Diagnostic Medical Sonographers salary
SOC 29-2032 · BLS OEWS May 2025
What the range looks like
A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.
- 10th
- $67,820
- 25th
- $80,430
- Median
- $96,590
- 75th
- $106,930
- 90th
- $129,370
Getting in
- Typical education to enter
- Associate's degree
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- None
Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.
Where diagnostic medical sonographers earn the most
Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | State | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $128,530 | 110.7 | 10,110 | 0.96× |
| 2 | Hawaii | $124,430 | 110.0 | 210 | 0.57× |
| 3 | Washington | $121,340 | 107.0 | 2,190 | 1.06× |
| 4 | Oregon | $120,220 | 103.4 | 1,210 | 1.06× |
| 5 | District of Columbia | $112,020 | 109.9 | 160 | 0.40× |
| 6 | Colorado | $108,410 | 103.1 | 1,430 | 0.86× |
| 7 | Massachusetts | $107,480 | 105.8 | 2,190 | 1.04× |
| 8 | Alaska | $105,670 | 102.4 | 140 | 0.77× |
| 9 | Vermont | $104,100 | 98.0 | 140 | 0.81× |
| 10 | New York | $103,920 | 107.9 | 6,880 | 1.22× |
| 11 | New Hampshire | $103,760 | 104.2 | 400 | 1.01× |
| 12 | Connecticut | $103,230 | 103.6 | 990 | 1.01× |
| 13 | New Jersey | $103,150 | 108.8 | 3,370 | 1.35× |
| 14 | Minnesota | $102,850 | 98.6 | 1,710 | 1.00× |
| 15 | Wisconsin | $102,090 | 94.1 | 1,530 | 0.90× |
| 16 | Montana | $101,000 | 94.6 | 230 | 0.79× |
| 17 | Illinois | $100,660 | 100.0 | 3,270 | 0.93× |
| 18 | Wyoming | $100,650 | 92.7 | 90 | 0.53× |
| 19 | Missouri | $100,130 | 90.8 | 1,930 | 1.13× |
| 20 | Utah | $100,100 | 98.9 | 740 | 0.73× |
| 21 | Arizona | $100,040 | 100.7 | 2,070 | 1.10× |
| 22 | Idaho | $99,920 | 95.5 | 510 | 1.02× |
| 23 | Maryland | $99,210 | 105.0 | 1,760 | 1.10× |
| 24 | Delaware | $98,530 | 99.8 | 220 | 0.78× |
| 25 | Kansas | $96,310 | 90.1 | 670 | 0.80× |
| 26 | Nevada | $95,980 | 100.0 | 640 | 0.71× |
| 27 | Virginia | $95,660 | 101.1 | 2,160 | 0.91× |
| 28 | Maine | $95,230 | 97.0 | 380 | 1.03× |
| 29 | Rhode Island | $92,820 | 102.3 | 380 | 1.31× |
| 30 | Texas | $92,580 | 97.1 | 6,960 | 0.85× |
| 31 | Kentucky | $91,230 | 90.2 | 940 | 0.81× |
| 32 | New Mexico | $87,210 | 92.2 | 410 | 0.80× |
| 33 | Iowa | $86,480 | 87.8 | 740 | 0.81× |
| 34 | North Carolina | $86,010 | 94.3 | 2,970 | 1.04× |
| 35 | Indiana | $85,040 | 93.3 | 1,380 | 0.74× |
| 36 | North Dakota | $84,340 | 89.0 | 240 | 0.98× |
| 37 | Oklahoma | $83,670 | 87.8 | 1,060 | 1.07× |
| 38 | South Carolina | $83,290 | 93.7 | 1,340 | 1.00× |
| 39 | Georgia | $83,250 | 96.3 | 2,700 | 0.95× |
| 40 | Florida | $82,940 | 103.4 | 6,670 | 1.16× |
| 41 | Ohio | $82,870 | 92.8 | 3,160 | 0.98× |
| 42 | Pennsylvania | $82,710 | 97.6 | 2,980 | 0.85× |
| 43 | Nebraska | $82,670 | 90.1 | 780 | 1.32× |
| 44 | Michigan | $82,490 | 96.2 | 3,100 | 1.21× |
| 45 | Arkansas | $81,500 | 86.9 | 640 | 0.85× |
| 46 | South Dakota | $80,820 | 88.6 | 370 | 1.39× |
| 47 | Louisiana | $80,710 | 88.2 | 1,150 | 1.03× |
| 48 | Tennessee | $80,640 | 91.9 | 1,880 | 0.99× |
| 49 | West Virginia | $76,820 | 89.5 | 780 | 1.92× |
| 50 | Mississippi | $76,520 | 87.0 | 700 | 1.04× |
| 51 | Alabama | $68,180 | 88.8 | 1,510 | 1.23× |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where diagnostic medical sonographers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Best paying metro areas for diagnostic medical sonographers
The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | Metro area | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $173,150 | 110.4 | 500 | 0.76× |
