Average earnings for medical residents have grown just 27% over the last nine years, reaching an average of $70,000 in 2024, according to Medscape's "Resident Salary & Debt Report 2024," published Sept. 11.
Here are seven additional things to know about resident salaries in 2024:
1. By the fifth to eighth years of residency, physicians earn an average of $78,000 annually. In the first and second years, they earn just $65,000.
2. The majority of residents (60%) complete their training in a hospital setting. Just 5% train in an outpatient setting.
3. A majority of residents (90%) believe residents are not paid enough. No one polled by Medscape said residents were overpaid.
4. About 80% of residents believe their salaries do not reflect their hours worked, and they believe compensation is not comparable to other medical staffers.
5. One in 10 residents believe their pay should be at least doubled.
6. Seventy-two percent of residents believe their future pay is either extremely, very or somewhat influential with respect to specialty choice.
7. More than half of residents have at least $150,000 in medical school debt.