How much do radiologists make?

Radiologist salary 2026 · BLS occupation: Radiologists (SOC 29-1224) · Updated October 28, 2026

Answer

Radiologists in the US earned a median of $420,860 a year ($202.34 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned $216,800 to $506,010.

Median annual pay: $420,860; Mean $381,530
Median hourly pay: $202.34; Mean $183.43
Typical range (10th–90th): $89.0K–$594K; $89,010 to $594,410
US jobs: 26,770; +3.4% projected, 2025–35

BLS OEWS, May 2025, released April 30, 2026. Wages include tips, commissions and production bonuses but not overtime premiums, shift differentials, other bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers are not included. Methodology

How to become a radiologist: steps, years and cost · Best-paying state after cost of living: Minnesota

Radiologist pay range

Annual wages, May 2025

10th percentile$89,010
25th percentile$216,800
Median$420,860
75th percentile$506,010
90th percentile$594,410

Half of all radiologists earned more than $420,860 and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% made under $89,010; the top 10% made over $594,410. The middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile, ran from $216,800 to $506,010.

These percentiles describe everyone in the occupation at one time. They are not pay steps by years of experience: they mix new and senior workers, different states, employers and hours. Pay generally rises with experience, credentials and specialization, but BLS does not publish pay by experience.

Percentile	Annual	Hourly	Monthly
10th	$89,010	$42.79	$7,418
25th	$216,800	$104.23	$18,067
Median (50th)	$420,860	$202.34	$35,072
75th	$506,010	$243.27	$42,168
90th	$594,410	$285.78	$49,534
Mean (average)	$381,530	$183.43	$31,794

Radiologist salary by state

Median annual pay; cost of living from BEA regional price parities 2024

Median annual pay for radiologists by state. Darker tiles pay more. A dash means BLS did not publish a figure.

Highest-paying states

1. Minnesota $708,340
2. South Dakota $586,010
3. Maryland $581,510
4. Maine $555,750
5. North Dakota $553,140

Lowest-paying states

34. Arkansas $75,600
33. New Mexico $96,170
32. Wyoming $161,750
31. South Carolina $174,480
30. Kansas $179,990

Best after cost of living: Minnesota. Its median of $708,340 is worth about $718,245 at national-average prices.


Alabama	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Alaska	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Arizona	$470,640	10	$467,475	9	$226.27	—	—
Arkansas	$75,600	34	$86,960	34	$36.35	150	0.12
California	$270,560	26	$244,364	27	$130.08	690	0.04
Colorado	$344,270	22	$334,074	23	$165.52	500	0.17
Connecticut	$191,990	28	$185,301	30	$92.30	—	—
Delaware	$239,200+	—	—	—	$115.00+	160	0.33
District of Columbia	$182,450	29	$166,013	32	$87.72	80	0.11
Florida	$417,690	15	$403,901	17	$200.81	1,680	0.17
Georgia	$335,190	23	$348,094	22	$161.15	—	—
Hawaii	$239,200+	—	—	—	$115.00+	80	0.12
Idaho	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Illinois	$239,200+	—	—	—	$115.00+	—	—
Indiana	$430,640	13	$461,421	12	$207.04	680	0.21
Iowa	$405,220	17	$461,726	11	$194.82	130	0.09
Kansas	$179,990	30	$199,838	28	$86.53	—	—
Kentucky	$279,990	25	$310,551	25	$134.61	—	—
Louisiana	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Maine	$555,750	4	$572,643	4	$267.19	—	—
Maryland	$581,510	3	$554,035	5	$279.57	—	—
Massachusetts	$426,560	14	$403,340	18	$205.08	—	—
Michigan	$485,920	7	$505,025	7	$233.61	360	0.08
Minnesota	$708,340	1	$718,245	1	$340.55	440	0.15
Mississippi	—	—	—	—	—	100	0.08
Missouri	—	—	—	—	—	280	0.10
Montana	$360,330	21	$380,717	20	$173.23	110	0.21
Nebraska	—	—	—	—	—	160	0.16
Nevada	$386,210	19	$386,291	19	$185.68	410	0.26
New Hampshire	$506,010	6	$485,777	8	$243.27	210	0.30
New Jersey	$482,700	8	$443,638	13	$232.07	—	—
New Mexico	$96,170	33	$104,292	33	$46.24	170	0.20
New York	$441,580	12	$409,170	16	$212.30	2,010	0.21
North Carolina	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
North Dakota	$553,140	5	$621,792	3	$265.93	120	0.29
Ohio	$260,000	27	$280,251	26	$125.00	770	0.14
Oklahoma	—	—	—	—	—	110	0.06
Oregon	$239,200+	—	—	—	$115.00+	230	0.12
Pennsylvania	$455,380	11	$466,712	10	$218.93	1,360	0.23
Rhode Island	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
South Carolina	$174,480	31	$186,114	29	$83.89	—	—
South Dakota	$586,010	2	$661,515	2	$281.73	70	0.15
Tennessee	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Texas	$319,320	24	$329,003	24	$153.52	2,330	0.17
Utah	$417,250	16	$422,044	14	$200.60	380	0.22
Vermont	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Virginia	$376,270	20	$372,161	21	$180.90	—	—
Washington	$239,200+	—	—	—	$115.00+	1,480	0.42
West Virginia	$471,650	9	$527,001	6	$226.75	360	0.51
Wisconsin	$392,610	18	$417,249	15	$188.76	980	0.33
Wyoming	$161,750	32	$174,505	31	$77.76	30	0.12

BLS OEWS, May 2025, state estimates. Adjusted pay = median ÷ (state price level ÷ 100), using BEA regional price parities for 2024; it ignores taxes. Figures for states with few workers in the occupation have larger survey errors and can change sharply from one year to the next. “—” means BLS did not publish the figure (12 states). State names link to each state’s highest-paying jobs.

