Ultrasound Tech Salary Calculator 2026

By Jordan Wells, Financial Research Editor | Updated April 16, 2026 | 8 min read | Educational, not career advice.

This ultrasound tech salary calculator converts the BLS OEWS May 2024 data for SOC 29-2032 Diagnostic Medical Sonographers into state-adjusted, credential-adjusted, and specialty-adjusted take-home numbers. A hypothetical RDMS-registered ultrasound tech in Portland, Oregon earning about $97,500 annually at a community outpatient clinic in the metro sits just above the BLS national median of $89,340. Once the March 2026 Consumer Price Index reading of 3.3 percent layers on, a typical 3.2 percent merit raise yields nearly flat real wages against headline inflation.

The BLS median hides meaningful variation. A vascular-specialty sonographer carrying an RVT credential at a Level I trauma center can push toward the 90th percentile of $123,170, while an outpatient abdominal tech in rural Alabama sits closer to $60,240. The calculator handles credential stacking across ARDMS registries, specialty premium (abdominal, OB-GYN, vascular, breast, pediatric), state multipliers, and shift differentials for inpatient hospital work.

Quick version: The national median ultrasound tech salary is $89,340 per year or $42.95 per hour per BLS OEWS May 2024 data for SOC 29-2032 Diagnostic Medical Sonographers. The 10th percentile earned less than $64,760 and the 90th percentile more than $123,170 on a 2,080-hour year. RDMS certification from the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography typically adds 10 to 18 percent over uncertified baseline, and stacking RVT vascular or RDCS cardiac credentials can compound to a 20 to 30 percent total premium. California, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Washington, and Oregon lead state annual mean wages.

This salary tool produces educational estimates built on public BLS data and credential survey patterns. It is not personal career or tax advice. For state-by-state net take-home math, pair it with the kalkfy paycheck calculator.

How to Use This Ultrasound Tech Salary Calculator

Pick your state from the dropdown and the calculator pulls the BLS OES annual mean wage for SOC 29-2032 Diagnostic Medical Sonographers in that jurisdiction, routed to a data table covering all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. Select your credential tier: uncertified, RDMS abdominal or OB-GYN, RDMS plus one ARDMS specialty (for example vascular or cardiac), or dual registry stacking such as RDMS paired with RVT or RDCS. Pick your practice setting: outpatient imaging center, physician office, freestanding community hospital, or Level I or II trauma center with evening and overnight shift patterns. Enter your years of post-certification experience to apply a mid-career or senior increment, and toggle the inflation layer to subtract the March 2026 Consumer Price Index reading for a real-wage view. The tool does not apply hidden multipliers; every output line maps to a BLS percentile or a credential survey figure you can trace back to the Sources section below.

The result panel shows projected gross annual salary, hourly equivalent at 2,080 hours, monthly and biweekly breakdowns, and a real-wage number after CPI subtraction. A secondary panel compares your projection to the national 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles and flags the five highest-paying states for that specific credential-plus-specialty profile.

How Much Does an Ultrasound Tech Make in 2026?

The median annual wage for Diagnostic Medical Sonographers under SOC 29-2032 was $89,340 in May 2024 per the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, translating to $42.95 per hour at a 2,080-hour work year. The 10th percentile sits at $64,760, the 25th near $75,640, the 75th at $100,160, and the 90th at $123,170. At the 90th percentile, hourly pay reaches $59.22, more than double the all-occupation median hourly wage published by BLS. National employment stood at approximately 90,000 positions in 2024. The pay distribution is right-skewed, with credentialed senior sonographers in vascular, cardiac, and breast imaging specialties concentrated near the top of the range. BLS projects roughly 13 percent employment growth between 2024 and 2034 for the occupation, a pace the agency describes as much faster than the average occupation, driven by an aging population and expanding outpatient imaging capacity.

Entry typically requires either a 24-month associate degree or an 18-month postsecondary certificate from a CAAHEP-accredited program, followed by an ARDMS specialty exam to earn the RDMS, RDCS, or RVT registry credential.

Ultrasound Tech Salary by State

The BLS OES dataset tracks annual mean wages by state for SOC 29-2032, and the dispersion is wider than it is for many allied health occupations. Based on BLS May 2024 rankings cross-referenced with consolidated secondary sources, California leads the nation at approximately $114,480, followed by Massachusetts near $107,690, Hawaii near $105,850, Washington at roughly $103,700, and Oregon at approximately $102,790. Kaiser Permanente Northern California contracts negotiated through SEIU-UHW push urban sonographer pay toward the 90th percentile in that market, while Hawaii’s high cost-of-living and isolated labor pool sustain its premium. At the low end, Alabama sits near $60,240, Mississippi near $66,300, West Virginia near $67,650, Louisiana near $68,600, and Kentucky near $70,880 on annual mean wages. The Tax Foundation 2026 state tax rates matter for net take-home: a $90,000 gross in Texas keeps meaningfully more than the same gross in California after the state marginal rate and California SDI apply.

