# Neurologists

US SOC code 29-1217. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/29-1217

Also called: Neurology physician, Neurology doctor, Brain doctor, Vascular neurologist, Stroke neurologist.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **10,590** US neurologists, with median pay of **$248,560** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the highest was **11,340**, in May 2022. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.54.4.787) of **2,300** from 1960, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for neurologists: AI neurovascular triage, 2016 to 2023. AI neurovascular triage tools extended one neurologist's effective reach across hub-and-spoke hospital networks without requiring on-site presence.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 6.4% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=29-1217&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **37%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend.

## Neurologists employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1860
- Latest US employment: 10,590 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [3]
- Latest US median pay: $248,560 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [7]
- Outlook: +6.4% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [24]

### All 10 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1960 | 2,300 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Neurology journal (2000) [1] |
| 1965 | n/a | $28,000 (estimate) | Est., University of Missouri Libraries [4] |
| 1980 | 8,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., AAN Workforce Task Force (2013) [2] |
| 2000 | 13,000 (estimate) | $175,000 (estimate) | Est., Neurology (2000) (employment) [1]; Est., BLS OOH historical (pay) [5] |
| 2012 | 16,366 (estimate) | n/a | Est., AAN Workforce Task Force (2013) [2] |
| 2021 | 7,120 | n/a | BLS OEWS May 2021 [3] |
| 2022 | 11,340 | $224,260 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [3] |
| 2023 | 9,350 | n/a | BLS OEWS May 2023 [3] |
| 2024 | 7,700 | n/a | BLS OEWS May 2024 [3] |
| 2025 | 10,590 | $248,560 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [3] |

## Sources (60)

### Employment series

1. [Neurology journal (2000) — "Neurology in the next two decades": supply and demand context including 1960s baseline](https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.54.4.787), Neurology / AAN
2. [AAN Workforce Task Force (2013) — Supply and demand analysis of the current and future US neurology workforce: historical context](https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0b013e318294b1cf), Neurology / AAN
3. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

4. [University of Missouri Libraries — "Prices and Wages by Decade: 1960-1969" (AMA physician income survey reference)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1960-1969), University of Missouri Libraries / AMA historical sources
5. [BLS OOH historical — Physicians and Surgeons (physicians and surgeons median wages, 2000 era estimates)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/physicians-and-surgeons.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
6. [BLS OEWS May 2022, national cross-industry estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
7. [BLS OEWS May 2025, national cross-industry estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Tool eras

8. [American Neurological Association — Historical Overview: founding 1875, 19th century neurological examination methods](https://myana.org/about/historical-overview), American Neurological Association
9. [MedLink Neurology — "Jean-Martin Charcot: The father of modern neurology": anatomo-clinical method and clinical examination tools](https://www.medlink.com/news/jean-martin-charcot-the-father-of-modern-neurology), MedLink Neurology
10. [NCBI Bookshelf — "A Brief History of EEG": Hans Berger 1929, US clinical adoption, American EEG Society founded 1947](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK390348/), NCBI / National Library of Medicine
11. [ASET — "Early History of Electroencephalography and Establishment of the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society": Grass Company devices, 1940s-1950s clinical expansion](https://www.aset.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Early_History_of_Electroencephalography_and_2.pdf), ASET / American Society of Electroneurodiagnostic Technologists
12. [PMC — "50th anniversary of computed tomography: past and future applications in clinical neuroscience": CT history and neurological impact](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8523063/), PMC / National Library of Medicine
13. [Wikipedia — History of neuroimaging: CT scanning adopted in the United States in 1973, and its revolution in neurological diagnosis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_neuroimaging), Wikipedia
14. [Wikipedia — History of magnetic resonance imaging: first clinical scanners early 1980s, widespread adoption mid-to-late 1980s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_magnetic_resonance_imaging), Wikipedia
15. [NINDS — "Tissue Plasminogen Activator for Acute Ischemic Stroke (Alteplase, Activase)": 1995 NINDS trial and 1996 FDA approval history](https://www.ninds.nih.gov/about-ninds/what-we-do/impact/ninds-contributions-approved-therapies/tissue-plasminogen-activator-acute-ischemic-stroke-alteplase-activaser), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
16. [PMC — "Silver Jubilee of Stroke Thrombolysis With Alteplase: Evolution of the Therapeutic Window" (2021): tPA approval history and window evolution](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7956989/), PMC / National Library of Medicine
17. [PMC — "The Workforce Task Force Report: Clinical implications for neurology" (2013): workforce supply, demand, and burnout context in the EHR era](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3776536/), PMC / National Library of Medicine
18. [AAN Workforce Task Force (2013) — "Supply and demand analysis of the current and future US neurology workforce": workforce gap driven in part by per-neurologist capacity compression](https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0b013e318294b1cf), Neurology / AAN
19. [Viz.ai — FDA 510(k) cleared LVO, ICH Plus, and Aneurysm AI triage; approximately 6-minute alert delivery; 1,200+ hospitals globally; 52-minute median workflow savings vs. standard radiology read (Viz.ai 2026)](https://www.viz.ai/), Viz.ai
20. [PMC 2026 scoping review — "Transforming Stroke Diagnosis with AI: Brainomix e-Stroke, Aidoc, RapidAI, and Viz.ai" — comparative validation across stroke AI platforms](https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/62/3/582), MDPI / PMC
21. [JAMA Network Open 2025 RCT — ambient AI scribes reduced after-hours EHR documentation by 62%; physician satisfaction improved; note quality equivalent or better](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2826592), JAMA Network Open
22. [Scientific Reports 2025 — "AI-generated neurology consultation summaries improve efficiency and reduce documentation burden in the emergency department"](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-22769-7?error=cookies_not_supported&code=a3ea4093-a8bc-41da-a458-3df48e0bc69f), Nature / Scientific Reports
23. [PMC 2025 — "AI in Neurology: Everything, Everywhere, All at Once" — comprehensive review of applied AI across stroke, epilepsy, MS, dementia, movement disorders, neuro-oncology](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12278199/), PMC / National Library of Medicine

