How much do ultrasound technicians make?

Ultrasound Technician salary 2026 · BLS occupation: Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (SOC 29-2032) · Updated October 28, 2026

Answer

Ultrasound technicians in the US earned a median of $96,590 a year ($46.44 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned $80,430 to $106,930.

Median annual pay: $96,590; Mean $97,240
Median hourly pay: $46.44; Mean $46.75
Typical range (10th–90th): $67.8K–$129K; $67,820 to $129,370
US jobs: 90,160; +13.9% 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 an ultrasound technician: steps, years and cost · Best-paying state after cost of living: Oregon

Ultrasound Technician pay range

Annual wages, May 2025

10th percentile$67,820
25th percentile$80,430
Median$96,590
75th percentile$106,930
90th percentile$129,370

Half of all ultrasound technicians earned more than $96,590 and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% made under $67,820; the top 10% made over $129,370. The middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile, ran from $80,430 to $106,930.

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	$67,820	$32.60	$5,652
25th	$80,430	$38.67	$6,703
Median (50th)	$96,590	$46.44	$8,049
75th	$106,930	$51.41	$8,911
90th	$129,370	$62.20	$10,781
Mean (average)	$97,240	$46.75	$8,103

Ultrasound Technician salary by state

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

Median annual pay for ultrasound technicians by state. Darker tiles pay more.

Highest-paying states

1. California $128,530
2. Hawaii $124,430
3. Washington $121,340
4. Oregon $120,220
5. District of Columbia $112,020

Lowest-paying states

51. Alabama $68,180
50. Mississippi $76,520
49. West Virginia $76,820
48. Tennessee $80,640
47. Louisiana $80,710

Best after cost of living: Oregon. Its median of $120,220 is worth about $116,311 at national-average prices, more than in California once prices are counted.


Alabama	$68,180	51	$76,759	51	$32.78	1,510	0.71
Alaska	$105,670	8	$103,235	14	$50.81	140	0.45
Arizona	$100,040	21	$99,367	22	$48.10	2,070	0.64
Arkansas	$81,500	45	$93,746	35	$39.18	640	0.49
California	$128,530	1	$116,086	2	$61.79	10,110	0.56
Colorado	$108,410	6	$105,199	11	$52.12	1,430	0.50
Connecticut	$103,230	12	$99,633	20	$49.63	990	0.58
Delaware	$98,530	24	$98,720	23	$47.37	220	0.45
District of Columbia	$112,020	5	$101,928	15	$53.86	160	0.23
Florida	$82,940	40	$80,202	50	$39.88	6,670	0.67
Georgia	$83,250	39	$86,455	46	$40.02	2,700	0.55
Hawaii	$124,430	2	$113,169	4	$59.82	210	0.33
Idaho	$99,920	22	$104,635	12	$48.04	510	0.59
Illinois	$100,660	17	$100,702	19	$48.40	3,270	0.54
Indiana	$85,040	35	$91,119	40	$40.89	1,380	0.43
Iowa	$86,480	33	$98,539	24	$41.58	740	0.47
Kansas	$96,310	25	$106,930	8	$46.30	670	0.47
Kentucky	$91,230	31	$101,188	18	$43.86	940	0.47
Louisiana	$80,710	47	$91,501	37	$38.80	1,150	0.60
Maine	$95,230	28	$98,125	25	$45.78	380	0.59
Maryland	$99,210	23	$94,523	34	$47.70	1,760	0.64
Massachusetts	$107,480	7	$101,629	16	$51.67	2,190	0.60
Michigan	$82,490	44	$85,733	48	$39.66	3,100	0.70
Minnesota	$102,850	14	$104,288	13	$49.45	1,710	0.58
Mississippi	$76,520	50	$88,002	44	$36.79	700	0.60
Missouri	$100,130	19	$110,255	5	$48.14	1,930	0.66
Montana	$101,000	16	$106,715	9	$48.56	230	0.46
Nebraska	$82,670	43	$91,751	36	$39.74	780	0.77
Nevada	$95,980	26	$96,000	27	$46.15	640	0.41
New Hampshire	$103,760	11	$99,611	21	$49.89	400	0.58
New Jersey	$103,150	13	$94,803	31	$49.59	3,370	0.79
New Mexico	$87,210	32	$94,576	33	$41.93	410	0.47
New York	$103,920	10	$96,293	26	$49.96	6,880	0.71
North Carolina	$86,010	34	$91,184	39	$41.35	2,970	0.60
North Dakota	$84,340	36	$94,808	30	$40.55	240	0.57
Ohio	$82,870	41	$89,325	42	$39.84	3,160	0.57
Oklahoma	$83,670	37	$95,249	29	$40.23	1,060	0.62
Oregon	$120,220	4	$116,311	1	$57.80	1,210	0.62
Pennsylvania	$82,710	42	$84,768	49	$39.77	2,980	0.49
Rhode Island	$92,820	29	$90,751	41	$44.63	380	0.76
South Carolina	$83,290	38	$88,844	43	$40.04	1,340	0.58
South Dakota	$80,820	46	$91,233	38	$38.85	370	0.81
Tennessee	$80,640	48	$87,776	45	$38.77	1,880	0.57
Texas	$92,580	30	$95,387	28	$44.51	6,960	0.49
Utah	$100,100	20	$101,250	17	$48.13	740	0.42
Vermont	$104,100	9	$106,270	10	$50.05	140	0.47
Virginia	$95,660	27	$94,615	32	$45.99	2,160	0.53
Washington	$121,340	3	$113,388	3	$58.34	2,190	0.62
West Virginia	$76,820	49	$85,835	47	$36.93	780	1.11
Wisconsin	$102,090	15	$108,497	7	$49.08	1,530	0.52
Wyoming	$100,650	18	$108,587	6	$48.39	90	0.31