Credential Premium: RDMS, RDCS, and RVT

Certification is the single largest short-term lever on an ultrasound tech salary once the state variable is set. The three primary registries offered by American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography are the Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer (RDMS) for abdominal, OB-GYN, pediatric, and breast specialties, the Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer (RDCS) for echocardiography, and the Registered Vascular Technologist (RVT) for peripheral vascular imaging. Per industry data and ARDMS-adjacent hiring surveys, the single RDMS premium over uncertified sonographer pay runs about 10 to 18 percent on base annual wages, driven mainly by hospital hiring standards that treat ARDMS registry as a de facto job requirement. Stacking two registries, for example RDMS abdominal paired with RVT vascular, can compound to a 20 to 30 percent total premium because dual-credentialed sonographers cover a wider case mix and need less cross-training.

A mid-career sonographer with only RDMS abdominal in Massachusetts earning $107,690 can plausibly move above $134,000 by adding RDCS cardiac through the ARDMS registry path, which lands well above the BLS OES 75th percentile of $100,160 in raw terms.

Note on credential premium data: The 10–18 percent single-credential and 20–30 percent dual-credential ranges above reflect industry practice patterns and job posting analysis, not BLS government wage data. BLS OEWS does not separately report wage differentials by credential. Treat these as directional guidance rather than hard government statistics.

Shift Differentials, On-Call Pay, and Trauma Center Premium

Inpatient ultrasound techs at Level I trauma centers such as Harborview Medical Center in Seattle or Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta earn differential pay that outpatient sonographers rarely see. Typical collective bargaining and hospital policy patterns add 7 to 12 percent for evening shifts from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m., 12 to 20 percent for overnight shifts from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., and 5 to 10 percent for weekend coverage. On-call standby rates commonly sit at $3 to $8 per hour while waiting. Callback minimums of 2 to 4 hours at time-and-a-half come from hospital collective bargaining agreements with unions such as SEIU-UHW, CNA, or ONA, or from state rules, not from federal FLSA; the DOL time-and-a-half rule after 40 hours applies on top of any CBA minimum. A full-time inpatient sonographer rotating evenings and weekends at a trauma center can see an 8 to 15 percent lift over the BLS base median, before any credential premium layers on top.

Outpatient imaging centers and physician offices pay daytime-only schedules and therefore miss this differential entirely, which partly explains the gap between the BLS 50th and 75th percentiles.

Ultrasound Tech vs Sonographer: The Same SOC, Different Titles

The Bureau of Labor Statistics groups all three terms (ultrasound tech, sonographer, and Diagnostic Medical Sonographer) under SOC code 29-2032, so the wage data is identical across labels per O*NET OnLine SOC 29-2032 summary. The labor market, however, treats the three labels as tiered. “Ultrasound tech” is the informal or entry-level usage, often appearing on hospital job postings aimed at recent graduates. “Sonographer” is the professional usage preferred by credentialing bodies and hospital imaging departments and is the label most common on RDMS-registered employee badges. “Diagnostic Medical Sonographer” is the full credentialed title and the one that maps directly to the ARDMS registry and the BLS OES SOC code. For a job seeker parsing postings, any listing requiring an ARDMS registry uses “sonographer” or “DMS” in the qualifications even when “ultrasound tech” appears in the job title. Pay bands in hospital HR systems track the credential on file, not the headline title.

For salary comparisons across kalkfy pages, the broader sonographer page covers the DMS credential framing, and the cardiac sonographer page drills into the RDCS specialty with its own BLS SOC 29-2031 data.

How to Increase Your Ultrasound Tech Salary

The largest documented short-term lever on an ultrasound tech salary is adding or stacking an ARDMS registry credential, given that the base BLS OEWS median of $89,340 already reflects the typical credentialed case. Registering for an additional specialty exam through CAAHEP-accredited program prerequisites and then the ARDMS specialty exam can raise a mid-career sonographer’s base wage by 8 to 15 percent per added registry, according to industry survey patterns. A second lever is geographic relocation: moving from a bottom-tier state such as Alabama at approximately $60,240 to a top-tier state such as California at roughly $114,480 represents a 90 percent jump in annual mean wages, though cost-of-living adjustments cut that nominal gap substantially. A third lever is shifting from outpatient imaging to inpatient or Level I trauma center employment, which layers the 8 to 15 percent differential and on-call premium discussed above.

Longer-term, the clearest career pivot for ultrasound techs is moving into lead sonographer, imaging supervisor, or applications specialist roles at device manufacturers such as GE Healthcare, Philips Healthcare, or Siemens Healthineers, where total compensation frequently exceeds $130,000.

FAQ

How much does an ultrasound tech make per year in 2026?

The national median ultrasound tech salary is $89,340 per year per BLS OEWS May 2024 data for SOC 29-2032 Diagnostic Medical Sonographers. The 10th percentile earned less than $64,760 and the 90th percentile more than $123,170. California, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Washington, and Oregon lead state annual mean wages, while Alabama, Mississippi, and West Virginia sit at the bottom of the national ranking.

How much does an ultrasound tech make per hour?

