Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 29-1212

Cardiologists

The published band from $107,190 to $712,130 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Anesthesiologists.

Same-major-group titles next to Cardiologists: Anesthesiologists ($391K) , General Internal Medicine Physicians ($257K) , Physicians, Pathologists ($312K) , Physicians, All Other ($266K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Cardiologists publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 29-1212 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Administer emergency cardiac care for life-threatening heart problems, such as cardiac arrest and heart attack
  2. 2. Advise patients and community members concerning diet, activity, hygiene, or disease prevention
  3. 3. Answer questions that patients have about their health and well-being
  4. 4. Calculate valve areas from blood flow velocity measurements
  5. 5. Compare measurements of heart wall thickness and chamber sizes to standards to identify abnormalities, using the results of an echocardio…
  6. 6. Conduct electrocardiogram (EKG), phonocardiogram, echocardiogram, or other cardiovascular tests to record patients' cardiac activity, usi…
  7. 7. Conduct exercise electrocardiogram tests to monitor cardiovascular activity under stress
  8. 8. Conduct research to develop or test medications, treatments, or procedures that prevent or control disease or injury
  9. 9. Conduct tests of the pulmonary system, using a spirometer or other respiratory testing equipment
  10. 10. Design and explain treatment plans, based on patient information such as medical history, reports, and examination results
  11. 11. Diagnose cardiovascular conditions, using cardiac catheterization
  12. 12. Diagnose medical conditions of patients, using records, reports, test results, or examination information
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$107,190 to $712,130
median $496,010 · ~6.6× spread
$496K
National median
↑ +4%
Growth 2024-2034
600
Annual openings
17,290
Estimated US jobs
Anesthesiologists
Highest-pay peer · $391K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Doctoral or professional degree

Top Paying States for Cardiologists

The OEWS band for Cardiologists runs from $107,190 (10th) to $712,130 (90th), about 6.6× wide, with median $496,010. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +4% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 600 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Doctoral or professional degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Wisconsin at $636,580. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Anesthesiologists at $391,490. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Cardiologists pay-rank #2 in Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations

Among 71 detailed Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations with a published OEWS median, Cardiologists is pay-rank #2, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third titles · closest medians

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations titles sit near Cardiologists at the top of the pay table?
Cardiologists is pay-rank #2 of 71 detailed Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Pediatric Surgeons ($559K), Radiologists ($421K), Surgeons, All Other ($414K), Anesthesiologists ($391K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do cardiologists do day to day?
O*NET lists published task statements for Cardiologists. Leading ones include: Administer emergency cardiac care for life-threatening heart problems, such as cardiac arrest and heart attack; Advise patients and community members concerning diet, activity, hygiene, or disease prevention; Answer questions that patients have about their health and well-being; Calculate valve areas from blood flow velocity measurements. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
How wide is the published pay band for Cardiologists?
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $107,190 and the 90th at $712,130 for Cardiologists (6.6× spread). The national median is $496,010. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Cardiologists?
The 2024-2034 projection for Cardiologists is +4%. Projected annual openings: about 600. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Cardiologists?
BLS assigns Doctoral or professional degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Cardiologists. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Cardiologists?
Wisconsin ($636,580), Washington ($656,330), Kentucky ($558,180) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Cardiologists card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 29-1212. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Cardiologists. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics