How much do radiologists make in 2026?
Radiologists earn a national median of $420,860 a year ($202.34 an hour) per BLS OEWS May 2025 (SOC 29-1224). The 25th percentile is $216,800 and the 90th percentile reaches $594,410, while the reported 10th percentile of $89,010 reflects residents and fellows counted inside the same occupational code rather than any attending-level post. Practice model explains most of the real spread: academic departments pay below private radiology groups, teleradiology has made night and weekend coverage a priced commodity, and interventional radiologists carry procedural income that diagnostic-only colleagues do not. Employment growth is 2.7% through 2034 with roughly 800 openings a year, on a base constrained by residency capacity. → Full radiologist career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $420,860 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Radiologists earn a national median $420,860/yr ($202.34/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 29-1224); the P10 to P90 range is $89,010 to $594,410.
- Read the $216,800 25th percentile as the realistic attending floor: the published $89,010 P10 reflects residents and fellows sharing the same occupational code.
- Practice model drives the spread — academic departments sit lowest, private groups highest, and teleradiology has turned overnight coverage into separately priced work.
- Employment growth is only 2.7% through 2034 with roughly 800 openings a year, so imaging-volume growth per radiologist, not headcount, is what shapes the market.
US Radiologist Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do radiologists earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 29-1224; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 29-1224, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a radiologist earn at each career stage?
Radiology has no licence tiers above board certification, so the stages below follow the training-to-partnership arc that the wide OEWS distribution reflects. Each median is anchored to the BLS distribution for SOC 29-1224.
By State
Which states pay radiologists the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates — the BLS national median scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index — not BLS state observations. Radiology is the specialty where geography matters least: remote reading means a group in one state can serve hospitals in several, and the highest-paying radiology posts are often in markets that struggle to recruit on site.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($483,990), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
radiologist pay by state — all 17 state guides
By Metro
Which cities pay radiologists the most?
Modeled metro estimates: the national median scaled by the state wage index and then by the published metro index. For a specialty with substantial remote reading these should be treated as illustrative wage levels, not BLS metropolitan-area observations.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a radiologist’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does radiologist pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Radiologists sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify radiologist wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a radiologist actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Radiologist Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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