| 2 | Vallejo, CA | $171,170 | 108.5 | 140 | 1.63× |
| 3 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $163,220 | 106.7 | 610 | 0.98× |
| 4 | Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $161,570 | 107.8 | 90 | 0.73× |
| 5 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $160,270 | 115.6 | 1,300 | 0.94× |
| 6 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $142,150 | 109.9 | 40 | 0.71× |
| 7 | Modesto, CA | $141,210 | 104.1 | 200 | 1.76× |
| 8 | Redding, CA | $133,340 | 100.7 | 40 | 0.91× |
| 9 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $132,490 | 108.8 | 100 | 0.89× |
| 10 | Stockton-Lodi, CA | $130,210 | 105.1 | 140 | 0.81× |
| 11 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $129,960 | 111.1 | 1,190 | 0.98× |
| 12 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $129,630 | 111.9 | 720 | 0.80× |
| 13 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $128,420 | 105.4 | 690 | 0.99× |
| 14 | Salem, OR | $127,680 | 103.6 | 110 | 1.02× |
| 15 | Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | $125,750 | 110.5 | 140 | 0.76× |
| 16 | Kahului-Wailuku, HI | $125,670 | 109.4 | 30 | 0.80× |
| 17 | San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | $125,090 | 108.6 | 40 | 0.55× |
| 18 | Chico, CA | $123,880 | 101.2 | 80 | 1.86× |
| 19 | Urban Honolulu, HI | $123,070 | 111.0 | 160 | 0.62× |
| 20 | Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | $121,340 | 105.6 | 50 | 0.89× |
| 21 | Bozeman, MT | $121,260 | 102.5 | 30 | 0.80× |
| 22 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $119,430 | 113.6 | 3,550 | 0.98× |
| 23 | Boulder, CO | $114,620 | 105.2 | 160 | 1.47× |
| 24 | Bend, OR | $114,460 | 103.6 | 90 | 1.38× |
| 25 | Vineland, NJ | $113,140 | 96.0 | 80 | 2.21× |
| 26 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | $112,980 | 106.9 | 200 | 0.87× |
| 27 | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA | $111,300 | 103.7 | 70 | 0.95× |
| 28 | Colorado Springs, CO | $110,850 | 100.7 | 160 | 0.88× |
| 29 | Bellingham, WA | $110,240 | 103.3 | 60 | 1.19× |
| 30 | Eugene-Springfield, OR | $110,120 | 101.6 | 90 | 1.03× |
| 31 | Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI | $109,910 | 96.0 | 30 | 0.75× |
| 32 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $109,200 | 108.3 | 1,590 | 1.02× |
| 33 | Bakersfield-Delano, CA | $108,990 | 100.9 | 180 | 0.93× |
| 34 | Anchorage, AK | $108,750 | 105.4 | 80 | 0.79× |
| 35 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $108,410 | 105.8 | 750 | 0.81× |
| 36 | Barnstable Town, MA | $108,020 | 98.4 | 100 | 1.90× |
| 37 | Reno, NV | $107,980 | 101.0 | 140 | 0.90× |
| 38 | Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA | $107,760 | 103.9 | 40 | 1.27× |
| 39 | Fresno, CA | $107,750 | 102.2 | 390 | 1.40× |
| 40 | Billings, MT | $107,340 | 93.5 | 50 | 0.90× |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where diagnostic medical sonographers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Similar occupations
Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.
- Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses$64,400
- Pharmacy Technicians$45,750
- Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians$62,930
- Radiologic Technologists and Technicians$80,110
- Medical Records Specialists$51,140
- Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other$50,290
- Emergency Medical Technicians$44,470
- Psychiatric Technicians$45,130