### Forecasts and exposure studies

24. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 29-1217 Neurologists (2025: 11.4 thousand; 2035: 12.1 thousand; +6.4%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=29-1217&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
25. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 29-1217.00, human-rated β 0.37)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

26. [American Neurological Association — Historical Overview: founding 1875, founding members, original purpose](https://myana.org/about/historical-overview), American Neurological Association
27. [PMC — "Jean-Martin Charcot: Pioneer of Neurology": Salpetriere clinic 1882, students, anatomo-clinical method](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11392517/), PMC / National Library of Medicine
28. [ABPN — Mission and History: founded 1934, first examinations 1935, combined psychiatry-neurology certification](https://abpn.org/about/mission-and-history/), American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
29. [AAN — "Inclusion Was Why the AAN Was Founded": 1948 founding and inclusive mission](https://www.aan.com/about-the-aan/inclusion-was-why-aan-founded), American Academy of Neurology
30. [NINDS — "Tissue Plasminogen Activator for Acute Ischemic Stroke": 1995 NINDS trial, 1996 FDA approval, paradigm shift](https://www.ninds.nih.gov/about-ninds/what-we-do/impact/ninds-contributions-approved-therapies/tissue-plasminogen-activator-acute-ischemic-stroke-alteplase-activaser), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
31. [AAN Workforce Task Force (2013) — "Supply and demand analysis of the current and future US neurology workforce": 16,366 neurologists in 2012, 31 states in shortage](https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0b013e318294b1cf), Neurology / AAN
32. [Alzheimer's Association — "Medications for Memory, Cognition and Dementia-Related Behaviors": lecanemab (Leqembi) and donanemab (Kisunla) FDA-approved anti-amyloid antibody therapies for early Alzheimer's disease](https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/treatments/medications-for-memory), Alzheimer's Association

### Predecessors & successors

33. [American Neurological Association — Historical Overview: emergence of neurology from general internal medicine and asylum psychiatry](https://myana.org/about/historical-overview), American Neurological Association
34. [ABPN — Mission and History: ABPN founded 1934, initially certifying in general psychiatry and adult neurology jointly](https://abpn.org/about/mission-and-history/), American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
35. [O\*NET 29-1217.00 — Neurologists: pivot codes and adjacent roles including medical management](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1217.00), O\*NET / BLS

