Remote Radiology Tech Salary Guide

National median pay by modality (BLS, May 2025)

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wages by occupation every spring. These are the May 2025 medians as republished by O*NET OnLine, the Department of Labor's occupational database. Half of technologists in each occupation earn more than the median and half earn less.

Two things stand out. Cross-sectional and specialty modalities - MRI, nuclear medicine, sonography - sit meaningfully above general radiography, which is one reason remote scanning roles (almost all MRI and CT) start from a higher base. And CT has no separate BLS code: CT technologists are counted inside the radiologic technologist line, so the $80,110 median understates what an experienced CT technologist typically earns, without a published figure to replace it.

The spread: lowest and highest paid

Medians hide range. The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook reports the spread for the two largest groups (May 2024 data, the most recent OOH edition at the time of writing):

A roughly two-to-one gap between the bottom and top deciles is the normal shape for an allied-health profession: the top is experienced, credentialed, often multi-modality technologists in high-cost metros and in-demand settings; the bottom is early-career and lower-cost regions. (The May 2024 medians are lower than the May 2025 medians in the first table because they are a year older, not because of a different method.)

What actually moves a technologist's pay

• Modality and stacking. A second or third post-primary credential (MR plus CT, or CT plus VI) is the most reliable lever, both for pay and for eligibility for remote scanning roles.
• Setting and shift. Hospitals, nights, weekends and on-call carry differentials; outpatient centers trade some of that for predictable hours.
• Employment type. Travel and contract assignments pay more per hour than W-2 staff roles and may include stipends; PRN rates are higher still but come without benefits. Every Expected Health listing states its employment type next to the pay range so these are comparable.
• Geography. Cost of living and state labor markets move wages substantially. We have not reproduced a state ranking here because we could not verify the BLS state tables directly for this edition; BLS publishes them on the OES page linked below.
• Experience. The spread tables above are largely a seniority curve.

What remote work does - and does not - change

We do not have verified data showing that remote technologist roles pay a premium over on-site roles of the same modality and seniority, and we will not imply one. What remote work clearly changes:

• The seniority floor. Remote operator roles are posted for experienced MRI and CT technologists, so they cluster toward the upper part of the ranges above by construction.
• Multi-state licensure as a paid-for skill. Employers serving scanners in several states value technologists who already hold those licenses; some reimburse the cost of obtaining them.
• Schedule and commute. The financial value of dropping a commute and gaining schedule control is real but personal; it is not in any wage table.
• Pay transparency. As of early 2026, thirteen jurisdictions - California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Vermont and Washington - require salary ranges in job postings (thresholds vary by employer size). Remote roles that can be performed from those states are generally posted with ranges, which is one reason Expected Health requires a pay range on every listing, remote or not.

Job outlook, 2024–2034

BLS employment projections (via O*NET) for the decade to 2034:

• Radiologic technologists and technicians: growth rated "average (3% to 4%)", about 12,900 openings a year.
• MRI technologists: "much faster than average (7% or higher)", about 2,600 openings a year.
• Nuclear medicine technologists: "average (3% to 4%)", about 900 openings a year.
• Diagnostic medical sonographers: "much faster than average (7% or higher)", about 5,800 openings a year.

Openings include replacement of technologists who retire or change occupations, not only new positions - which is why the annual figures are large relative to the growth rates.