Sonographer salary by state
The US median sonographer wage was $96,590 a year, or $46.44 an hour, in May 2025.
At a glance
The US median sonographer wage was $96,590 a year, or $46.44 an hour, in May 2025. Sonography pay belongs to the diagnostic medical sonographer category. The figures combine employers and specialties, so they cannot identify the best-paid ultrasound specialty. These are gross wages before deductions, not take-home pay.
- The national median was $96,590 a year in May 2025.
- Compare base wages separately from overtime, benefits and travel stipends.
- Use local written offers to test whether a move makes financial sense.
Sonographer salary by state
California had the highest published state median at $128,530; Alabama had the lowest at $68,180.[1]
Subtracting those published medians gives a $60,350 annual gap. That difference does not adjust for living costs or identify the cause.[1]
Median annual pay ($)
- $68,180 to $82,710
- $82,870 to $87,210
- $91,230 to $99,920
- $100,040 to $103,230
- $103,760 to $128,530
US state tiles colored by median annual wage in May 2025. The table gives the published amounts.
| State | Median hourly pay ($) | Median annual pay ($) | Employment | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $46.44 | $96,590 | 90,160 | — |
| Alabama | $32.78 | $68,180 | 1,510 | — |
| Alaska | $50.81 | $105,670 | 140 | — |
| Arizona | $48.10 | $100,040 | 2,070 | — |
| Arkansas | $39.18 | $81,500 | 640 | — |
| California | $61.79 | $128,530 | 10,110 | — |
| Colorado | $52.12 | $108,410 | 1,430 | — |
| Connecticut | $49.63 | $103,230 | 990 | — |
| Delaware | $47.37 | $98,530 | 220 | — |
| District of Columbia | $53.86 | $112,020 | 160 | — |
| Florida | $39.88 | $82,940 | 6,670 | — |
| Georgia | $40.02 | $83,250 | 2,700 | — |
| Hawaii | $59.82 | $124,430 | 210 | — |
| Idaho | $48.04 | $99,920 | 510 | — |
| Illinois | $48.40 | $100,660 | 3,270 | — |
| Indiana | $40.89 | $85,040 | 1,380 | — |
| Iowa | $41.58 | $86,480 | 740 | — |
| Kansas | $46.30 | $96,310 | 670 | — |
| Kentucky | $43.86 | $91,230 | 940 | — |
| Louisiana | $38.80 | $80,710 | 1,150 | — |
| Maine | $45.78 | $95,230 | 380 | — |
| Maryland | $47.70 | $99,210 | 1,760 | — |
| Massachusetts | $51.67 | $107,480 | 2,190 | — |
| Michigan | $39.66 | $82,490 | 3,100 | — |
| Minnesota | $49.45 | $102,850 | 1,710 | — |
| Mississippi | $36.79 | $76,520 | 700 | — |
| Missouri | $48.14 | $100,130 | 1,930 | — |
| Montana | $48.56 | $101,000 | 230 | — |
| Nebraska | $39.74 | $82,670 | 780 | — |
| Nevada | $46.15 | $95,980 | 640 | — |
| New Hampshire | $49.89 | $103,760 | 400 | — |
| New Jersey | $49.59 | $103,150 | 3,370 | — |
| New Mexico | $41.93 | $87,210 | 410 | — |
| New York | $49.96 | $103,920 | 6,880 | — |
| North Carolina | $41.35 | $86,010 | 2,970 | — |
| North Dakota | $40.55 | $84,340 | 240 | — |
| Ohio | $39.84 | $82,870 | 3,160 | — |
| Oklahoma | $40.23 | $83,670 | 1,060 | — |
| Oregon | $57.80 | $120,220 | 1,210 | — |
| Pennsylvania | $39.77 | $82,710 | 2,980 | — |
| Rhode Island | $44.63 | $92,820 | 380 | — |
| South Carolina | $40.04 | $83,290 | 1,340 | — |
| South Dakota | $38.85 | $80,820 | 370 | — |
| Tennessee | $38.77 | $80,640 | 1,880 | — |
| Texas | $44.51 | $92,580 | 6,960 | — |
| Utah | $48.13 | $100,100 | 740 | — |
| Vermont | $50.05 | $104,100 | 140 | — |
| Virginia | $45.99 | $95,660 | 2,160 | — |
| Washington | $58.34 | $121,340 | 2,190 | — |
| West Virginia | $36.93 | $76,820 | 780 | — |
| Wisconsin | $49.08 | $102,090 | 1,530 | — |
| Wyoming | $48.39 | $100,650 | 90 | — |
| Puerto Rico | $18.31 | $38,090 | 330 | — |
Who gets paid more, a registered nurse or sonographer?
The national median for sonographers was $96,590; for registered nurses, it was $97,550. Both describe May 2025 straight-time wages.[1]
Those national figures do not compare the same people, employers or schedules. Use them to frame a question about local offers, rather than choose an occupation on pay alone.[1]
How to read these wage estimates
The annual wage is a standardized full-time equivalent for occupations reported hourly. A shorter schedule can produce lower annual earnings even when the hourly rate matches the median.[1]
The figures describe the May 2025 wage period, published a year later. They lag the offers available today and should not be treated as current advertised rates.[1]
What these figures leave out
These are straight-time gross wages. They exclude overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and employer-paid benefits, and cannot separate travel contracts or stipends.[1]
The survey covers wage and salary jobs and leaves out self-employed workers. Empty cells mean no usable published estimate, not unpaid work or no jobs.[1]
What this means for your next offer
Match the scanning duties, credential requirements and call schedule before treating another sonography offer as comparable.
Use the state figure as a starting reference, then compare the employer, setting and paid hours. A higher state median alone does not mean a move improves your budget.
Prepare your questions with the salary negotiation guide. Use the paycheck calculator to estimate deductions from a concrete offer.
Data and method
Diagnostic medical sonographers: pay by state, May 2025
Employment and annual pay percentiles for diagnostic medical sonographers (SOC 29-2032) in each state, the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories BLS publishes, with the United States first. All industries, May 2025 estimates.
- Source
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Release
- May 2025 estimates, released May 15, 2026
- Period
- May 2025
- Method
- Rows are BLS's cross-industry estimates (NAICS 000000, detailed occupation 29-2032) from the May 2025 state file (states, the District of Columbia and territories) and national file (the United States row). Figures are copied as published. Cells BLS marks "*" or "**" (estimate not available) or "#" (at or above $115.00 an hour or $239,200 a year) are left empty, and the note column says which. BLS computes annual pay as hourly pay times 2,080 hours where it publishes hourly figures.
- License
- Public domain
- Retrieved
Limits
- Wages are straight-time gross pay. They exclude overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and employer-paid benefits, so they understate total pay for many clinicians; travel and agency pay and stipends cannot be separated.
- Each estimate blends six semiannual survey panels, November 2022 to May 2025, adjusted to May 2025. OEWS is not a time series: BLS advises against comparing years to measure growth.
- Employment counts wage and salary jobs and excludes the self-employed.
- BLS withholds estimates that do not meet its publication standards; those cells are empty, and a state with no estimate at all has a row with every figure empty. Wages at or above $239,200 a year are published only as that floor and are also empty here.
- The figures describe May 2025 and were published May 15, 2026; BLS publishes new estimates once a year.
Sources & approach
Scope: US wage and salary estimates for the stated period, not a quote for an individual job or a promise of earnings. Check the written offer and the applicable employer terms before deciding.
Based on the public sources linked below. Job.com selected and organized the data; no internal company data is used.
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Accessed October 23, 2026
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