Median and mean annual wages for diagnostic medical sonographers in every U.S. state, from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
What a diagnostic medical sonographer earns depends heavily on where the work is. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported a national median annual wage of $89,340 for diagnostic medical sonographers (May 2024) — but the state figures behind that national number range from the high $60,000s to well past $120,000. This page lists the BLS state wage data so a prospective student can see where their state sits.
How to read these numbers
Two figures tell most of the story. The median is the midpoint: half of sonographers in that state earn more, half earn less. The mean is the simple average, which a small number of very high earners can pull upward. Where the two differ a lot, the average is being stretched by the top end. The 10th- and 90th-percentile columns show the bottom and top of the typical range.
A few cautions before reading the table. These are wages for everyone working in the occupation in that state — new graduates and 20-year veterans together — so they are not a starting salary. A high state median often travels with a high cost of living, which can erase the apparent advantage. And state averages say nothing about any individual job offer. The figures describe the field; they do not predict a paycheck.
National wage, for reference
From the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook (May 2024): median annual wage $89,340; the lowest 10 percent earned less than about $64,760 and the highest 10 percent earned more than about $123,170. Employment is projected to grow 13 percent from 2024 to 2034, much faster than the average for all occupations. Job Market and Employment Trends covers the outlook in full; Salary and Compensation covers what moves pay beyond geography.
Median and mean annual wage by state
State-level figures below are from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program, May 2025 — the most recent state data available. Ranked by median, highest first.
| Rank | State | Employment | Median | Mean | 10th pct | 90th pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 10,110 | $128,530 | $126,610 | $62,890 | $177,780 |
| 2 | Hawaii | 210 | $124,430 | $118,090 | $83,900 | $135,660 |
| 3 | Washington | 2,190 | $121,340 | $115,060 | $61,840 | $156,860 |
| 4 | Oregon | 1,210 | $120,220 | $115,390 | $91,960 | $135,150 |
| 5 | District of Columbia | 160 | $112,020 | $114,040 | $93,590 | $135,280 |
| 6 | Colorado | 1,430 | $108,410 | $108,310 | $85,500 | $130,720 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | 2,190 | $107,480 | $113,410 | $89,190 | $133,480 |
| 8 | Alaska | 140 | $105,670 | $106,180 | $78,170 | $126,540 |
| 9 | Vermont | 140 | $104,100 | $106,860 | $80,190 | $134,080 |
| 10 | New York | 6,880 | $103,920 | $104,990 | $79,630 | $127,120 |
| 11 | New Hampshire | 400 | $103,760 | $107,460 | $82,110 | $134,220 |
| 12 | Connecticut | 990 | $103,230 | $104,380 | $77,790 | $129,480 |
| 13 | New Jersey | 3,370 | $103,150 | $103,800 | $80,090 | $134,550 |
| 14 | Minnesota | 1,710 | $102,850 | $102,540 | $84,020 | $120,220 |
| 15 | Wisconsin | 1,530 | $102,090 | $103,150 | $82,430 | $124,450 |
| 16 | Montana | 230 | $101,000 | $99,350 | $80,750 | $121,260 |
| 17 | Illinois | 3,270 | $100,660 | $98,730 | $78,350 | $122,680 |
| 18 | Wyoming | 90 | $100,650 | $101,160 | $80,390 | $136,830 |
| 19 | Missouri | 1,930 | $100,130 | $94,550 | $76,820 | $106,090 |
| 20 | Utah | 740 | $100,100 | $96,590 | $70,030 | $124,760 |
| 21 | Arizona | 2,070 | $100,040 | $99,050 | $74,010 | $127,510 |
| 22 | Idaho | 510 | $99,920 | $95,630 | $79,290 | $117,100 |
| 23 | Maryland | 1,760 | $99,210 | $97,230 | $80,940 | $118,520 |
| 24 | Delaware | 220 | $98,530 | $98,240 | $83,240 | $115,800 |
| 25 | Kansas | 670 | $96,310 | $92,970 | $72,420 | $112,520 |
| 26 | Nevada | 640 | $95,980 | $98,350 | $74,960 | $133,250 |
| 27 | Virginia | 2,160 | $95,660 | $95,220 | $77,540 | $122,930 |
| 28 | Maine | 380 | $95,230 | $95,370 | $78,330 | $125,130 |
| 29 | Rhode Island | 380 | $92,820 | $98,390 | $83,690 | $129,690 |
| 30 | Texas | 6,960 | $92,580 | $88,940 | $64,360 | $106,090 |
| 31 | Kentucky | 940 | $91,230 | $88,940 | $62,440 | $115,390 |
| 32 | New Mexico | 410 | $87,210 | $89,390 | $65,250 | $108,030 |
| 33 | Iowa | 740 | $86,480 | $87,840 | $72,480 | $101,970 |
| 34 | North Carolina | 2,970 | $86,010 | $87,500 | $67,070 | $105,530 |
| 35 | Indiana | 1,380 | $85,040 | $86,070 | $62,850 | $103,320 |
| 36 | North Dakota | 240 | $84,340 | $87,020 | $66,890 | $102,570 |
| 37 | Oklahoma | 1,060 | $83,670 | $84,880 | $64,610 | $102,570 |
| 38 | South Carolina | 1,340 | $83,290 | $85,540 | $69,530 | $102,540 |
| 39 | Georgia | 2,700 | $83,250 | $84,910 | $62,120 | $104,930 |
| 40 | Florida | 6,670 | $82,940 | $85,990 | $66,230 | $103,570 |
| 41 | Ohio | 3,160 | $82,870 | $85,290 | $65,480 | $101,190 |
| 42 | Pennsylvania | 2,980 | $82,710 | $86,130 | $68,370 | $103,570 |
| 43 | Nebraska | 780 | $82,670 | $86,220 | $64,590 | $105,320 |
| 44 | Michigan | 3,100 | $82,490 | $83,010 | $66,960 | $96,360 |
| 45 | Arkansas | 640 | $81,500 | $83,360 | $64,280 | $102,190 |
| 46 | South Dakota | 370 | $80,820 | $77,220 | $51,100 | $98,090 |
| 47 | Louisiana | 1,150 | $80,710 | $80,500 | $62,900 | $98,500 |
| 48 | Tennessee | 1,880 | $80,640 | $81,730 | $62,220 | $101,830 |
| 49 | West Virginia | 780 | $76,820 | $80,040 | $64,750 | $99,060 |
| 50 | Mississippi | 700 | $76,520 | $74,770 | $59,660 | $92,340 |
| 51 | Alabama | 1,510 | $68,180 | $69,160 | $51,700 | $83,220 |
| 52 | Puerto Rico | 330 | $38,090 | $53,680 | $30,000 | $97,400 |
What the spread does and doesn’t tell you
The highest state medians cluster on the West Coast and in the Northeast; the lowest sit in parts of the South. California’s median ($128,530) is roughly twice Puerto Rico’s ($38,090). But the gap narrows once cost of living is considered, and BLS does not publish a cost-of-living adjustment alongside these wages, so the raw ranking overstates the real difference in buying power. Employment counts in the table also matter: a small state with few sonographers can show an unusually high or low average that a single large employer moves.
For students weighing a specific state, the state guides — where they exist — pair these wage figures with that state’s programs and any licensure rules.
Last verified: 2026-06-14. State wages: BLS OEWS, May 2025. National wages and growth: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2024 (the national profile had not yet been updated to the May 2025 base at the time of writing; figures will be refreshed when BLS updates the Handbook). These are reported averages for the occupation, not starting salaries or guarantees of pay for any individual.