Annual Income

• The typical annual income earned by an individual in a given profession is often given as either median income or average income. The median income of a group is the income of the individual in the exact middle of the group while the average is the total income of the group divided by the number of individuals that make up the group. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, average --mean -- income of psychiatrists was $163,660 in May 2009 and median annual income was $160,230.
  
  

High and Low Income

• The income level of psychiatrists can vary based on a variety of factors such as years of experience, academic record and where they work. According to the BLS, the bottom 10 percent of psychiatrists earned $65,590 or less while the top 25 percent earned $166,400 or more in May 2009. In terms of hourly wages, the bottom 10 percent earned around $31 or less an hour, the median worker earned around $77 an hour and those in the top 25 percent earned more than $80 an hour.
  
  

Industries

• The industry a psychiatrist works in can impact income potential. According to the BLS, psychiatrists working at "Nursing Care Facilities" earned the highest of any industry with an average wage of $199,910 in 2009 while those who worked in "Offices of Physicians" were at the low end, earning $154,650 on average. Outpatient care centers are the only industry listed by the BLS as being in the top 5 for both employment of psychiatrists and income in 2009 with an employment of 3,000 and average income of $190,340.
  
  

Regional Income

• A psychiatrist's state of practice can impact income earned. According to the BLS, the states with the highest average income for psychiatrists in 2009 were Oregon, Wyoming, Minnesota, Alaska and South Dakota. Psychiatrists working in these states earned more than $200,000 on average in 2009. Minnesota employed more psychiatrists than all four of the other top states combined.