I’ve been a medical resident for decades now, and I can tell you that the salary sucks — but you know what doesn’t? The number of job opportunities available to newly minted doctors. That’s right, there are tons of incredible job opportunities out there, if you know where to look. And I’m writing this guide so that you will know where to look.
Introduction
Salaries for medical residents vary significantly, depending on location and specialty. Residents that work in a remote rural area may earn much more than those that work in a metropolitan area, even if both are doing the same job. A salary of $230,000 is not uncommon. Medical residents need to be able to make this salary before their student loans debts are taken into account, as well as pay for living costs.
Medical Residency Salary by Specialty (2021-2022)
The average salary for first year medical residents is $58,921 per year, according to the AAMC’s 2020 Survey of Resident/Fellow Stipends and Benefits. This salary number is based on from 190 institutions that participated in the survey. However, reports listing average residency salary are likely to vary depending on the source of the data and how many respondents there are. For example, a 2020 Medscape survey of 1,600 medical residents reported the average salary as $63,400.
- Residency Salary by Specialty
- Residency Salary by Gender
- Residency Salary by Residency Year
- Resident Salary Trends
- Residency Salary by Geography
Residency Salary by Specialty
The AAMC does not provide salary data by specialty, but Medscape’s survey reports the following salaries by medical residency specialty, Plastic Surgery is listed as the highest salary at $64,800, while Family Medicine is listed as the lowest at $58,500.
| Residency Specialty | Average Salary |
|---|---|
| Plastic Surgery | $69,500 |
| Specialized Surgery | $69,500 |
| Pathology | $66,500 |
| Orthopaedics | $64,800 |
| Radiology | $64,600 |
| Neurology | $64,600 |
| Urology | $64,600 |
| Otolaryngology | $64,600 |
| Anesthesiology | $63,300 |
| Dermatology | $63,300 |
| Pediatrics | $63,300 |
| Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation | $63,300 |
| Psychiatry | $61,500 |
| OB/GYN | $61,500 |
| General Surgery | $61,500 |
| Ophthalmology | $61,500 |
| Internal Medicine | $61,500 |
| Emergency Medicine | $61,500 |
| Family Medicine | $58,500 |
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Residency Salary by Gender
Since residency salaries are standardized and nonnegotiable, there is never a salary difference based on gender.
Residency Salary by Residency Year
Residency salary increases for each year of residency training. The AAMC notes that the average Year 1 salary is $58,921 while the average Year 8 salary is $77,543. This is a 32% increase over 8 years, with an average yearly salary increase of 3%.
| Residency Year | Average Salary |
|---|---|
| Year 1 | $56,150 |
| Year 2 | $58,290 |
| Year 3 | $60,634 |
| Year 4 | $63,634 |
| Year 5 | $66,277 |
| Year 6 | $69,043 |
| Year 7 | $71,339 |
| Year 8 | $75,841 |
Resident Salary Trends
On average, residency salaries have increased by 3% annually for the past 10 years with a range of 1% to 4.9% each year. This trend will likely continue since residency salaries have increased every year since 1970.
| Year | Average First Year Residency Salary |
|---|---|
| 2020 | $58,921 |
| 2019-2020 | $57,191 |
| 2018-2019 | $56,126 |
| 2016-2017 | $54,127 |
| 2014-2015 | $51,586 |
| 2013-2014 | $50,765 |
| 2012-2013 | $50,274 |
| 2011-2012 | $49,394 |
| 2010-2011 | $48,460 |
| 2009-2010 | $47,458 |
Residency Salary by Geography
The AAMC also reports on salary by geographic region (Northeast, West, Midwest and South). The Northeast has the highest average PGY1 salary at $53,565 while the South has the lowest average salary at $55,862. The table below shows the salary for each region, and the way the AAMC categorizes each state.
| Region | Northeast | Midwest | South | West |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salary | $63,565 | $58,026 | $55,862 | $60,596 |
| States | Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Maine Maryland Massachusetts New Hampshire New Jersey New York Pennsylvania Rhode Island Vermont | Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Michigan Minnesota Missouri Nebraska North Dakota Ohio South Dakota Wisconsin | Alabama Arkansas Florida Georgia Kentucky Louisiana Mississippi North Carolina Oklahoma Puerto Rico South Carolina Tennessee Texas Virginia West Virginia | Alaska Arizona California Colorado Hawaii Idaho Montana Nevada New Mexico Oregon Utah Washington Wyoming |
Conclusion
As you can see, salaries for medical residents depend a lot on whether you’re an intern, resident1, resident2, or physician3. They also depend a fair deal on state residencies and city residencies, so if you’re considering changing to a new city or state, check whether the neighborhood is more affordable or if there’s different internship opportunities. Our next article will ask the same questions of physicians in family medicine programs (
