# The association between physician salary and competitiveness of that specialty in the match: money still matters

## TL;DR

Higher salaries in medical specialties are linked to greater competitiveness among US medical graduates, but not for osteopathic or international students.

## Contribution

This study demonstrates a strong correlation between physician salaries and specialty competitiveness for US allopathic seniors.

## Key findings

- A strong positive correlation (r = +0.65) was found between salary and competitiveness for US allopathic seniors.
- Osteopathic seniors and international graduates showed negative correlations (r = -0.53 and r = -0.58 respectively).
- The findings suggest a possible bias or encouragement toward lower-paying specialties for non-allopathic students.

## Abstract

Given high levels of student debt and a desire for high income, we hypothesize that the mean salary of a medical specialty is correlated with how desirable that specialty is for graduating US medical students.

We used salary data from a 2024 survey of 33,000 US physicians. As a proxy for desirability or competitiveness, we used the percentage of year 1 positions filled with US allopathic seniors based on data from the National Residency Match Program. Scatter plots were created and Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated.

There was a strong positive correlation between salary and competitiveness for US allopathic seniors (r = + 0.65). A negative correlation was seen for US osteopathic seniors (r = −0.53) and international medical graduates (r = −0.58).

A specialty’s salary is strongly associated with its competitiveness for US allopathic seniors. Data for osteopathic seniors and international graduates shows the opposite association, suggesting a channeling bias of these students into lower-paying specialties or more successful efforts to encourage primary care careers.