The median annual salary for diagnostic radiologists in the U.S. is $490,399 in 2016, just shy of the half-million mark, continuing a rebound in wage growth that began in 2014, according to a new survey on physician compensation by the American Medical Group Association (AMGA).
The figure represents growth of 1.4% compared with a median annual salary of $483,660 recorded by the survey in 2015. In 2014, diagnostic radiologists had a median salary of $476,013. That year represented a rebound in radiologist salaries after declines in 2013 and 2012.
| Radiologist median compensation, 2011-2016 | ||||||
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | |
| Radiology -- Diagnostic | $461,250 | $459,186 | $453,216 | $476,013 | $483,660 | $490,399 |
Smaller radiology groups tended to have higher salaries than larger ones, the survey found. Groups with one to 300 full-time equivalent (FTE) radiologists had median salaries of $524,214, while groups with more than 300 FTEs had median annual compensation of $487,195.
The survey also reported changes in median work relative value units (RVUs), with diagnostic radiology reporting a median weighted RVU of 8,907 in 2016, compared with 8,605 in 2015 and 8,463 in 2014.
Compared with other medical specialties, median compensation for radiologists was in about the middle of the pack.
| 2016 physician median annual compensation by specialty | |
| Specialty | Compensation |
| Cardiac/thoracic surgery | $645,112 |
| Cardiology -- Cath lab | $584,118 |
| Orthopedic surgery | $582,056 |
| Gastroenterology | $505,194 |
| Radiology -- Diagnostic | $490,399 |
| Cardiology -- General | $483,653 |
| Dermatology | $434,520 |
| Anesthesiology | $416,563 |
| Emergency medicine | $355,280 |
| Neurology | $284,751 |
| Internal medicine | $249,588 |
| Family medicine | $234,706 |
