Residency Pay. Medical residents are paid, according to the University of Alabama. As of 2011, residents with the University of Alabama earn between $45,443 and $54,915 a year, or between $3,786.92 and $4,576.25 a month. Pay depends on where the student is completing his residency training. Residents with the University of California, for instance, earn $48,259 in their first year.