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Neurologists (29-1217.00): tasks, work activities, technology skills, knowledge domains, employment data](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1217.00), accessed 2026-05-24
- [BLS OOH 2024-2034 — Physicians and Surgeons: neurologist median annual wage $286,310 (May 2024 BLS OEWS); ~8,300 employed; 5–6% projected growth 2024–2034](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/physicians-and-surgeons.htm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [AAN — 19% neurologist workforce shortfall projected by 2025; AAN 2025 and ISC 2026 proceedings on AI in stroke, epilepsy, and cognitive neurology](https://www.aan.com/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Viz.ai — FDA 510(k) cleared LVO, ICH Plus (Feb 2024), and Aneurysm AI triage; ~6-minute alert delivery; 1,200+ hospital deployment; 52-minute workflow savings vs. standard radiology read](https://www.viz.ai/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [RapidAI RAPID neurovascular suite — RAPID Aneurysm: 11,694-scan real-world study (AANS 2025) showed 23% more aneurysms detected vs. original radiology reports; ISC 2026 (28 abstracts): 46% more aneurysm growth detected vs. neuroradiologists alone; FDA cleared LVO, ICH, CTP](https://www.rapidai.com/neurovascular), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Avicenna.AI CINA Suite — FDA 510(k) cleared CINA-ICH (96% accuracy, 91.4% sensitivity), CINA-LVO (97.7% accuracy), CINA-ASPECTS; validated at 250+ U.S. imaging centers](https://practicalneurology.com/news/avicennaais-stroke-severity-assessment-tool-receives-fda-clearance/2470435/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Brainomix 360 — FDA-cleared stroke AI (e-Stroke); automated ASPECTS, ischemic core volume, heatmap visualization; February 2026 next-gen platform with net water uptake (NWU) on routine NCCT](https://www.brainomix.com/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Aidoc aiOS Neurosciences Suite — 30+ FDA clearances (highest in field as of Jan 2026); September 2025 FDA Breakthrough Device for CARE1 multi-pathology foundation model; December 2025 Cercare + Circle CVI partnerships for MR Perfusion and ASPECTS](https://www.aidoc.com/solutions/neuro/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Persyst EEG AI — 95% sensitivity seizure detector trained on thousands of annotated seizures; Persyst 13 noninferior to human readers for spike-wave index in ESES; used in ICU continuous EEG and EMU monitoring](https://www.persyst.com/technology/seizure-detection/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [NeuroPace RNS System with Clarity AI — FDA-approved closed-loop responsive neurostimulation; 82% median seizure reduction, 42% seizure-free 6+ months (AAN 2025 post-approval study); 8,000+ patients implanted as of Dec 2025; Q4 2025 revenue +24% YoY](https://investors.neuropace.com/news/news-details/2025/NeuroPace-to-Highlight-Life-Changing-Outcomes-and-AI-Powered-Confident-Care-at-the-2025-American-Epilepsy-Society-AES-Annual-Meeting/default.aspx), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Icometrix icobrain — FDA-cleared (first AI neuroradiology solution with AMA CPT-III code); icobrain ms: automated MS lesion segmentation tracking FLAIR, T1 hypointensities, contrast-enhancing lesions longitudinally; GE HealthCare acquisition announced 2025](https://www.icometrix.com/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Linus Health — FDA-authorized 3-minute AI cognitive assessment validated against Alzheimer's biomarkers in 160+ peer-reviewed studies; 2025 peer-reviewed validation as early digital biomarker before symptom onset; CTAD 2025 clinical trial readiness integration](https://linushealth.com/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science): occupational LLM exposure framework](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-24
- [JAMA Network Open 2025 RCT — ambient AI scribes reduced after-hours EHR documentation by 62%; physician satisfaction improved; note quality equivalent or better](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2826592), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Scientific Reports 2025 — "AI-generated neurology consultation summaries improve efficiency and reduce documentation burden in the emergency department"](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-22769-7?error=cookies_not_supported&code=a3ea4093-a8bc-41da-a458-3df48e0bc69f), accessed 2026-05-24
- [PMC 2025 — "AI in Neurology: Everything, Everywhere, All at Once" — comprehensive review across stroke, epilepsy, MS, dementia, movement disorders, neuro-oncology](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12278199/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [PMC 2026 scoping review — "Transforming Stroke Diagnosis with AI: Brainomix e-Stroke, Aidoc, RapidAI, and Viz.ai" — comparative validation across stroke AI platforms](https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/62/3/582), accessed 2026-05-24
- [AMA — Augmented Intelligence in Medicine: AMA policy on AI development, deployment and use; physicians bear ultimate clinical responsibility for AI-assisted decisions; stroke/neurology AI cleared as decision support only](https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/digital-health/augmented-intelligence-medicine), accessed 2026-05-24
- [McKinsey — The Economic Potential of Generative AI in Healthcare (2023 updated 2025): clinical documentation and diagnostic imaging AI as leading near-term value pools](https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare/our-insights/the-economic-potential-of-generative-ai), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Dragon Copilot — ambient clinical documentation; neurology consult note generation; 750+ U.S. health systems; Epic integration via Microsoft Cosmos AI platform (August 2025) (Microsoft/Nuance 2026)](https://www.nuance.com/healthcare/dragon-copilot.html), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Glass Health — structured differential for complex neurology presentations: altered mental status, encephalitis workup, first seizure, focal deficit (Glass Health 2025)](https://glass.health/), accessed 2026-05-24

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.