EKG Technician Salary in California 2026,
$78,170 Median | BLS Data by City

California cardiovascular technologists and technicians earn a median $78,170 a year, $37.58 an hour, per BLS OEWS May 2025, with the middle half between $66,090 and $124,200 and a full range of $54,720 to $157,470. Because the code covers catheterisation lab technologists as well as EKG technicians, the upper half of that range describes procedural work rather than EKG work.

Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura at $128,530, then Bakersfield-Delano at $106,340, Modesto at $105,400, San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont at $103,060 and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara at $97,590. All five sit above the state median, which indicates their surveyed populations are weighted toward catheterisation lab technologists.

No. California does not license EKG or cardiovascular technicians and no Department of Consumer Affairs board regulates the role. Employers require Cardiovascular Credentialing International certification — the CCT for EKG technicians, the RCIS for invasive work and the RCES for electrophysiology — along with BLS and, for procedural roles, ACLS. California does separately certify fluoroscopy personnel, which is relevant once you move toward the catheterisation lab.

Through the RCIS credential and a hospital that will train you into the role. The usual California route is to work as a monitor or EKG technician while completing an accredited cardiovascular technology programme or an employer-sponsored training pathway, obtain the RCIS, and secure the fluoroscopy permit California requires for personnel operating that equipment. It is the single largest pay step available in this occupation.

Because the statewide row includes large numbers of EKG and monitor technicians in markets BLS does not publish separately, while the published metros happen to be ones where catheterisation lab technologists make up more of the surveyed population. It is a composition effect, not a geographic premium — the honest reading is that the job you do matters far more than the city.

Two occupations with a shared SOC code. At one end, EKG and monitor technicians performing twelve-lead studies, Holter fitting and telemetry surveillance, trained in months and credentialled with the CCT. At the other, invasive cardiovascular technologists scrubbing catheterisation lab cases and supporting electrophysiology and device implantation, trained through accredited programmes and credentialled RCIS or RCES. The $66,090 twenty-fifth percentile and the $124,200 seventy-fifth describe the two ends.

The headline median is not the entry-level rate and is not reachable by seniority alone. Someone entering as an EKG technician should expect the bottom quartile, and the route to the median and above runs through additional accredited education and a different credential, not through experience in the same role. California's location quotient of 0.76 also means the entry-level tier is not expanding — routine monitoring work is increasingly absorbed elsewhere.

They are a large part of the difference between the 75th and 90th percentiles. California catheterisation labs run emergency STEMI call rotations requiring rapid response, and electrophysiology labs run long elective cases. Call stipends, call-back pay at premium rates and shift differentials all stack on base, and because California's 1.3% State Disability Insurance is uncapped they are subject to it in full. Technologists at the $157,470 ninetieth percentile are almost always carrying substantial call.