At the BLS May 2024 median of $89,340 per year and a 2,080-hour work year, an ultrasound tech makes approximately $42.95 per hour. The 25th percentile lands near $36.36 per hour, the 75th at $48.15 per hour, and the 90th at $59.22 per hour. Hospital-based sonographers working evening or overnight rotations can earn an additional 7 to 20 percent differential on the base hourly figure.

What state pays ultrasound techs the most in 2026?

California leads on annual mean wage for ultrasound techs at approximately $114,480 per BLS OEWS May 2024 and consolidated secondary sources, followed by Massachusetts near $107,690, Hawaii near $105,850, Washington at roughly $103,700, and Oregon at approximately $102,790. California’s lead reflects Kaiser Permanente Northern California contract wages negotiated through SEIU-UHW, while Hawaii and Oregon benefit from tight labor supply and high cost-of-living adjustments that feed into hospital wage bands.

Does an RDMS certification raise an ultrasound tech salary?

Yes. The RDMS credential from ARDMS typically adds 10 to 18 percent over uncertified sonographer pay on base annual wages, according to industry practice and employer posting analysis (not BLS government data). Stacking a second registry, for example RVT vascular or RDCS cardiac, compounds the premium to a 20 to 30 percent total lift because dual-credentialed sonographers cover a wider case mix and command higher bill rates in imaging departments.

What is the difference between an ultrasound tech and a sonographer?

Functionally there is no difference. BLS groups all titles under SOC 29-2032 Diagnostic Medical Sonographers, so the wage data is identical. The labor market treats the labels as tiered: “ultrasound tech” is informal or entry-level usage, “sonographer” is the professional label, and “Diagnostic Medical Sonographer” is the credentialed title tied to the ARDMS registry. Hospital postings for senior roles almost always use “sonographer” or “DMS.”

How long does it take to become an ultrasound tech?

The typical path runs 18 to 24 months through a CAAHEP-accredited diagnostic medical sonography program, either as a certificate for students who already hold an allied health credential or as a 24-month associate of applied science degree for first-time entrants. Graduates then sit for ARDMS specialty exams (SPI first, then a specialty such as abdominal or OB-GYN) to earn the RDMS registry required by most hospital employers.

Do ultrasound techs get overtime and differential pay?

Non-exempt ultrasound techs are covered by FLSA overtime rules and earn time-and-a-half beyond 40 hours in a workweek, plus any state daily overtime thresholds that apply (California past 8 hours per day, for example). Hospital-based sonographers additionally earn shift differentials of 7 to 20 percent for evening and overnight coverage, on-call standby pay of roughly $3 to $8 per hour, and callback minimums of 2 to 4 hours at overtime rates whenever called in.

Is ultrasound tech a good career choice in 2026?

On BLS data, yes. The occupation pays a median of $89,340, well above the all-occupation median, and BLS projects about 13 percent growth from 2024 to 2034, well above the average profession. The main friction points are the 18 to 24 month CAAHEP-accredited training requirement and the physical workload of scanning, which contributes to musculoskeletal injury rates higher than many office-based allied health roles.

How does ultrasound tech pay compare to cardiac sonographer pay?

Ultrasound tech and cardiac sonographer fall under adjacent SOC codes. Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (29-2032, which includes ultrasound techs) show a May 2024 median near $89,340, while Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians (29-2031, which includes cardiac sonographers) show a median closer to $67,260. The comparison is misleading without credential context: an RDCS-registered cardiac sonographer in a large academic medical center frequently earns above the 29-2032 median, not below it.

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Sources

Federal data

• BLS OEWS SOC 29-2032: bls.gov OEWS 29-2032
• BLS OOH Diagnostic Medical Sonographers: bls.gov OOH DMS
• BLS CPI March 2026: bls.gov CPI
• O*NET SOC 29-2032: onetonline.org 29-2032
• Department of Labor overtime rules (FLSA): dol.gov overtime

Credentialing and industry

• ARDMS homepage: ARDMS homepage
• SDMS salary survey: sdms.org salary survey
• CAAHEP accreditation: CAAHEP accreditation
• Tax Foundation 2026 state rates: taxfoundation.org 2026 rates

Conclusion

The ultrasound tech salary calculator above converts the national BLS OEWS median of $89,340 into state-adjusted, credential-adjusted, and specialty-adjusted figures, plus a real-wage reading against the March 2026 Consumer Price Index at 3.3 percent. A mid-career sonographer in Portland, Oregon earning about $97,500 at a community outpatient clinic sits above the national median and has room for further percentile movement as seniority and additional ARDMS registries accumulate. California, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Washington, and Oregon lead the state rankings on annual mean wages, while Alabama, Mississippi, and West Virginia anchor the low end.

The largest lever on an ultrasound tech salary short of changing states is credential stacking through ARDMS, worth 10 to 30 percent on base depending on how many registries a sonographer holds. For net-of-tax estimates pair this tool with the kalkfy state paycheck calculator. This ultrasound tech salary calculator provides educational estimates only and is not personal career, legal, medical, or tax advice.

Jordan Wells

Jordan spent four years in payroll processing before joining Kalkfy as a financial research editor. He is not a CPA, career counselor, or registered sonographer; this content is educational, not personal financial or career advice.