Average starting salaries for new physicians remain at ~$400,000; nurse practitioner starting salaries grew to $180,000 as healthcare seeks APPs to fill in staffing gaps
Demand for healthcare providers exceeds the current supply. That’s been the trend for several years now and shows no sign of slowing.
Shortage estimates vary somewhat, but they all remain high. Both the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) project shortages in excess of 80,000 physicians over the next decade.
That’s according to a recent report by AMN Healthcare, formerly known as Merritt Hawkins. The company provides a range of services supporting healthcare organizations, including staffing services such as recruiting searches for providers.
This work has provided them with a solid data set to calculate benchmarks for starting salaries, bonuses, and other financial incentives healthcare employers have set to help attract new providers to their organization.
This edition marks the 32nd annual report published by the organization. The findings are “based on a representative sample of the 1,420 permanent physician and advanced practitioner search engagements” that AMN Healthcare “conducted during the 12-month period from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025.”
Below are some of the provider compensation benchmarks that stood out.
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1. Average starting salaries for healthcare providers
“The average starting salary for all physicians tracked in the 2025 Review is $403,000, down marginally from $406,000 last year.” Advanced practice providers (APPs), which include nurse practitioners (NPs), saw average starting salaries grow to “$180,000, up from $164,000 last year, a 9.6% increase.”
The report did not provide an average starting salary for the physician assistant (PA) segment of the provider population.
These figures are fairly well aligned with other reports on provider compensation we’ve reviewed. AMN Healthcare says about 66% of providers, both physicians and APPs, have
production bonuses” that reward “the volume of work” performed.
To that end, a separate study published earlier this year by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) found physician productivity has improved significantly.
It’s also worth noting, while there’s a shortage of physicians, “a shortage of NPs and other APPs is not anticipated.” Citing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) the report says, “NP jobs are projected to grow by 45% over the next decade.”
2. Average signing bonus for physicians and APPs
Bonuses for both physicians and APPs are up across the board. “The average signing bonus for physicians is $38,215, up from $31,103 last year,” the report found. Similarly, “the average signing bonus for NPs and PAs is $12,869, up from $11,758 last year.”
AMN notes that signing bonuses were offered in 74% of the searches they conducted. Moreover, these were the “highest average signing bonuses for physicians, NPs and PAs that have been tracked” in any of the prior editions of this report.
Benchmarks published by PracticeMatch, which we covered earlier this year, put the average signing bonus in a range from $20,000 to $100,000 or more.
3. Average relocation allowances for providers
Healthcare employers are picking up a greater share of the tab for newly hired providers who must move to take a new job. AMN calculated “the average relocation allowance for physicians is $12,619, up from $11,284 last year.”
As many employers turn to APPs to help fill the gaps from the physician shortage, relocation allowances for this cohort have also grown. “The average relocation allowance for NPs and PAs is $9,016, up from $7,910 last year,” the report says.
4. Average provider continuing education allowance
Providers are required to pursue continuing medical education (CME) to keep their skills sharp and stay abreast of changes and innovations. That education comes at a cost and healthcare employers are also increasing allowances for this category of financial incentive.
The report found, “the average CME allowance for physicians is $4,073, up from $3,969 last year.” At the same time, “the average CME allowance for NPs and PAs is $2,083, down slightly from $2,195 last year.”
5. Educational loan repayment for newly minted providers
A license to practice medicine comes at a high cost and is often in the form of a student loan. Healthcare employers are willing to offer providers loan repayment assistance that ranges into six figures.
For example, “the average educational loan repayment offered to physicians is $104,200, down from $117,217 last year.” Correspondingly, “the average educational loan repayment offered to NPs and PAs is $50,000, down from $78,337 last year.”
We’d hasten to note, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), uses our technology to manage applications for its Healthcare Professional Scholarship Program (HPSP). Successful applicants receive 100% of the tuition, required fees, and a monthly stipend.
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The full report contains many more benchmarks for provider compensation. It can be downloaded here (registration required): 2025 Review of Physician and Advanced Practitioner Recruiting Incentives by AMN Healthcare.
See the software for yourself! Healthcare Workforce Management is designed specifically for rural healthcare recruiting: Contact us for a no-obligation demo.
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