Where Data Tells the Story
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Is medical school still worth the cost? Four years at a public medical school now cost a median of $297,745, and at a private school $408,150. Seven in ten new doctors borrow, and the median debt at graduation is $215,000.
The chart compares that debt with the average yearly pay of doctors in 13 specialties.
Key Takeaways
- Every specialty shown pays more in a year than the median debt, but the gap is wide. An orthopaedic surgeon's average pay ($696,852) is more than three times the debt. A pediatrician's ($273,665) is about 1.3 times.
- The three primary care fields shown (internal medicine, family medicine and pediatrics) are the lowest paid. Surgical specialists earned 90.1% more than primary care doctors in 2025.
- Before that pay starts, doctors spend 3 to 7 years in residency, earning about $68,000 to $89,000 a year, while federal loans grow at 7.94% to 8.94% interest.
- The AAMC estimates that paying back $215,000 costs $393,000 to $710,000 in total, depending on the plan, unless part of the debt is forgiven.
Note: Pay is average total yearly pay before taxes, self-reported by full-time U.S. physicians to Doximity (nearly 23,000 surveys, 2025). Debt is the median among class of 2025 graduates who borrowed. Cost is the median 4-year cost of attendance for the class of 2026, in-state. Repayment estimates are AAMC scenarios for a 2026 graduate, as of October 2025; federal loan rules are changing.