Podiatrist Salaries

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

alparkeruab

Member
10+ Year Member
5+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2005
Messages
158
Reaction score
0
What is the average salary for a podiatrist?

How much is the average salary for a podiatrist who specializes in surgery instead of just general practice?

Members don't see this ad.
 
theres a prob in getting statistics. The average/median (median is better to go by in salary questions) salary depends on who you ask.


dept of labor: ~95k (apparently this is even AFTER completing ur residency, but this is median for SALARIED DPMs so its expected to be lower)

College of foot/ankle surgeons: 170k or something like that (but they take these numbers from the people who are part of the college which skews the median a lot)

salary.com: ~120k (i have NO idea how they get this number)

podiatric magazine: ~114k (i have NO idea how they get this number)

APMA: ~134k (i have NO idea how they get this number)


One concern is that the dpt of labor has no reason to skew results. And granted that number is for salaried DPMs...but salaried dentists (according to the dept) still makes ~124k. Can anyone explain this?

One way to find out if the salary is decent may be to compare a general dentist's salary within the SAME survey. I think youll get a good feel that DPMs and DDS/DMDs make comparable salaries. However, a dentist seems to have a higher salary cap since they could have specialized in something like oral surgery.

If im wrong someone PLEASE tell me. Im REALLY interested in podiatry myself and am debating whether to pursue it. ANd althought money isnt everything, it is one very important factor for many of us "prehealth" undergrads.
 
I have a hard time believing any of the reports. The numerous people that I have followed that have gotten out of residency are starting anywhere from $120,000-$150,000. I've seen enough of this now to believe that this is a pretty accurate standard for guys coming out of residency. A lot of multi-specialty and orthopaedic groups are now realizing how much money we can make for them and they are willing to pay for it. As far as the "reports" are concerned, there are just too many factors involved to be accurate (part-timers, small private practices, etc). In my hometown in NM, the group that I am interested in is starting pods out at $130K. After 10 years, they have told me to expect making high 100's or low 200's. Keep in mind that all of my friends have ended up in multi-specialty and ortho groups, which seems to be where most pods are ending up these days.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
scpod said:
Very interesting site. What intrigued me was the entry just below those for DPM's-- specifically the General Surgeon with a salary range": "From 76,193.00 to 116,517.00 USD per year." It looks like podiatry doing pretty well in comparison.

I noticed the same thing when I looked at it. It just goes to show that these salary reports need to be taken with a grain of salt. Like JonWill, I think that best bet for stats would be to talk to pods in the area in which you would like to practice. That will give you a good estimate.
 
When you say the starting salary of 120-150..is that gross or net income?
 
Dmayor22 said:
When you say the starting salary of 120-150..is that gross or net income?

That was their base salary so gross (I assume). However, that does not include bonuses and benefits.
 
In the Young members compensation survey (podiatrists from residency to 3 yrs practice) it showed that those who were in multi practice groups or who were ABPS certified (surgical pods) earned more than 120,000. This is with less than 3 yrs practice. Also, 72 percent of respondants (620 members) said that their income increased each year. I think this is more accurate with today's average graduating pods than what the dept of labor says.
 
randersen said:
In the Young members compensation survey (podiatrists from residency to 3 yrs practice) it showed that those who were in multi practice groups or who were ABPS certified (surgical pods) earned more than 120,000. This is with less than 3 yrs practice. Also, 72 percent of respondants (620 members) said that their income increased each year. I think this is more accurate with today's average graduating pods than what the dept of labor says.

I am assuming that is GROSS salary. The net salary even according to ABPM is 1/2 of the gross on average. Hence, with your statistics it would mean DPMs are starting off with a net income of ~60k, which according to the labor site is correct when only looking at DPMs with less that 3 years of experience after residency. This seems VERY small. I think ive just come to the conclusion that avg salary for a DPM is about 30k less that the avg salary (which seems to be correct for major cities as well as for the nation) for a family practice physician. And since i know a family pract physicians makes plenty of money (imo, it IS a lot of money), i dont feel nervous financially about becoming a DPM. Im not trying to find which profession makes more money, its just that i dont want to live financially comfortable.

Granted, these number ive said are BEFORE the required 2 or 3 year residency change.
 
anxietypeaker said:
I am assuming that is GROSS salary. The net salary even according to ABPM is 1/2 of the gross on average. Hence, with your statistics it would mean DPMs are starting off with a net income of ~60k, which according to the labor site is correct when only looking at DPMs with less that 3 years of experience after residency. This seems VERY small. I think ive just come to the conclusion that avg salary for a DPM is about 30k less that the avg salary (which seems to be correct for major cities as well as for the nation) for a family practice physician. And since i know a family pract physicians makes plenty of money (imo, it IS a lot of money), i dont feel nervous financially about becoming a DPM. Im not trying to find which profession makes more money, its just that i dont want to live financially comfortable.

Granted, these number ive said are BEFORE the required 2 or 3 year residency change.

I am sorry if you think that a salary for a D.P.M. is 60 thousand, you don't have a clue. When a salary is mentioned it is referring to the amount that one is paid from said company not the net of a business. We actually make more than family practice phycians as a whole. Don't join the profession if you have reservations. We'll be better off with out you. Dr. Rogers as a resident makes mid fifties. (salary)
 
anxietypeaker said:
I am assuming that is GROSS salary. The net salary even according to ABPM is 1/2 of the gross on average. Hence, with your statistics it would mean DPMs are starting off with a net income of ~60k, which according to the labor site is correct when only looking at DPMs with less that 3 years of experience after residency. This seems VERY small. I think ive just come to the conclusion that avg salary for a DPM is about 30k less that the avg salary (which seems to be correct for major cities as well as for the nation) for a family practice physician. And since i know a family pract physicians makes plenty of money (imo, it IS a lot of money), i dont feel nervous financially about becoming a DPM. Im not trying to find which profession makes more money, its just that i dont want to live financially comfortable.

