Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Above-baseline growth SOC 29-2032

Diagnostic Medical Sonographers

Projected +13% employment change leads this card; pay sits next to Pediatric Surgeons, Psychiatrists, Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Anesthesiologists.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Diagnostic Medical Sonographers: Pediatric Surgeons ($559K) , Psychiatrists ($282K) , Obstetricians and Gynecologists ($293K) , Anesthesiologists ($391K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Diagnostic Medical Sonographers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 29-2032 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Observe screen during scan to ensure that image produced is satisfactory for diagnostic purposes, making adjustments to equipment as requ…
  2. 2. Observe and care for patients throughout examinations to ensure their safety and comfort
  3. 3. Provide sonogram and oral or written summary of technical findings to physician for use in medical diagnosis
  4. 4. Select appropriate equipment settings and adjust patient positions to obtain the best sites and angles
  5. 5. Operate ultrasound equipment to produce and record images of the motion, shape, and composition of blood, organs, tissues, or bodily mass…
  6. 6. Decide which images to include, looking for differences between healthy and pathological areas
  7. 7. Prepare patient for exam by explaining procedure, transferring patient to ultrasound table, scrubbing skin and applying gel, and position…
  8. 8. Determine whether scope of exam should be extended, based on findings
  9. 9. Obtain and record accurate patient history, including prior test results or information from physical examinations
  10. 10. Maintain records that include patient information, sonographs and interpretations, files of correspondence, publications and regulations…
  11. 11. Record and store suitable images, using camera unit connected to the ultrasound equipment
  12. 12. Process and code film from procedures and complete appropriate documentation

Diagnostic Medical Sonographers: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 29-2032 - lead skill Active Listening at 3.9 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 3.9
  2. 2. Reading Comprehension 3.8
  3. 3. Speaking 3.8
  4. 4. Social Perceptiveness 3.8
  5. 5. Critical Thinking 3.5
  6. 6. Monitoring 3.5
  7. 7. Active Learning 3.4
  8. 8. Time Management 3.4

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 4.5
  2. 2. English Language 4.1
  3. 3. Physics 3.7
  4. 4. Medicine and Dentistry 3.6
  5. 5. Administrative 3.3
  6. 6. Computers and Electronics 3.3
Projected employment change 2024-2034
↑ +13%
much faster than average (3.1%)
National median $96,590/yr
$97K
National median
5,800
Annual openings
90,160
Estimated US jobs
Pediatric Surgeons
Highest-pay peer · $559K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Associate's degree

Top Paying States for Diagnostic Medical Sonographers

1. Oregon $120,220
2. New York $103,920
3. Vermont $104,100
4. Alaska $105,670
5. Massachusetts $107,480
6. Washington $121,340
7. Colorado $108,410
8. Hawaii $124,430
9. California $128,530
10. District of Columbia $112,020

Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations titles

  1. 1. Pediatric Surgeons $559,030
  2. 2. Psychiatrists $281,870
  3. 3. Obstetricians and Gynecologists $292,910
  4. 4. Anesthesiologists $391,490
  5. 5. Cardiologists $496,010
  6. 6. Emergency Medicine Physicians $335,550

BLS projects +13% employment change for Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (2024-2034), much faster than average vs the all-occupations baseline of 3.1%. Published median pay is $96,590.

BLS assigns Associate's degree as typical entry education. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal employer rules. 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: Oregon at $120,220. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Pediatric Surgeons at $559,030. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Diagnostic Medical Sonographers pay-rank #41 in Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations

Diagnostic Medical Sonographers sits at pay-rank #41 of 71 detailed Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

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

SOC 29-2032 · national median $96,590 · middle third of Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations (#41/71). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Diagnostic Medical Sonographers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 29-2032

Oregon · top state for Diagnostic Medical Sonographers

$120K published median

New York · #2 state pay

$104K · behind Oregon

Pediatric Surgeons

Highest-pay peer vs Diagnostic Medical Sonographers · $559K

Psychiatrists

Lower-pay peer beside Diagnostic Medical Sonographers · $282K

Compare Diagnostic Medical Sonographers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Diagnostic Medical Sonographers with another occupation →

Growth and outlook next reads

Fastest-Growing Rankings

National projection leaders

Highest-Paying Careers

Where growth meets pay

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Diagnostic Medical Sonographers mid-table among Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #41 of 71 detailed Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Audiologists ($96K), Registered Nurses ($98K), Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists ($95K), Speech-Language Pathologists ($98K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do diagnostic medical sonographers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Diagnostic Medical Sonographers. Leading ones include: Observe screen during scan to ensure that image produced is satisfactory for diagnostic purposes, making adjustments to equipment as requ…; Observe and care for patients throughout examinations to ensure their safety and comfort; Provide sonogram and oral or written summary of technical findings to physician for use in medical diagnosis; Select appropriate equipment settings and adjust patient positions to obtain the best sites and angles. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for diagnostic medical sonographers? ▼
For SOC 29-2032, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (3.9), Reading Comprehension (3.8), Speaking (3.8), Social Perceptiveness (3.8). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Physics. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Diagnostic Medical Sonographers? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $96,590 as the national median for Diagnostic Medical Sonographers. The published 10th-90th range is $67,820 to $129,370. Beside Pediatric Surgeons ($559,030), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
How fast is Diagnostic Medical Sonographers projected to grow? ▼
BLS Employment Projections put Diagnostic Medical Sonographers at +13% change for 2024-2034, with about 5,800 annual openings. Versus the all-occupations baseline (3.1%): much faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Diagnostic Medical Sonographers? ▼
BLS assigns Associate's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Diagnostic Medical Sonographers. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Diagnostic Medical Sonographers? ▼
Oregon ($120,220), New York ($103,920), Vermont ($104,100) 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 Diagnostic Medical Sonographers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 29-2032. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Diagnostic Medical Sonographers. 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