently sits above the national midpoint on Anesthesio’s active salary-bearing listings. That does not mean every job in the state pays more or less — it just means the current state-level market signal is moving higher than the national center.
On active California postings, permanent Anesthesiologist roles show a median of $600,000 ($500,000 to $675,500 middle range), while locums postings annualize to a median of $676,000 from their hourly rates at 2,080 hours. Locums figures are gross contract rates without benefits, so compare them with the W-2 vs 1099 tool before treating the gap as take-home.
Use it to benchmark whether a target job looks below-market, near-market, or above-market for California, then open individual listings and the Offer Comparison tool when you need to model taxes, bonuses, or employment-structure tradeoffs on a real offer.
| $547,875 |
| $488,750 – $621,703 |
| about 25 |
| Office-based | $725,000 | $725,000 – $725,000 | about 4 (limited sample) |
|---|
Median $485,000
Median $525,000
Use the broad decision guide when state-level pay leads into a bigger question about role fit, authority, or career shape.