New veterinary graduates face widening real-income gap, record debt

Graduating veterinarians are entering a tighter financial picture than their recent predecessors. Average educational debt reached a new high in 2026, and inflation-adjusted starting compensation fell, according to preliminary data from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).¹

Over the past year, inflation-adjusted income for new graduates fell while real income across the veterinarian population rose. The gap between the 2 groups widened from 19% in 2025 to 28% in 2026.¹

Chris Doherty, DVM, CBV, MBA, assistant director for strategic business research and outreach in the AVMA Veterinary Economics Division, previewed the findings at the 2026 AVMA Veterinary Business and Economic Forum, held virtually October 7 and 8. Full results are expected in the first quarter of 2027 in the 2027 AVMA Report on the Economic State of the Veterinary Profession.¹

Starting pay and job offers

The new-graduate figures come from the 2026 AVMA Senior Survey, which was sent to final-year students at every US veterinary college and 2 Caribbean veterinary colleges about 4 weeks before graduation.¹

Graduates who secured full-time jobs reported average compensation of $131,784. Adjusted for inflation, that equaled $127,046 in 2025 dollars.¹

At the time of the survey, 58.0% of respondents had secured full-time employment, 28.2% had accepted advanced education positions such as internships, residencies, or graduate programs, and 7.4% had not received any offer.¹ The percentages exclude graduates who had received but not yet accepted an offer and those who accepted part-time positions.¹

The share of new graduates accepting full-time employment has declined for 4 consecutive years. Over the same period, the share reporting no offers rose from 2.1% in 2022. These measures reflect graduates’ status at the time of the survey.¹

Doherty noted that the no-offer rate, although higher in recent years, remains far below levels seen during and after the Great Recession. In 2012, that rate approached 40%.¹

Starting compensation varied by career path:¹

• Full-time private practice had the highest average starting compensation, at $133,056.
• Public practice averaged $101,234.
• Interns averaged $59,436, and residents averaged $54,988.

Internships were an exception to the broader compensation trend: average internship pay rose compared with prior years, while compensation in private and public practice did not follow the same pattern.¹

Among new graduates entering full-time employment, 58.7% received a signing bonus. Other reported incentives included a moving allowance (34.6%), student loan repayment (19.9%), emergency case compensation (10.8%), and a housing allowance (2.8%).¹

Companion animal practice remained the most common destination among graduates entering private practice or advanced education, accounting for 71.5%. Other reported areas included mixed animal practice (10.1%), equine practice (7.5%), and food animal practice (4.1%).¹

Debt climbs to a new high

Average veterinary school debt reached a record high in 2026, continuing an upward trend following a decline between 2020 and 2023. The figures cover debt incurred during veterinary college, not undergraduate or other educational debt.¹

• Across all 2026 graduates, including those who borrowed nothing, average veterinary school debt was $185,424.
• Among graduates who carried veterinary student debt, the average was $227,588.
• About 18.5% of graduates finished with no debt from veterinary college.¹

At the high end, 43.3% of graduates owed $200,000 or more, and 7.9% owed at least $400,000.¹

For graduates entering full-time employment, the average debt-to-income ratio was 1.5:1, meaning their veterinary school debt was 1.5 times their expected annual compensation. That ratio has also risen from previous years, and 18.1% of new graduates had a ratio of 2.5:1 or higher.¹

Profession-wide income and benefits

Across all veterinarians, average professional income for 2025 was $163,014, according to the 2026 Census of Veterinarians.¹ Doherty said the newest data showed a small increase in real income. Since 2022, however, real income has been “relatively flat or trended downwards even as nominal income increased,” he said, as reported by AVMA News.¹

The benefits most commonly reported by census respondents were continuing education expenses (80.0%), licenses (79.2%), paid vacation leave (74.6%), and association dues (71.4%).¹

This year’s census added a question asking veterinarians which single benefit they most wanted but did not have. Educational loan repayment was the top response.¹

Doherty encouraged practice owners to assess what makes their practice an attractive place to work and identify opportunities for improvement. He also urged leaders to develop retention plans that include regular check-ins, performance reviews, and conversations about workplace satisfaction.¹

References

1. Champagne AM, Larkin M. New veterinary graduates face rising debt, lower real income. AVMA News. October 8, 2026. Accessed October 9, 2026. https://www.avma.org/news/new-veterinary-graduates-face-rising-debt-lower-real-income