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Survey launches to update Academy’s career benchmark dashboard
July 31, 2025, News Staff—Family physicians have until Nov. 3 to help peers know their worth in the job market and make stronger career decisions.
The anonymous 2025 career benchmark survey is gathering data to update the Academy’s career benchmark dashboard, a unique tool that provides comprehensive compensation and job-satisfaction data to AAFP members. It takes about 10 minutes to complete.
Introduced in 2023, the dashboard lets you see how your income, benefits, career satisfaction and other elements compare with what other family physicians report about their similar roles. Data, searchable by state, include compensation structure, satisfaction by career path, amount of paid time off, funding for CME and sign-on bonus amount.
This resource complements the AAFP’s payment advocacy by equipping family physicians at all career stages to understand their value and see a fuller picture of the compensation landscape across the specialty. Among other uses, the dashboard supports students examining family medicine options, assists residents as they decide their first post-training role and helps employed family physicians better assess contracts.
The more family physicians respond to this survey, the more precise and useful the dashboard becomes. The AAFP encourages family physicians not only to complete the survey but also to share it widely.
New to the career benchmark dashboard
The first career dashboard survey collected nearly 8,000 responses from family physicians working in multiple practice settings and in every state as well as in Puerto Rico, in Guam, in the Virgin Islands and those practicing outside the United States. To further build out the dashboard, the 2025 survey includes Canada among the geographic areas and has questions about
- Direct Primary Care,
- clinical areas of focus within family medicine (including delivering babies) and
- an expanded list of family medicine roles.
These improvements are in direct response to member feedback following the debut survey. Completing the survey also allows you to download a new and exclusive set of key statistics on five common family medicine careers.
What the survey asks
To maximize transparency about family physician wages and benefits and promote fair compensation and equity specialty-wide, the survey, while keeping respondents anonymous, polls for information about
- geographic location,
- demographics,
- professional roles,
- practice setting,
- workforce experience,
- pre-tax salary,
- bonus opportunities,
- benefits,
- paid time off,
- scheduling and
- work satisfaction.
Your most recent tax return and your employment contract may be useful references for answering some of the survey questions but are not necessary.
Career dashboard benefits
Members give high marks to the career benchmark dashboard.
“I'm a partner in a growing private practice, and this data is helpful for our recruiting and retention,” said one family physician, responding anonymously when the Academy followed up 2023’s survey.
Other members offered similar praise:
- “I show it to residents for them to use as an initial education tool regarding career decisions.”
- “I was applying for a new job and wanted to understand what average salaries were for negotiation purposes.”
- “Understanding where you stand in relation to industry standards or specific roles can guide your professional development. Knowing what skills are in demand and where you might need to upskill is invaluable.”
- “I recommend it to anyone coming out of residency to get a sense of compensation in an area.”
The dashboard can boost confidence to members seeking the best possible compensation package, but it isn’t all about salary and isn’t just for job seekers.
It’s a transparency resource for physicians at all career stages and along every career path. Dashboard users across the professional arc, from recent residency graduates to academics to longtime practice owners, get perspective into different roles and work settings. And it helps protect you from burnout by allowing you to compare your position and your working conditions with those of other family physicians.
Rev it up
The career benchmark dashboard is most powerful when it’s fueled by robust data—including yours. Take the survey today, then share it with colleagues. Your participation is anonymous, easy and vital to a dashboard that helps family physicians stay in the career driver’s seat.