Student loan debt and income among chiropractors: A description of consultancy data.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To describe student loan debt and income of doctors of chiropractic (DC) who sought private student loan counseling. METHODS: A descriptive analysis of de-identified client records from a student debt consulting firm (Student Loan Planner®) was conducted. Data regarding chiropractic programs, cumulative student loan amounts, and current incomes at the time of consultation were abstracted. Descriptive statistics were reported. RESULTS: Consultations (n = 448) were completed with DCs between March 2017 and August 2023. Nearly half (44.2%) reported student loan indebtedness between $150,000 and $249,999 with another 35.7% indicating between $250,000 and $349,999. The mean student loan debt was $249,149 (SD $82,892) with a median of $240,000 (interquartile range [IQR] $199,507-$295,390). The mean income for DCs in this sample was $81,305 (SD $47,495) with a median income of $75,000 (IQR $50,000-$100,000). The mean debt-to-income ratio was 4.11 (SD 2.93) with a median of 3.38 (IQR 2.21-5.16). Sixteen consultees possessed a debt-to-income ratio below 1.00, whereas more than a quarter (26.3%) of consultees reported a debt-to-income ratio greater than 5.00. CONCLUSION: DCs seeking debt guidance commonly carry substantial student loan debt that far exceeds their income. Our findings highlight that the student loan debt crisis includes DCs.