Jessica Presinzano, Kaitlyn Kanzler and Jessica Presinzano | NorthJersey

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If you want to become a doctor, you might want to rethink doing it in New Jersey.

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That's the impression from a new WalletHub study, which compared each U.S. state and the District of Columbia, which ranked the Garden State the worst state for doctors to practice. The study was done by state, and so doesn't reflect that New Jersey residents might use New York City or Philadelphia doctors or hospitals.

Despite the professional climate for doctors in New Jersey, students are flocking to a new medical school on the former Hoffman-La Roche campus, which straddles Clifton and Nutley. The school, which will have an inaugural class of 55, received more than 1,000 applications, according to the school's admissions office.

The medical school students will train in a number of Hackensack Meridian Health’s 16 hospitals, including Hackensack University Medical Center. Robert C. Garrett, co-CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health, said allowing opportunities for residencies means the future doctors are likely to stay in the area. Garrett said it will combat the projected doctor shortage for the state.

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New Jersey is projected to have 37 doctors per 1,000 residents while only having the low number of 2.48 hospitals per 100,000 residents, according to WalletHub.

Ranked worst

New Jersey overall ranked worst among the states for doctors, according to WalletHub, which examined metrics such as malpractice award payouts, insurance premiums, hospitals per capita, and projected physicians per capita by 2024.

New Jersey did make it into the top 10 for employer-based insurance rate, ranking No. 5 at 53 percent and strictness of the state medical board, ranked No. 9.

All other metrics were ranked below average, with insured population rate being the next highest, at No. 27.

The survey ranks the state No. 29 in projected percentage of population that will be 65 or older by 2030. The rest of the state's rankings are in the 30s and 40s.

Doctors in New Jersey earn one of the lowest average monthly salaries out of Washington D.C. and the states, earning $3,042 on average when adjusted for the cost of living, ranking 48th. A doctor's annual wage, after being adjusted for the cost of living, ranked 41st.