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. State names link to each state’s highest-paying jobs.

Best-paying metro areas for ultrasound technicians

277 metro areas with published pay

Highest median pay
Metro area	Median	Adjusted	Jobs
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$173,150	$156,806	500
Vallejo, CA	$171,170	$157,791	140
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$163,220	$153,014	610
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$161,570	$149,902	90
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$160,270	$138,626	1,300
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA	$142,150	$129,350	40
Modesto, CA	$141,210	$135,638	200
Redding, CA	$133,340	$132,434	40
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$132,490	$121,776	100
Stockton-Lodi, CA	$130,210	$123,904	140

Most jobs
Metro area	Jobs	Median	Adjusted
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	7,020	$107,250	$95,280
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	3,550	$119,430	$105,164
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	2,280	$103,080	$99,503
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	2,160	$98,810	$95,848
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	1,910	$86,250	$75,555
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	1,670	$95,100	$96,422
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	1,660	$94,640	$92,283
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	1,600	$102,810	$99,510
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	1,590	$109,200	$100,863
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	1,550	$105,290	$96,699

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

What moves ultrasound technician pay: employers and settings

Location moves sonographer pay the most. California has the highest median at $128,530, followed by Hawaii at $124,430, Washington at $121,340, Oregon at $120,220, and the District of Columbia at $112,020. The lowest medians are in West Virginia at $76,820, Mississippi at $76,520, and Alabama at $68,180. Oregon comes out best after adjusting for living costs, at $116,311.

Work setting matters too. Outpatient care centers report a median of $127,940 in our data, well above general hospitals at $97,280 and physicians' offices at $95,220. Medical and diagnostic laboratories, which include many imaging centers, pay $87,580. Specialty hospitals pay $104,770 and staffing work through employment services $100,920.

Within one city, the credentials you hold and the exams you can scan also matter. A sonographer registered in several areas, such as abdomen, OB/GYN and vascular, can cover more of a department's work. Hospital jobs with call, nights and weekends often add shift pay. Overall, pay runs from $67,820, the 10th percentile, to $129,370, the 90th; that range reflects location, setting and specialties as much as experience.

Where ultrasound technicians work
Industry	Share of jobs	Median pay
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	57.7%	$97,280
Offices of Physicians	21%	$95,220
Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories	10.9%	$87,580
Outpatient Care Centers	5%	$127,940
Employment Services	1.8%	$100,920
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals	1%	$104,770

Private employers and government
Employer type	Jobs	Median pay
Private employers	82,450	$96,730
State government (incl. schools and hospitals)	2,480	$101,960
Local government (incl. schools and hospitals)	5,230	$88,920

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

Ultrasound Technician pay over time

Median annual pay, 2015–2025

$96.6K $69.0K

2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025

Nominal median (dollars of each year)In May 2025 dollars (adjusted with CPI-U)

The median rose from $68,970 in 2015 to $96,590 in 2025, up 40% in nominal dollars. After inflation, the 2015 median is worth $93,234 in May 2025 dollars, so real pay grew 4% over the period.

BLS OEWS, May 2025 and earlier May releases; inflation from the CPI-U, US city average, May of each year.

What ultrasound technicians do

An ultrasound technician, officially a diagnostic medical sonographer, uses a handheld transducer and high-frequency sound waves to make live images of organs, blood vessels and pregnancies. Unlike x-ray work, the image depends on the scanner's hand: the sonographer decides where to press, which angles to try and which frames to save, and adjusts the machine while watching the screen.

Ultrasound techs scan abdomens for gallstones and liver disease, check pregnancies for growth and anatomy, look at thyroids and breast lumps, and trace leg veins for clots. They save the key images, measure what they see and give the radiologist or other physician a summary of their technical findings. The physician makes the diagnosis.

About 57.7% of sonographers in our data work in general hospitals, and most of the rest work in physicians' offices, imaging centers and outpatient clinics. Many specialize in abdominal, OB/GYN, breast, vascular or cardiac imaging. The job means hours of reaching and pressing with one arm, often in a dim room, with patients who range from excited parents to people in the emergency department.