Best-paying metro areas for radiologists

67 metro areas with published pay

Highest median pay
Metro area	Median	Adjusted	Jobs
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ	$239,200+	—	—
Asheville, NC	$239,200+	—	—
Boulder, CO	$239,200+	—	—
Champaign-Urbana, IL	$239,200+	—	70
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA	$239,200+	—	—
Dothan, AL	$239,200+	—	—
Huntsville, AL	$239,200+	—	—
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN	$239,200+	—	400
Manchester-Nashua, NH	$239,200+	—	—
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$239,200+	—	280

Most jobs
Metro area	Jobs	Median	Adjusted
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	1,950	$465,780	$413,795
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	1,210	$239,200+	—
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	770	$156,800	$152,100
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	550	$452,940	$441,660
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	500	$131,470	$133,298
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN	400	$239,200+	—
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	340	$344,270	$325,452
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	310	$488,670	$430,296
Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	300	$449,940	$446,068
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	290	$287,990	$301,971

BLS OEWS, May 2025, metropolitan statistical areas; adjusted with BEA metro price parities (2024).

What moves radiologist pay: employers and settings

Employer type creates the widest gaps in radiologist pay. Offices of physicians, which include most private radiology groups, report a median of $448,510 and outpatient care centers $548,480. Medical and diagnostic laboratories, a category that includes imaging centers, come in at $398,220. Direct employees of general hospitals report a much lower median of $138,560 and state government employers $112,790. Colleges and universities report $315,360. Our data does not say why the hospital and public figures sit so far below, so treat them as the pay of those employers, not of a career stage.

Location matters too. Minnesota has the highest state median at $708,340, followed by South Dakota at $586,010, Maryland at $581,510, Maine at $555,750, and North Dakota at $553,140. Minnesota still ranks first after cost of living, at $718,245. The lowest state medians are Wyoming at $161,750, New Mexico at $96,170, and Arkansas at $75,600.

Across the occupation, the median is $420,860, the 25th percentile is $216,800, the 75th is $506,010, and the 90th is $594,410, though those percentiles describe the spread of pay across all radiologists, not steps in a career, and the employer and state figures above explain much of it.

Where radiologists work
Industry	Share of jobs	Median pay
Offices of Physicians	55.9%	$448,510
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	22.6%	$138,560
Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories	13.1%	$398,220
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	4.6%	$315,360
Outpatient Care Centers	1.2%	$548,480
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals	1%	$444,590

Private employers and government
Employer type	Jobs	Median pay
Private employers	25,120	$428,900
State government (incl. schools and hospitals)	1,220	$112,790
Local government (incl. schools and hospitals)	430	$87,220

BLS OEWS, May 2025, national industry-specific and ownership estimates (4-digit NAICS).

What radiologists do

A radiologist is a physician (MD or DO) who diagnoses disease and injury by reading medical images: x-rays, CT, MRI, ultrasound, mammograms and nuclear medicine scans. Most of the work happens at a reading station with high-resolution monitors, where the radiologist reviews each study, compares it with earlier scans and dictates a report for the doctor who ordered it. Those reports drive decisions such as whether a patient goes to surgery, starts cancer treatment or goes home.

Radiologists rarely see a patient before the scan. Their main contacts are referring physicians, surgeons, emergency doctors and the radiology technicians and sonographers who take the images. Interventional radiologists are the exception: they use imaging to guide needles, catheters and wires through the body to place stents, drain abscesses, take biopsies or block blood supply to tumors. In our data, 55.9% of radiologists work in physicians' offices, often radiology groups that contract with hospitals, and 22.6% work directly for general hospitals. Imaging runs around the clock in hospitals, so someone has to read overnight and weekend studies, either on site or remotely.

A typical day

Read CT, MRI, x-ray, ultrasound and mammography studies and compare them with a patient's earlier scans
Dictate clear reports that answer the ordering doctor's question and flag anything urgent
Phone or message the care team right away about critical findings such as a brain bleed or a blood clot in the lungs
Choose the right scan and protocol, including when contrast dye is needed and whether it is safe
Perform image-guided procedures such as biopsies, drain placement or, in interventional radiology, catheter-based treatments
Check image quality and radiation dose standards with technologists and physicists
Join tumor boards and case conferences to walk other physicians through the imaging

Also called: attending physician, diagnostic radiologist, interventional neuroradiologist, interventional radiologist, musculoskeletal specialty radiologist (msk specialty radiologist), neuroradiologist, nuclear medicine physician, nuclear medicine specialist.

