Pediatric Orthopaedic Fellowship Compensation: Are You Paying Your Fellow Fairly?

As the cost of medical education and average debt of a graduating medical student increases annually, evaluating compensation for the training required to complete fellowships in reasonable. Upon completing orthopaedic surgery residency, aspiring pediatric orthopaedic fellows can choose from several programs around the country while considering existing debt, other financial responsibilities, the local cost-of-living, and salary when making their decision.

To compare salaries among pediatric orthopaedic surgery fellowships, we divided the salary by the city's percentage of the national average COL and calculated a cost-of-living adjusted salary (COLAS). Programs were ranked based on their actual salaries as well as their COLAS. We calculated average salary, average COLAS, and the SD of variables. In addition, we analyzed the average change in rankings and salary between the actual salary data and the COLAS data.

In 2024, the average (SD) salary for a US pediatric orthopaedic surgery fellowship position is $84,248 (10,380), which is reduced to $71,229 (9897) when adjusted for the average COLAS. Further, unadjusted salary rank is not strongly associated with COLAS rank (R=-0.36), with programs having an average (SD) change in rank of 17.5 (10.5) positions when ranked based on COLAS.

When the salaries of all 43 pediatric orthopaedic surgery fellowships in the United States, ranging from $59,384 to $107,701, are adjusted for their local COL, salaries range from $50,742 to $91,132; the salaries of 8 programs fall below the national average salary for all professions.