Geographic and Socioeconomic Variation in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Pricing Across the United States: A State-Level Analysis of Income, Gross Domestic Product, and Real Economic Burden
Ibrahim Güler, Gerrit Grieb, Armin Kraus, Henrik Stelling
BackgroundAesthetic surgery represents a major sector of direct patient payments in the United States. Despite the economic significance of this patient-funded market, systematic evidence on geographic pricing patterns and their socioeconomic determinants remains limited.
ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to characterize geographic variation in advertised prices for common aesthetic surgery procedures across US metropolitan areas and evaluate their relationship with regional economic indicators and purchasing power.
MethodsAdvertised prices for 6 common aesthetic procedures were analyzed across 100 US metropolitan areas, yielding 600 city-procedure observations. Price dispersion was quantified using descriptive statistics and coefficient of variation (CV). State-level mean prices were correlated with per capita personal income and gross domestic product. Nominal prices were further adjusted for regional cost of living using Regional Price Parities (RPP) to estimate real economic costs.
Results= .0016). Adjustment for RPP altered price rankings: New York remained the most expensive state, whereas Michigan and Kentucky ranked second and third in real cost, surpassing California. The affordability gap was substantial, with a single average procedure consuming nearly 20% of annual per capita income in Kentucky compared with ∼10% to 11% in higher-income states.
ConclusionsPricing for aesthetic procedures in the United States demonstrates marked geographic stratification. After accounting for regional purchasing power, the real economic burden of aesthetic procedures is often greater in lower-income states, indicating that regional wealth and purchasing power play a central role in shaping access within the patient-funded aesthetic surgery market. Level of Evidence 5 Therapeutic: For image description, please refer to the figure legend and surrounding text.