Median medical school debt among radiology-bound graduates is $200,000
The median medical school debt among radiology-bound graduates is about $200,000, according to new data shared Thursday.
This figure fell by 19.4% in 2024, from a peak indebtedness of $237,600 as of 2015, researchers wrote Thursday in JACR. And the prevalence of medical education debt among radiology-bound graduates has fallen from 76.5% in 2015, to 64.6% in 2024.
However, disparities persist, with older, male and minorities underrepresented in medicine more likely to have student debt compared to others. Researchers believe these figures signal the need for reform to boost student interest in medical imaging.
“Declining reimbursements and compensation trends also need to take into account the high cost of education and debt challenges to ensure a healthy workforce for the future and continued access to care for patients,” Pavan Khosla, an MD candidate with the Yale University School of Medicine, and co-authors wrote Aug. 14.
For the study, researchers gathered survey data from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), tracking trends in medical education debt from 2015 to 2024. Khosla et al. identified 6,477 survey respondents who planned on taking part in radiology training. They found that the median medical education debt decreased from $237,600 in 2015 to $248,000 by 2018. Likelihood of medical school debt was higher among black, Hispanic, and other minority groups underrepresented in medicine, the authors found.
As of 2014, nearly 26% indebted radiology-bound graduates said they planned to use Public Service Loan Forgiveness, increasing to 44.9% by 2024. In 2024, the average debt of radiology graduates represented between 35% and 45% of their total annual compensation, the study found.
“Parental income and program type strongly influenced debt burden with radiology-bound graduates from higher-income families and those in many dual-degree or accelerated programs having significantly lower odds and amounts of debt,” the authors noted.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.