A typical day

Check the order and ask about symptoms, past scans and pregnancy history
Position the patient, apply gel and scan with the transducer from several angles
Adjust depth, gain and Doppler settings until the organ or vessel shows clearly
Measure structures, save the key images and flag anything that looks abnormal
Extend the exam when a finding calls for more views, within the protocol
Write a technical summary for the interpreting physician and answer questions within scope
Clean the probes and room, and log the study in the imaging system

Also called: ultrasound tech, sonographer, diagnostic medical sonographer, ultrasound technologist, sonography, cardiovascular sonographer, echo tech (echocardiographic technician), echosonographer technologist (echo technologist).

How to become an ultrasound technician

Full guide

To become an ultrasound tech, you complete an accredited sonography program, usually a 2-year associate degree, or a shorter certificate (often around 18 months) if you already have a degree, then pass the ARDMS SPI exam and a specialty exam to earn RDMS. Most people take 2 to 4 years in total.

Typical time: 2-3 years; Fastest: About 18 months (certificate after a prior degree)
Minimum education: Associate degree or certificate from an accredited diagnostic medical sonography program
License: Not licensed in most states; a few states require a sonographer license. Employers almost always require certification.
Typical training cost: $9.9K–$42.5K; See the guide for what it includes

Read the step-by-step guide to becoming an ultrasound technician: 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: 2-3 years; Typical path in our guide
Training cost: $9.9K–$42.5K; Tuition and exam fees, before aid
Median pay: $96,590; $45,610 above the all-jobs median ($50,980)
Cost vs. one year's pay: 10–44%; Training cost as a share of a year at the median

Once qualified, the pay difference over the typical US job at the median ($45,610 a year before tax) would repay the training cost in less than a year after training ends (2-3 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 ultrasound technicians

BLS Employment Projections 2025–35

Projected growth: +13.9%; All occupations +3.5%
Jobs in 2025: 92,200; 105,100 projected for 2035
Openings each year: 6,000; New jobs plus replacements
Self-employed: 1.1%; Not in the pay figures above

BLS projects sonographer jobs to grow 13.9% from 2025 to 2035, from 92,200 to 105,100. That is about four times the 3.5% rate for all occupations. About 6,000 openings a year are expected, including replacements for sonographers who retire or leave.

BLS gives two reasons. Ultrasound keeps finding new uses across medical specialties, so more physicians order scans. And an older population means more conditions to diagnose, such as tumors, that sonographers help physicians find.

Related careers and their pay

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

Ultrasound Technician salary FAQ

How much do ultrasound technicians make an hour?

The median hourly wage for ultrasound technicians was $46.44 in May 2025. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $32.60 an hour and the highest-paid 10% more than $62.20. Hourly figures are BLS estimates for all workers in the occupation, full-time and part-time.

Which state pays ultrasound technicians the most?

California has the highest median pay for ultrasound technicians, $128,530 a year, followed by Hawaii ($124,430) and Washington ($121,340). After adjusting for each state's price level, Oregon comes out ahead at about $116,311 in national-average dollars.

Do ultrasound technicians make six figures?

Some do: based on the BLS percentiles, between 25% and 50% of ultrasound technicians earn more than $100,000 a year. The median is $96,590, and the top 10% earn more than $129,370. Pay generally rises with experience, specialization and location.

Is an ultrasound tech the same as a sonographer?

Yes. Ultrasound technician, ultrasound tech and ultrasound technologist are common job-ad names for a diagnostic medical sonographer, the title BLS uses. Credentials from ARDMS add letters such as RDMS (general sonography), RDCS (cardiac) or RVT (vascular). Cardiac sonographers are counted by BLS with cardiovascular technologists, not with this group.

Where do ultrasound techs earn the most?

By state, California, Hawaii, Washington and Oregon have the highest medians in our data. By setting, outpatient care centers stand out with a median of $127,940 against $97,280 in general hospitals and $95,220 in physicians' offices. Local government jobs, a group that includes public hospitals, have a median of $88,920. Outpatient centers employ only about 5% of sonographers, so those jobs are relatively few.

Is being a sonographer hard on your body?

It can be. Scanning means holding the transducer with steady pressure and reaching across patients for long stretches, so shoulder, wrist and neck strain are common complaints. Good habits help: raising or lowering the table, using arm supports and switching hands where possible. You will also spend much of the day on your feet and help move patients who cannot reposition themselves.

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 29-2032
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035, released September 2026
O*NET 31.0 Database (29-2032.00), 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
Diagnostic Medical Sonographers, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked October 28, 2026
Sonography Principles and Instrumentation (SPI), ARDMS / Inteleos · checked October 28, 2026
Abdomen (AB) Exam, ARDMS / Inteleos · checked October 28, 2026
Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN) Exam, ARDMS / Inteleos · checked October 28, 2026
Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program, Vanderbilt University Medical Center · checked October 28, 2026
Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program Accreditation, Bergen Community College · checked October 28, 2026
License Finder, CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor · checked October 28, 2026
Application Fees, American Registry of Radiologic Technologists · checked October 28, 2026
CME Audit Process, ARDMS / Inteleos · checked October 28, 2026
SPI Requirement & Specialty Examination Prerequisites, ARDMS / Inteleos · checked October 28, 2026

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