Widening gap ID'd in housing affordability for resident physicians

Resident physicians face a widening gap in housing affordability, with growth in rental prices outpacing that of resident earnings, according to a research letter published online June 27 in JAMA Network Open.

Ryan C.L. Brewster, M.D., from Boston Children's Hospital, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional analysis of housing affordability and housing-related benefits for the 2022 to 2023 academic year to help inform graduate medical education and institutional policy. Data were included from 855 sponsoring institutions, of which 511 (59.8 percent) were rent-burdened.

Housing-related benefits included moving allowances and housing stipends, which were available at 28.8 and 13.7 percent of institutions, respectively. The researchers observed a significant association for housing unaffordability with geographic region and urbanicity. The likelihood of offering any housing-related benefits was lower at rent-burdened institutions (adjusted odds ratio, 0.42). Inflation-adjusted first postgraduate year salaries decreased by 0.23 percent overall between 2000 and 2022, while a 17.8 percent increase was seen in inflation-adjusted rental prices.

"Residents faced a widening gap in housing affordability with marked geographic variation, consistent with studies showing that cost of living indices poorly correlate with trainee salaries," the authors write.