Is the grass greener? Use this tool to compare family physician compensation, benefits, and job satisfaction across practice settings

Many factors other than compensation influence overall job satisfaction. The American Academy of Family Physicians’ (AAFP) Career Benchmark Dashboard, now available to all AAFP members, allows users to see how different roles and practice settings might affect their well-being by providing information that goes beyond pay.

The Career Benchmark Dashboard is a resource informed by a 2023 survey of family physicians that included more than 7,500 responses. Survey respondents’ self-reported demographics (years since residency, degree obtained, and race/ethnicity) closely align with both AAFP membership and the ABFM Family Medicine FactBook, so the data comes from a fairly representative sample.

The average reported full-time family physician total compensation for 2022 was $274,359 and average part-time compensation was $185,943 (irrespective of %FTE). Dashboard users can further explore this data by using filters to see compensation at the state-level or by position type (practicing family physician, leadership/administration, faculty or professor, researcher, or residency director). This can be useful if you are considering changing career paths, like moving into leadership or academia.

But the dashboard has far more information. You can explore what types of general tasks and time spent on those tasks are typical for each position type, as well as the amount of paid time off and funding for CME. Or you can go to the job satisfaction section and compare overall satisfaction, work-life balance, level of autonomy, and level of burnout across a variety of clinical settings (e.g., academic health center, ambulatory clinical practice, urgent care) or employer types (e.g., health system, physician-owned group, self-employed). Understanding how your position compares to others in terms of job satisfaction as well as compensation and benefits means that you’ll be better able to evaluate job opportunities and make informed decisions about your career.

Posted on Feb. 23, 2024 by FPM Editors