New vets carry record debt into a weaker real paycheck

Preliminary AVMA data published October 8th, 2026 shows the class of 2026 carrying a record average of $185,424 in veterinary school debt while its inflation-adjusted starting pay fell, even as real income for veterinarians overall rose slightly. The gap between new graduates and the profession widened from 19% to 28% in a year. For practice owners and corporate groups hiring associates, the same nominal offer now covers less of what a new graduate owes.

The figures come from the 2026 AVMA Senior Survey and the 2026 Census of Veterinarians, previewed by Chris Doherty of AVMA's Veterinary Economics Division at the virtual AVMA Veterinary Business and Economic Forum on October 7th and 8th. The numbers below are preliminary AVMA data as reported by AVMA News and taken from a dvm360 summary of that coverage. The full report is expected in the first quarter of 2027.

The class of 2026 borrowed more and earned less

Graduates who landed full-time jobs reported average compensation of $131,784, or $127,046 in 2025 dollars. Full-time private practice paid the most, at $133,056 on average.

Debt moved the other way. Across all graduates, including the 18.5% who borrowed nothing for vet school, the average was $185,424, and among borrowers it was $227,588. At the top end, 43.3% owed $200,000 or more and 7.9% owed at least $400,000.

A year earlier, the class of 2025 averaged $174,484 across all graduates and $212,499 among borrowers, with about 40% owing more than $200,000, according to a MyVetCandy summary of AVMA's 2025 preview. That makes the 2026 all-graduate average about $10,900, or 6.3%, higher, by our math. AVMA's 2025 economic report cautions that the set of schools surveyed has changed over the years, so comparisons between years should be read with caution.

The average debt-to-income ratio for graduates entering full-time work was 1.5:1, up from 1.4:1 for the class of 2025, and 18.1% sat at 2.5:1 or higher. Across all veterinarians, average professional income for 2025 was $163,014. Set against the $127,046 inflation-adjusted starting figure, that is a gap of about $36,000 a year, by our math. The summary does not give AVMA's formula for its 28%. Our dollar gap equals about 28% of the new-graduate figure, or about 22% of the profession-wide average.

The placement data is where the story turns. At survey time, 58.0% of seniors had accepted full-time employment, 28.2% had taken internships, residencies or graduate programs, and 7.4% had no offer at all. The full-time share has fallen four years running.

The no-offer rate was 2.1% in 2022, so the 2026 figure is about 3.5 times that level, by our math. Most of that rise came before this year. AVMA's 2025 report put the class of 2024 at 60.4% full-time and 6.1% with no offers, and the class of 2025 came in near 60% and 7%, per the same MyVetCandy summary. Doherty noted the rate remains far below levels seen during and after the Great Recession, and AVMA's 2025 report charts it at 38.5% in 2012. AVMA's percentages exclude graduates who had received but not yet accepted an offer and those who took part-time positions.

Signing bonuses are common, loan help is not

Among graduates entering full-time employment, 58.7% received a signing bonus, down from 61% for the class of 2025. A moving allowance came in at 34.6%, and student loan repayment at 19.9%.

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 answer. The two numbers come from different groups, new graduates in one case and the whole profession in the other, so they are not a like-for-like gap. They still point the same way.

For an operator the trade is concrete. A signing bonus is paid at the start of the job. A loan repayment benefit is often paid over time, so its value to the associate can grow with tenure.

By our read, that puts the weight on retention. Doherty encouraged practice owners to assess what makes their practice an attractive place to work and to build retention plans with regular check-ins, performance reviews and conversations about workplace satisfaction, according to dvm360.

Relief coverage is the other side of that ledger. We covered a corporate relief-staffing tier that lets multi-hospital groups cap relief-labor spend. In our view, groups weighing loan help against relief bills are pricing the same retention problem from two ends.

Hiring math now meets a flat visit pipeline

AVMA's 2026 economic report introduction says "The labor market continues to show demand for veterinarians." The same page says that for companion animal exclusive and predominant practices, reported gross revenue per full-time-equivalent veterinarian was lower in 2025 than in 2024.

That lines up with the CATalyst Council visit forecast we covered in June, which projected combined clinical visit growth of -2% to 0% through 2031, with new puppy visits roughly 38% below their 2018/19 baseline. In our view, a flat visit forecast and lower revenue per veterinarian make a harder backdrop for adding associates, whatever the starting salary.

If we had to guess, softer visit volume is part of why more seniors reach graduation without an offer. The AVMA preview does not test that link, and neither source states a shortage or a surplus of veterinarians.

The first-quarter 2027 report should show whether the no-offer rise is concentrated in particular career paths or regions, which the preliminary coverage does not break out. Until then, owners can read the preview as a pricing signal. Graduates carry more debt, the profession ranks loan help as its most-wanted missing benefit, and seniors are far more likely to be without an offer weeks before graduation than in 2022.

Debt is up. Real pay is down.

Photo: Veterinarian Pet Alliance via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Source: AVMA News