Radiologic Technologist Salaries by State (BLS May 2025 Data)

A radiologic technologist in California earns, on average, nearly $59,000 a year more than one in Mississippi for the same registry credential. This guide ranks every state and the District of Columbia by what radiology techs actually earn, using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for May 2025, the newest state-level wage data the government publishes. Every figure is a BLS estimate for the radiologic technologists and technicians occupation, which covers x-ray, CT and other scanning modalities but not sonographers or MRI technologists; nothing here is self-reported or blended from salary sites.

National estimates for radiologic technologists (May 2025)

The BLS counts 230,490 radiologic technologists and technicians employed in the United States. The mean annual wage is $83,840 ($40.31 an hour) and the median is $80,110 ($38.52 an hour). Half of radiology techs earn between $64,810 and $98,750; the top 10% earn more than $118,660.

Which states pay radiology techs the most?

California pays radiologic technologists the most by a wide margin, with a mean annual wage of $117,950: $34,110 above the national mean and $16,000 clear of the next state. Massachusetts and Washington are the only other states above $100,000, and every state in the top ten averages more than $93,000 a year. The ten highest-paying states and D.C.:

1. California: $117,950 a year ($56.71 an hour)
2. Massachusetts: $101,910 a year ($49.00 an hour)
3. Washington: $100,900 a year ($48.51 an hour)
4. Oregon: $99,630 a year ($47.90 an hour)
5. New York: $99,000 a year ($47.60 an hour)
6. District of Columbia: $98,860 a year ($47.53 an hour)
7. Alaska: $96,670 a year ($46.48 an hour)
8. Connecticut: $93,530 a year ($44.97 an hour)
9. New Jersey: $93,240 a year ($44.83 an hour)
10. Hawaii: $93,140 a year ($44.78 an hour)

Which states pay radiology techs the least?

At the other end, Mississippi has the lowest mean radiologic technologist wage at $59,090, and both Mississippi and Alabama sit below the national 25th percentile. The five lowest-paying states:

1. Mississippi: $59,090 a year ($28.41 an hour)
2. Alabama: $60,800 a year ($29.23 an hour)
3. Louisiana: $66,240 a year ($31.84 an hour)
4. Arkansas: $67,880 a year ($32.63 an hour)
5. Tennessee: $68,990 a year ($33.17 an hour)

These are means, not offers. A technologist with ten years in a trauma center and a CT registry in Alabama can out-earn a new graduate in Oregon, and the cost of housing in the highest-paying states eats into the gap (more on that below).

Radiology tech salaries in all 50 states (and D.C.)

Ranked by mean annual wage. "Median" is the annual wage at the midpoint of the state's radiologic technologists, and "Techs employed" is the BLS employment estimate for the state. Each state's name links to our guide to healthcare jobs and pay in that state.

Six places have a median above $100,000: California, Massachusetts, Washington, Oregon, the District of Columbia and Hawaii. In Hawaii the median is $8,560 above the mean, so a typical technologist there earns more than the average suggests. The opposite holds in Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee and Arkansas, where the mean runs $4,000 to $5,700 above the median: a few high earners pull the average up, and the typical paycheck is closer to the median column.

Where the radiology tech jobs are

Pay and headcount rarely line up. California and New York are the only states that are both top-five payers and top-four employers; Texas and Florida, the second- and third-largest employers, sit in the bottom half of the pay table. The six states with the most radiologic technologists:

• California: 20,900 radiologic technologists, mean $117,950
• Texas: 20,250 radiologic technologists, mean $78,060
• Florida: 16,470 radiologic technologists, mean $74,760
• New York: 13,450 radiologic technologists, mean $99,000
• Ohio: 9,570 radiologic technologists, mean $76,890
• North Carolina: 9,250 radiologic technologists, mean $74,770

Those six states employ about 89,900 radiologic technologists, nearly two in five of the country's total. Browse the openings on our board for radiology tech jobs in California, Texas, Florida and New York, or every radiologic technologist job we list.

Top-paying industries for radiology techs

Setting matters as much as geography. National mean annual wages for radiologic technologists and technicians by industry, May 2025:

Radiography is a hospital profession: general medical and surgical hospitals employ nearly three in five radiologic technologists and pay right at the national mean. Physician offices are the second-largest setting and pay about $8,600 less than hospitals; free-standing imaging centers, counted under medical and diagnostic laboratories, sit between the two. The federal government and outpatient care centers pay the most of the settings that hire in volume, about $15,000 above the hospital mean, and outpatient centers are the larger of the two with more than 16,000 technologists.

Job outlook for radiologic technologists

The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook groups radiologic and MRI technologists together: 278,100 jobs in 2025, of which about 234,200 are radiologic technologists and technicians, with employment projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the average for all occupations, adding 15,100 jobs. Including replacements for technologists who change occupations or retire, the BLS projects about 15,300 openings a year over the decade. The typical entry-level education is an associate's degree, and most states require radiologic technologists to be licensed or certified, generally by graduating from an accredited program and either passing a state exam or holding a recognized certification; employers often require certification even where the state does not. By setting, the BLS reports that 60% of radiologic technologists work in hospitals, 17% in physician offices, 7% in medical and diagnostic laboratories, 7% in outpatient care centers and 3% for the federal government.

The same handbook puts the May 2025 median for MRI technologists at $95,480, about $15,000 above the radiologic technologist median, which is why the MRI registry is the most common next step for a working radiographer. Our board lists MRI technologist jobs and CT technologist jobs separately from general radiography.

What the numbers don't tell you

• Cost of living. BLS wages are gross pay, not adjusted for housing or taxes. California, Massachusetts, Washington, New York, the District of Columbia and Hawaii lead the pay table and are also among the most expensive places to live; Arizona, Colorado and Minnesota sit in the top 20 with cheaper housing. Compare what is left after rent or a mortgage, not the headline figure.
• Modality and registry. The occupation covers x-ray, CT and other scanning modalities in one estimate. A second registry in CT, mammography or interventional radiography moves a technologist up within the state's range, and the MRI figure above shows how much a modality change is worth nationally.
• Setting and shift. The industry table above is national; the same spread between an outpatient center and a community hospital exists inside every state, and night, weekend and on-call differentials are inside these averages. A night-shift technologist in a mid-ranked state can land well above the state mean.
• Experience. The 10th-to-90th percentile spread at the national level is $55,980 to $118,660. Where you fall in that range depends more on years in the department, the registries you hold and shift than on the state line.
• Licensure. Most states license or certify radiologic technologists, and each does it on its own terms; there is no multistate compact for the profession. Before you take an offer across a state line, check that state's licensing body for its requirements and processing time, and build it into your start date.
• The wider field. The same state-by-state pattern holds across clinical roles: see our guides to respiratory therapist salary by state, physical therapist salary by state and the highest-paying states for nurses.

Sources

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics Profiles, Radiologic Technologists and Technicians (29-2034), May 2025 national, state and industry estimates, read 12 October 2026.
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Radiologic and MRI Technologists, 2025 pay and 2025-35 projections, read 12 October 2026.