Generally, because a medical examiner must earn a doctoral degree, his or her pay is much higher than most people’s. He or she is required to perform tasks such as autopsies, for that they are also compensated. There are many factors that play a role in a medical examiners salary, including:

• Place of employment (public or private sector)
• Crime rates
• Experience
• Amount of responsibility

Most private sectors start medical examiners at a salary around $200,000 per year. While government and public sectors range widely, paying medical examiners anywhere from $75,000-$150,000. Areas where crime is not occurring often report lower annual salaries to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, whereas locations such as large metropolitan cities that are densely populated, report higher salaries due to longer hours and more responsibilities. Another thing that could influence ones rate in pay could be the State in which they live. Each State varies, so we’ve taken the liberty of collecting the most recent salary data from each State and put it in a chart below.

Annual Salaries by State

Below is a list of the average median salary, according to the BLS, for each State as of 2009.