1
Median pay
$77,660
Median annual pay for Radiologic Technologist.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2024
A relatively short healthcare training path with strong current vacancy pressure and multiple specialty ladders such as CT and MRI.
A relatively short healthcare training path with strong current vacancy pressure and multiple specialty ladders such as CT and MRI.
The measurable baseline is $77,660 median pay, 4.3% projected employment change from 2024 to 2034, and about 12,900 annual openings. Those figures establish the national baseline; the occupation-specific evidence on this page is what makes the decision more useful than a generic profile.
The national median-pay figure in the current ChooseField dataset is $77,660. The 2024 self-employed share is 0.4%, which matters because self-employment can make outcomes less uniform across workers. A national median is a benchmark, not a personal forecast: experience, geography, employer type, specialty, credentials, and hours can move actual compensation materially.
BLS data in the ChooseField corpus put 2024 employment at 228,000 and projected 2034 employment at 237,800. That corresponds to 4.3% projected growth over the decade. BLS projects about 12,900 openings per year, including growth and replacement demand. This distinction matters when people ask whether a field is oversaturated: growth measures whether the occupation itself is getting larger, while annual openings also reflect people retiring, changing occupations, or leaving roles that must be refilled.
BLS lists the typical entry education as Associate's degree. Treat this entry path like an investment: compare the time and cost required to enter with the pay, annual openings, and alternatives available at a similar training level.
Radiography vacancy rate. The headline figure is 15.6%. ASRT 2025 vacancy rate, still elevated. Source: ASRT (2025).
CT vacancy rate. The headline figure is 19.4%. All-time high CT vacancy rate in the 2025 ASRT survey. Source: ASRT (2025).
MRI vacancy rate. The headline figure is 17.4%. MRI vacancy rate reported in the 2025 ASRT survey. Source: ASRT (2025).
Radiologic technology has a relatively short entry path and unusually direct vacancy evidence. ASRT's vacancy rates across radiography, CT, and MRI strengthen the demand case, while also reminding you that this is hands-on clinical work.
This field is a stronger fit if the required education and licensure are acceptable and you value a labor market anchored in direct care or clinical services.
Before choosing Radiologic Technologist, compare it with Diagnostic Medical Sonographer, Registered Nurse, Dental Hygienist. The purpose is not to find a universal winner; it is to see how pay, training time, annual openings, work setting, and field-specific risks change when you move to an adjacent option.
A relatively short healthcare training path with strong current vacancy pressure and multiple specialty ladders such as CT and MRI. The measurable baseline is $77,660 median pay, 4.3% projected 2024–34 employment change, about 12,900 annual openings, and a typical entry path of Associate's degree.
The national median in the current ChooseField dataset is $77,660. Treat that as a benchmark rather than an expected starting salary; actual compensation varies by experience, location, employer, specialty, credentials, and hours.
Compare Radiologic Technologist with Diagnostic Medical Sonographer, Registered Nurse on pay, training time, openings, working conditions, and occupation-specific evidence rather than relying on one score.
Compare Radiologic Technologist with Diagnostic Medical Sonographer, Registered Nurse on pay, training time, openings, working conditions, and occupation-specific evidence rather than relying on one score.
National pay and employment projections come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Other sources are linked on their cards.