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.
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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Since residency salaries are standardized and nonnegotiable, there is never a salary difference based on gender.
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 |
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 |
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 |