What Is the Radiologist Salary In the United States in 2024?

Medscape’s 2024 report suggests that radiologists take the 6th place in terms of the highest-paying medical specialties and earn around $498,000 yearly.

Still, a lot goes into the average range of the salary, with your own experience and the location where you work playing a significant factor in determining it.

Further, compensation specialists at Physicians Thrive can help radiologists earn their just compensation. Contact us today to start reaching your financial goals.

That being said, let’s answer the question right away.

What Is the Average Radiologist Salary?

According to Medscape’s 2024 report, radiologists in the United States earn an average of $498,000 per year, which is $15,000 more in comparison to the $483,000 average of the previous year. Here are some additional sources, some of which show even higher salaries:

• Payscale (2024): $353,247
• Salary.com (2024): $465,390
• Doximity (2024): $531,983
• ZipRecruiter (2024): $344,970

As you can see, salaries vary significantly. The considerable change in the national average salary is due to various factors like location, years of experience, incentives, and bonuses. Overall, there’s been a 3% increase in the salary compared to last year.

In 2024, 57% of radiologists feel like they’re well compensated, making them the 6th from the top in the “happiness with pay” list compared to healthcare professionals of other specialties.

Still, 42% of radiologists add more hours to their primary job or a secondary job to increase their income.

Radiologist Gender Pay Gap

In 2024, no official data from Medscape was released regarding the radiologist pay gap. However, in 2022, the pay gap was a considerable 25%, which was reduced to 19% in 2023.

In other words, it’s definitely still there in 2024; we just don’t have the official numbers yet.

Radiologist Salary Per State

According to Medality’s 2024 report, here are the highest-paying states where radiologists receive the most income:

State	Annual Salary	Hourly Wage
New York	$409,782	$197.01
Pennsylvania	$375,232	$180.40
New Hampshire	$366,923	$176.41
New Jersey	$361,359	$173.73
Wyoming	$357,458	$171.86
Washington	$356,971	$171.62
Wisconsin	$354,412	$170.39
Massachusetts	$354,403	$170.39
Alaska	$353,475	$169.94
Oregon	$350,612	$168.56

And here are the bottom 10:

State	Annual Salary	Hourly Wage
Idaho	$295,590	$142.11
Louisiana	$295,401	$142.02
Oklahoma	$294,971	$141.81
Texas	$293,064	$140.90
North Carolina	$291,836	$140.31
West Virginia	$289,796	$139.33
Kentucky	$281,024	$135.11
Michigan	$280,371	$134.79
Florida	$274,889	$132.16
Arkansas	$266,703	$128.22

Factors That Affect a Radiologist’s Salary

As we mentioned earlier, these salary surveys show a wide range of compensation data for the job title of a radiologist in healthcare today.

Here are some factors that can increase or decrease the radiologist compensation:

Years of Experience

As to be expected, the more experience that a radiologist gains, the more money they can earn each year they traverse their career path.

An entry-level radiologist starts earning a salary in residency, although it is much lower than the average yearly salary they will earn once they begin to practice.

According to Medscape’s 2023 report, residents make an average of $67,400 per year. However, this salary will increase slightly with each completed year of residency, reaching up to $74,000.

As radiologists bank years of practice and gain experience with computed tomography and other diagnostic imaging methods, they will see their annual earnings steadily rise.

Geographic Location

Another factor affecting the radiologist salaries is the region in which they practice. The cost of living and the demand for radiologists in the area will affect their salaries.

According to ZipRecruiter, the top-paying states for radiologist jobs are metropolitan areas like New York, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire. The lowest-paying states are Michigan, Florida, and Arkansas.

Related: Where Are Radiologists in the Most Demand?

Type of Practice

Doximity’s 2023 Physician Compensation Report shows that physicians as a whole make more money working for single-specialty practices, followed by multi-specialty groups, solo practices, and then hospitals.

This same report shows that academic, urgent care and government positions are paying the least.

Radiologists and Their Student Loan Debt

Beyond salary, debt is another factor that impacts a radiologist’s financial status.

One of the largest debts that physicians deal with is their student loans. With over a decade spent in medical school, tuition piles up fast, and radiologists are not exempt from the cost.

According to Medscape’s Wealth and Debt Report, 21% of radiologists are still paying off their student loans.

Finding a better way to pay down this debt can do much to relieve financial and emotional stress.

Read our guide on medical student loans for tips on managing debt and paying it back.

Subspecialties in Radiology

Subspecialty	Average Annual Salary
Pediatric Radiology	$326,103
Interventional Radiology	$521,700
Neuroradiology	$530,654

There are several subspecialties available to radiologists. Each of the following subspecialties earns a different annual salary.

Pediatric Radiology

Radiologists who subspecialize in pediatrics will most certainly take a pay cut. Comparably, it shows that your cut in pay won’t be quite so drastic. The compensation data for pediatric radiologists shows the average annual salary as $326,103.

Salary.com suggests that the drop will be even less, dropping the salary from Medscape’s $498,000 average to $410,009.

With that being said, there is no substitute for passion in your daily work. If you feel like you are answering your calling by working with children, a slight pay difference won’t mean much.

Interventional Radiology

The highest-earning subspecialty in radiology is interventional radiology. This job title involves using medical imaging, such as X-rays, to make diagnoses and find non-invasive surgical treatments. This subspecialty is not to be confused with a radiographer or radiologic technologist.

While these providers are trained to use highly complicated medical imaging equipment, only interventional radiologists can interpret the results shown on the images. Full-time interventional radiologists can earn an average of $521,700, according to Salary.com.

Neuroradiology

Another radiological subspecialty covered on Salary.com is neuroradiology. Neuroradiologists specialize in using technology to diagnose problems in the brain, head, neck, and spine.

This subspecialty is said to earn a much lower salary than the preceding two subspecialties. Salary.com lists the average salary for neuroradiology as $530,654.

Additional Ways to Increase Your Salary as a Radiologist

Beyond experience, location, and type of practice, a radiologist can take actions that will further increase their income:

Open Your Own Practice

For many physicians, the goal is to one day open their own practice. Physician offices are a tried-and-true strategy for earning more money as a physician.

If you are looking to open your own practice, we can help. Read our article to get started.

Buy Your Office Building

Once you have your own practice, you are a business owner. And as a business owner, you need some business savvy.

One smart business move for self-employed radiologists is to own a building with space for their practice and then make money by renting out the additional office space. This turns what would normally be an expense into income.

Hire PAs and NPs

It is also wise to hire a physician assistant and nurse practitioners to help carry some of the workload.

These professionals are less expensive to hire than other radiologists but can still help with many less intense tasks.

Develop a Niche Skill Set

Whether you own your own practice or not, it is always wise to develop a niche in your specialty. One such niche that has risen in popularity recently is teleradiology.

Of course, it helps to stay up to date on the newest technology and procedures in radiology.

Take Advantage of Bonuses

If you are an employed radiologist, do your best to take advantage of any incentives and bonuses offered by your employer.

According to Medscape, radiologists can earn an average of $80,000 more per year just from incentives.

One bonus that many physicians miss out on is the signing bonus. You can negotiate a signing bonus to be included in your employment contract, and we show you how here: How to Ask for a Signing Bonus on Your Physician Contract.

Final Words

As The Reading Room pointed out, “You don’t get paid what you’re worth; you get paid what you negotiate.”

However, knowing what you are worth and what can increase your worth certainly helps, and we’ve done our best to deliver as much information on that topic as possible.

It also helps to have a team of compensation specialists behind you while you make career moves to improve your financial situation. That’s where we come in. Call Physicians Thrive today for help managing every aspect of your financial journey.

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