What "radiology tech" actually means, and what the role pays
The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks this job under the title "Radiologic Technologists and Technicians," SOC code 29-2034, which is the role most people mean when they search "radiology tech": the person who positions patients and operates x-ray and CT equipment. It is a distinct occupation from Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technologists, who work with different equipment and are tracked separately by BLS under SOC code 29-2035 (median annual wage $95,480 in May 2025, the more recent figure this site's MRI technologist salary guide covers in full), and from radiologists, who are physicians responsible for interpreting images; technologists capture them. Job postings sometimes use these titles loosely, so the wage figure that applies depends on which specific role is being described.
For radiologic technologists and technicians specifically, BLS reported a median annual wage of $80,110 in May 2025. The bottom 10% of earners made less than $55,980 a year, while the top 10% made more than $118,660, a spread of roughly $54,600. The national range does not measure how much of the difference comes from experience, additional credentials, employer or region. This page's Quick Facts box lists a combined hourly figure of $37.97 for the broader "Radiologic and MRI Technologists" grouping (which blends this occupation with the higher-paying MRI technologist role), not a figure specific to radiologic technologists and technicians alone, so it is left out of the numbers above to avoid overstating typical hourly pay for this occupation.
BLS figures are national medians drawn from its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, which collects employer data; other sources rely on self-reported salary submissions the way some job-search sites do. That distinction matters when comparing this page to other sources: a site built on self-reported figures can skew toward workers motivated to report unusually high or low pay, while employer-reported OEWS data reflects actual payroll records across a much larger, more representative sample. BLS does not publish a state-by-state breakdown on this specific page; readers who need per-state or per-metro figures would need the BLS OEWS state wage tables directly, which break the same occupation down by geography.
Reported wage medians by industry
BLS breaks out May 2025 wages by industry, and the differences are large enough to matter when comparing job offers. Federal government employment (excluding the postal service) paid the highest median at $97,490, followed by outpatient care centers at $84,720 and hospitals at $80,650. Medical and diagnostic laboratories paid a median of $78,400, and offices of physicians paid the least of the five categories BLS reports, at $74,540.
The highest and lowest listed industry medians differ by $27,910; federal employers, rather than hospitals, lead this list. BLS does not explain why federal employment ranks highest for this specific role; it publishes the wage-by-industry figures without an accompanying explanation. Those medians do not show that federal pay scales, private-sector pricing or facility size explain the industry differences.
These five categories are the industries BLS separately tracks wages for in this occupation on the Occupational Outlook Handbook page; they do not cover every possible employer type, and wages should not be read as employment shares. The Handbook has a separate Work Environment section; OEWS also provides industry employment estimates. Those are distinct measures from the wage medians listed here.
Licensing and how techs enter the field
Entry-level education for this role is an associate's degree, per BLS, typically from an accredited radiography program that combines classroom instruction with supervised clinical hours. BLS states that most states require radiologic technologists to be licensed or certified, with requirements varying by state, and that the standard path is completing an accredited program and then either passing a state exam or earning certification from a credentialing organization. BLS does not name a specific credentialing body on this page; the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT), which administers the field's primary Radiography (R) credential, is a separately confirmed, real credentialing organization, not a BLS-sourced detail.
Additional qualifications in computed tomography (CT) or mammography can apply to specialized assignments. This profile gives no separate wage estimate for either credential and does not establish a typical pay increase from obtaining one. For readers comparing adjacent diagnostic-imaging careers, ultrasound technologists follow a similarly structured associate-degree-plus-certification path, though sonography uses different equipment and is credentialed through a separate, independently confirmed organization, the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS).
Accredited radiography programs generally run about two years at the associate-degree level, combining classroom coursework in anatomy, patient positioning, radiation physics, and safety with supervised clinical hours in an imaging department. That two-year timeframe reflects the standard length of an associate degree generally, not a figure stated on the BLS page or documented in a specific program-duration source; the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT), the field's program-accreditation body, publishes accreditation award terms (how long a program's accreditation itself stays valid), which is a different thing from how long the program takes a student to complete. This is a formally licensed or certified occupation in most states, not a role someone can be trained into purely on the job, which is why BLS lists "none" for additional on-the-job training beyond the associate degree and clinical training already built into an accredited program.
Job outlook and how this compares to other allied health pay
BLS projects 5% employment growth for radiologic technologists and technicians from 2025 to 2035, faster than the roughly 3% average projected across all occupations, adding an estimated 11,800 jobs over the decade. The broader category that includes MRI technologists is projected to grow faster still, at 5%, with about 15,400 combined openings expected each year on average, reflecting continued demand for diagnostic imaging tied to an aging population and rising rates of chronic disease.
For context on where this occupation sits within allied health pay generally, another growing licensed field, physical therapy, carries a median annual wage of $102,760, roughly $25,000 above radiologic technology. Physical therapy usually requires a doctoral degree (DPT), while radiologic technology typically requires an associate degree. These entry categories do not establish education as the principal cause of their wage difference or measure program cost. Neither figure predicts what a specific person will earn; both describe national medians for occupations with real variation by state, employer, and specialty certification. This site's surgical tech salary guide covers BLS wage data and job outlook for another allied health role. At the opposite end of that allied-health-to-physician pay spectrum, psychiatrists post a $281,870 BLS median, for an occupation that requires medical education and specialty training; the wage estimate does not measure the contribution of that training.
BLS attributes projected growth in this occupation mainly to demographic trends: an aging population that needs more diagnostic imaging for conditions like falls, fractures, and chronic disease, combined with continued reliance on x-ray and CT imaging as a first-line diagnostic tool across emergency medicine, orthopedics, and primary care. That is a demand-side projection about the healthcare system as a whole, not a forecast about any individual technologist's job security, employer, or pay trajectory, and readers evaluating a specific offer should weigh it alongside local job market conditions rather than as a standalone guarantee.
Radiography in the imaging wage ladder
Pair with MRI vs radiology tech salary and ultrasound tech salary.