Granted, these number ive said are BEFORE the required 2 or 3 year residency change.

Im sorry to say but your assumption is completely incorrect. Yes, the net income is about half the gross when you are talking about owning a practice and are accounting for the overhead. The Young Members Compensation Survey is talking about the gross income, meaning take home before taxes. This is after overhead if you own/partner a practice or the direct take home salary if you are an associate or work for a hospital, just like any other job. Most statistics use the Gross take home Income before taxes as the number to compare. To say that the average podiatric surgeon with 2-3 yrs practice is taking home 60,000 is rediculous. You make almost that in residency. Im sure Dr. Rogers can attest. I have a friend who just completed his residency in Michigan this past summer and he made over 60,000 a yr.
 
randersen said:
Im sorry to say but your assumption is completely incorrect. Yes, the net income is about half the gross when you are talking about owning a practice and are accounting for the overhead. The Young Members Compensation Survey is talking about the gross income, meaning take home before taxes. This is after overhead if you own/partner a practice or the direct take home salary if you are an associate or work for a hospital, just like any other job. Most statistics use the Gross take home Income before taxes as the number to compare. To say that the average podiatric surgeon with 2-3 yrs practice is taking home 60,000 is rediculous. You make almost that in residency. Im sure Dr. Rogers can attest. I have a friend who just completed his residency in Michigan this past summer and he made over 60,000 a yr.

So is $60k/year typical for a resident salary? This seems a lot higher than MD/DO residencies.

The income spread on posted DPM positions seems to be very wide. I have seen postings from $50k to $100k+ salaries and this was not for a residency position. $50k seems ridiculous for the amount of time and money invested into the education.
 
Correct. Net is 50% of gross assuming that you own a private practice but then I would hope that your gross income would be a lot higher than 120-150! When I was talking about a gross salary with a group, I was speaking of an actual salary (not the total earnings of the group). I say gross because it will be taxed but take-home is a lot greater than 50%. Think of it as a regular paycheck.
Residency salaries can be found for every residency in the nation on the AACPM website in the residency directory.

http://www.aacpm.org/residencies/CASPRdir.asp
 
cosmicstarr said:
So is $60k/year typical for a resident salary? This seems a lot higher than MD/DO residencies.

The income spread on posted DPM positions seems to be very wide. I have seen postings from $50k to $100k+ salaries and this was not for a residency position. $50k seems ridiculous for the amount of time and money invested into the education.

My friend made a base salary in residency which was about 45K, he made even more than that because he was the chief resident and also moonlighted a made a little more.
 
randersen said:
My friend made a base salary in residency which was about 45K, he made even more than that because he was the chief resident and also moonlighted a made a little more.

My base salary is $56k plus $3K for being chief resident = $59k.

I don't think that's very typical for DPM residencies, but NYC has high cost of living. I think nationally the average is $35K-$45K for residents.

The issue of average earnings for DPMs comes up VERY often on this forum.

Much of that is dependent on . . . .
1. Do they include resident salaries in their averages? (There are only 15,000 DPMs in the country and 800 or more are residents)
2. Do they include the many DPMs who work part-time? (There are many DPM women who have families)

That is why I trust the ACFAS practice management survey numbers. They state . . . .

If you work full time AND are board certified in surgery the 75th percentile is $180K

If you think you will meet the above criteria, then plan on making that amount, if not then use DoL figures or something else.
 
psionic_blast,

I dont see why you are being so hostile to me. The only reason that i post is to learn. Im very very very glad to hear that DPMs make more than that. This is specifically because i am thinking of it as a career. I hope that you will learn that not everyone is out there trying to get you. In contrary, I've been PMing questions to (and bugging) Dr. Lee about the field of podiatry because im so interested in it. Moreoever, I do not know whether youre an undergrad, DPM student, or DPM, but there is no reason to discourage me and others who arent sure about stats. THe whole point of the forums i think is to expose people to the professions and share what you know with others. Dr. Lee has done that with PLENTY of people. Perhaps you should try to refrain from discouraging others from choosing this career and be more like him and the many other on the forum, let alone the people who politely corrected me on the salary like randerson and jonwill (which again i am VERY glad to hear).
 
diabeticfootdr said:
My base salary is $56k plus $3K for being chief resident = $59k.

I don't think that's very typical for DPM residencies, but NYC has high cost of living. I think nationally the average is $35K-$45K for residents.

The issue of average earnings for DPMs comes up VERY often on this forum.

Much of that is dependent on . . . .
1. Do they include resident salaries in their averages? (There are only 15,000 DPMs in the country and 800 or more are residents)
2. Do they include the many DPMs who work part-time? (There are many DPM women who have families)

That is why I trust the ACFAS practice management survey numbers. They state . . . .

If you work full time AND are board certified in surgery the 75th percentile is $180K

If you think you will meet the above criteria, then plan on making that amount, if not then use DoL figures or something else.
Prudent advice. :thumbup:
 
This seems to get more and more confusing with so many people throwing out so many numbers from different surveys and other places.

That 180k number..is that after your overhead costs and what not is before anything is removed?
 
Top