According to the report, physicians are entering residency with more debt and taking longer to pay it off. Over the last 22 years, medical school costs have increased 91% after adjusting for inflation. Overall, 74% of physicians report having current or past medical school debt. In 2024, 32% of physicians reported having over $250,000 of medical debt.
Physicians in some specialties accumulate more debt than others. Pediatric subspecialties and pediatrics, overall, are 86% and 84% more likely to have debt than other physicians, respectively. Emergency medicine physicians are 84% more likely to carry debt while primary care physicians are 83% more likely.
Internal medicine subspecialties and anesthesiology are the specialties with the least amount of debt, at 38% and 36%, respectively.