What is the Average Medical Student Debt?

Completing medical school takes dedication, discipline, academic rigor, and a significant financial investment – nearly 73% of people who complete medical school graduate with student loan debt. In fact, medical school graduates owe four times as much as other college grads on average.

As you begin your medical career, your medical student debt burden can feel overwhelming. However, with the right tools and planning, you can stress less about your medical student loan debt, freeing up your time and energy to focus on your career and patients.

Average medical student debt: the data

On average, students graduate from medical school with about $264,000 in student loan debt, including both graduate school and undergraduate pre-medical programs. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), that typically includes about $200,000 for medical school and $28,000 for premedical education.

While medical school is typically the start of a rewarding, lucrative career, it’s an expensive first step. According to the AAMC, the median cost of attendance (including tuition and fees) at medical school for the 2023-2024 academic year was $42,668 at a public university and $72,689 at a private university. Expenses add up quickly over four years of medical school, often leaving graduates with staggering six-figure medical debts.

How do average salaries compare?

A doctor’s salary may offset their debts later in their career. However, during residency, which bridges med school education and medical practice, you could typically expect to make a resident salary of around $65,000 to $70,000, with tiered increases as you move through each year of your residency. Residency may last up to seven years, depending on your specialty. It takes time and effort, during residency and beyond, to build a successful medical career.

On average, physicians make about $376,000 a year, according to Medscape. However, specializing could drastically increase your income in the long run. Primary care providers make $281,000 a year on average, and specialists make $398,000. Top earning specialties include orthopedics & orthopedic surgery ($543,000), radiology ($520,000), plastic surgery ($516,000), and cardiology ($506,000). On the lower-earning end of the spectrum are family medicine ($276,000), pediatrics ($258,000), and public health ($257,000).

Pursuing a high-paying specialty could make repaying medical school debt easier, but it isn’t your only option.

Pursuing a high-paying specialty could make repaying medical school debt easier, but it isn’t your only option.

IDR Comparison Chart

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

Through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, the US Department of Education offers total student loan forgiveness to borrowers who have worked in eligible government or nonprofit organizations while making 120 qualifying payments, typically while enrolled in an IDR program. Doctors who work in public hospitals or health organizations may be eligible for PSLF and could have their remaining student loan balance forgiven after ten years of qualifying payments.

Service-based loan repayment

Doctors may also consider service-based loan repayment programs, which offer forgiveness in exchange for public service in specific underserved areas.

Strategies for repayment

While loan forgiveness programs offer a long-term solution for medical school debt, a debt management toolbox should also include some measures to make paying down balances more manageable right now.

Interest makes all the difference for many borrowers – it’s crucial to keep interest in mind while developing a repayment strategy. The longer it takes to repay student loans, the more interest piles up. Repaying medical school debt may feel like one step forward and ten steps back. You could combat this by making sure payments have been applied to the principal loan first, not just the interest. To determine whether monthly payments have been bringing down the principal, check your monthly loan statement. Then, contact your loan servicer to ensure future payments reduce the principal balance first.

If you took out multiple loans to cover school, focusing on the loan with the highest interest rate first could help you save more in the long run. This strategy, called the avalanche method, reduces the amount of interest that accumulates over time. Incorporating medical school debt into your overall monthly budget may help make it less overwhelming.

Other management tools

A few additional tools could help you overcome bumps in the road to find freedom from medical student loan debt. Some employers, like hospital networks, may offer student loan debt repayment as part of their employee benefits package. Under the CARES Act and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, employers can offer up to $5,250 in student loan repayment assistance a year without tax implications for either party through 2025. Employers may offer student loan assistance through a sign-on bonus, payments directly to your lender, or as part of your retirement savings.

You may also consider refinancing or consolidating your student loan debt, depending on what types of loans you have.

Don’t fear your medical school debt

While medical school debt is a fact of life for doctors and other medical professionals across the US, you don’t have to bear the heavy burden forever. By developing a plan to tackle debt early in your career, you could save yourself anxiety, time, and maybe even money further down the line. No matter where you are in your medical career, speaking with a knowledgeable expert could help you understand your options for managing your student loans. At Laurel Road, our team members understand doctors’ unique financial and professional trajectories. A student loan consultation could help you take the next step toward freedom from medical school debt. Learn more about our tailored student loan solutions for doctors here.