Pay for healthcare occupations in the United States, from registered nurses and surgical technologists to nurse practitioners, nurse anaesthetists and the imaging specialisms. All figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, which surveys employers rather than relying on self-reported salaries, and each page shows the median, the percentile range and a breakdown by state. American healthcare is where the relationship between training and pay breaks down most clearly. Radiation therapists, dental hygienists, MRI technologists and ultrasound technicians all earn well above the national median for all occupations on a two-year associate degree, because each role requires a certification that keeps the pool of qualified people small. At the other end, nurse anaesthetists are among the best-paid workers in the country outside medicine itself. Geography matters as much as specialism: the spread between the highest and lowest-paying states within a single occupation is often wider than the gap between two different jobs.
$135,880 Median salary $65.33 Median per hour $190,000+ Top 10% earn Physician assistants earned a median of $135,880 a year, or $65.33 an hour, in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ May 2025 survey, which makes the physician assistant salary in the USA slightly higher than a nurse practitioner’s. The bottom 10% earn about $99,000, while … Read more
$132,300 Median salary $63.61 Median per hour $174,000+ Top 10% earn Nurse practitioners earned a median of $132,300 a year, or $63.61 an hour, in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ May 2025 survey. That puts the nurse practitioner salary in the USA at more than 2.5 times the median for all American jobs ($50,980), without … Read more
Radiation therapists in the USA earn a median of $105,310 a year (BLS, May 2025), one of the best-paid healthcare careers you can reach with a two-year degree.
Respiratory therapists in the USA earn a median of $82,280 a year (BLS, May 2025), with 12% projected job growth. State-by-state pay and why demand keeps rising.
The highest paying healthcare jobs in the USA, ranked by BLS median pay for May 2025, from $236K nurse anesthetists to six-figure roles you can train for in two years.
Surgical technologists in the USA earn a median of $64,650 a year (BLS, May 2025). State-by-state pay, and how CST certification and travel roles push pay past $90K.
MRI technologists in the USA earn a median of $95,480 a year (BLS, May 2025). State-by-state pay, travel and shift premiums, and the ARRT (MR) route in.
Radiologic technologists in the USA earn a median of $80,110 a year. BLS pay by state, and how ARRT modalities like MRI and CT push earnings past $100K.
Ultrasound technicians in the USA earn a median $96,590 a year — high healthcare pay with only a 2-year degree and no medical school. Full breakdown by state for 2026.
Dental hygienists in the USA earn a median of $98,100 a year with a two-year degree. Full breakdown by state, experience and pay structure for 2026.
