Cardiologist Salary by State (2025 BLS Data)

Cardiology consistently ranks among the best-compensated fields in medicine, and the federal wage data bears that out. The specialty combines a heavy chronic-disease burden — an aging population with more heart failure, more atrial fibrillation, more structural disease — with procedures and imaging that reimburse well. Demand is national, but pay is decidedly local.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program (May 2025), cardiologists in the United States earn an annual mean wage of $454,940 and an annual median wage of $496,010. The median is the midpoint — half earn more, half earn less — and it is usually the safer "typical" reference because the mean gets pulled around by the highest earners.

The table below breaks the same May 2025 BLS OEWS dataset down by state.

Rank	State	Annual mean wage
1	Nebraska	$627,390
2	Georgia	$616,040
3	Washington	$562,160
4	Tennessee	$551,190
5	Wisconsin	$549,880
6	Missouri	$523,380
7	Kentucky	$522,350
8	Ohio	$493,580
9	Pennsylvania	$492,490
10	Illinois	$484,120
11	Indiana	$474,380
12	Alabama	$471,790
13	Virginia	$446,630
14	New York	$437,490
15	Connecticut	$416,360
16	Florida	$406,400
17	Texas	$386,680
18	Maryland	$380,510
19	Michigan	$354,940
20	Rhode Island	$344,820
21	New Jersey	$325,020
22	Iowa	$306,670
23	California	$296,940

Figures are U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS annual mean wages, May 2025 (23 states/territories with published data; BLS suppresses states with samples too small to publish, and those are omitted rather than estimated).

What moves the numbers

The invasive/non-invasive split drives the spread. A general non-invasive cardiologist reading echoes in the clinic and an interventionalist taking STEMI call live in different compensation worlds, and the state averages blend both. Markets with cath-lab coverage gaps pay aggressively for proceduralists, while imaging-heavy outpatient roles track closer to the state baseline.

Local demand beats national averages. A state's figure reflects how hard its employers are competing for a limited pool. Shortage markets — often rural or rapidly growing — pay above trend and sweeten offers with bonuses and loan repayment the survey can't see.

Cost of living reshapes the ranking. Several states near the top of nominal-wage tables fall in real terms once housing and taxes are counted, and vice versa. Run any two states through our cost-of-living comparison before you conclude one offer is bigger.

Who employs you matters. Health-system employment, independent or democratic groups, academic medicine, and staffing arrangements each price the same specialty differently — in cash, in upside, and in risk.

See who's hiring. Browse open Cardiology roles on VitalPost — free for clinicians, and pay is shown on a listing whenever the employer posts it.

How to read these numbers

A few caveats keep this table useful instead of misleading.

Median first, mean second. The mean is sensitive to a small number of very high earners; the median is the midpoint and usually the better proxy for a typical offer. Read both to understand the spread in your market.

One number, many jobs. Each state figure blends employers, settings, and experience levels — a first-year attending and a 25-year veteran, a rural solo practice and a flagship academic center — into a single average. Expect your own market position to move you off the line.

The survey measures wages, not packages. Bonuses, productivity incentives, call stipends, benefits, retirement match, paid time off, and loan repayment sit outside OEWS. Evaluate offers on total value.

Self-employment is invisible here. Partnership income and 1099 arrangements are not fully captured, which is one reason real-world compensation in some markets runs above what a wage survey suggests. When you negotiate, pair this federal baseline with specialty compensation surveys and real numbers from colleagues — the BLS data tells you the neighborhood; your diligence prices the house.

References

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025.
• BLS OEWS: Cardiologists — the occupation series behind the table above.