How to become a radiologist

Full guide

To become a radiologist, you earn a bachelor's degree, finish four years of medical school (MD or DO), pass the national licensing exams, and complete a clinical year plus a four-year diagnostic radiology residency. Most people take about 13 years after high school, or 14 with a fellowship.

Typical time: 13-14 years; Fastest: About 11 years
Minimum education: MD or DO degree from an LCME- or COCA-accredited medical school, followed by an ACGME-accredited radiology residency
License: Physician license required in all 50 states and DC; ABR board certification is voluntary
Typical training cost: $215K; See the guide for what it includes

Read the step-by-step guide to becoming a radiologist: each step with its time and cost, education options, exams, licensing and advancement.

Is it worth it? Training cost against pay

Compare careers

Training time: 13-14 years; Typical path in our guide
Training cost: $215K; Tuition and exam fees, before aid
Median pay: $420,860; $369,880 above the all-jobs median ($50,980)
Cost vs. one year's pay: 51–51%; Training cost as a share of a year at the median

Once qualified, the pay difference over the typical US job at the median ($369,880 a year before tax) would repay the training cost in less than a year after training ends (13-14 years in our guide). This is a rough guide: it ignores taxes, financial aid, interest, earnings given up while training and how pay changes over a career. How we calculate ROI.

Job outlook for radiologists

BLS Employment Projections 2025–35

Projected growth: +3.4%; All occupations +3.5%
Jobs in 2025: 28,700; 29,600 projected for 2035
Openings each year: 700; New jobs plus replacements
Self-employed: 3.8%; Not in the pay figures above

BLS projects radiologist jobs to rise from 28,700 in 2025 to 29,600 in 2035, a 3.4% gain that is close to the 3.5% expected for all occupations. That works out to about 700 openings a year, mostly to replace radiologists who retire or leave the field.

The forces BLS points to for physicians apply directly here: an older population and more chronic illness such as cancer and heart disease mean more scans to read. Only 3.8% of radiologists are self-employed; most work in groups, hospitals or academic departments.

Related careers and their pay

Related occupations from O*NET 31.0; median annual pay from BLS OEWS, May 2025.

Radiologist salary FAQ

How much do radiologists make an hour?

The median hourly wage for radiologists was $202.34 in May 2025. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $42.79 an hour and the highest-paid 10% more than $285.78. Hourly figures are BLS estimates for all workers in the occupation, full-time and part-time.

Which state pays radiologists the most?

Minnesota has the highest median pay for radiologists, $708,340 a year, followed by South Dakota ($586,010) and Maryland ($581,510). After adjusting for each state's price level, Minnesota comes out ahead at about $718,245 in national-average dollars.

Do radiologists make $200,000 a year?

Most do: based on the BLS percentiles, between 75% and 90% of radiologists earn more than $200,000 a year. The median is $420,860, and the top 10% earn more than $594,410. Pay generally rises with experience, specialization and location.

Do radiologists work in hospitals or private practice?

Both, but private groups employ more. In our data, 14,970 radiologists work in offices of physicians, which is where most radiology groups are counted, against 6,060 employed directly by general hospitals. Many private groups still spend their days in hospitals because they hold the contract to read that hospital's imaging. Smaller numbers work for imaging labs, universities and outpatient centers.

Can radiologists work from home?

Some can, for part or all of their work. Because images are stored and sent digitally through picture archiving systems, a radiologist with a licensed workstation can read studies from a home office, which is how teleradiology works. You still need a medical license in each state where the patients are, and interventional work, procedures and many breast imaging duties must be done on site.

Which states have the most radiologist jobs?

Texas leads with 2,330 radiologist jobs, followed by New York with 2,010, Florida with 1,680, Washington with 1,480 and Pennsylvania with 1,360. Those are also large states with many hospitals and imaging centers. The best-paying states are different: Minnesota, South Dakota and Maryland top the median pay list, so the biggest job markets are not always where pay is highest.

Sources

Data updated October 28, 2026 · Text checked against its sources October 28, 2026

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, released April 30, 2026, SOC 29-1224
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035, released September 2026
O*NET 31.0 Database (29-1224.00), U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0; tasks rewritten by Careers and Salaries
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state and metro area, 2024
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), US city average, May values
U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard field-of-study and institution data, most recent cohorts, released 2026-10-15
Physicians and Surgeons, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked October 28, 2026
Initial Certification for Diagnostic Radiology, American Board of Radiology · checked October 28, 2026
Apply for Exams, United States Medical Licensing Examination (FSMB and NBME) · checked October 28, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions, National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners · checked October 28, 2026
Initial Certification Fees and Payments, American Board of Radiology · checked October 28, 2026
MCAT Scheduling Fees, Association of American Medical Colleges · checked October 28, 2026
Initial Certification for Interventional Radiology/Diagnostic Radiology, American Board of Radiology · checked October 28, 2026
ACGME Program Requirements for Graduate Medical Education in Diagnostic Radiology (2025), Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education · checked October 28, 2026

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