Cardiologist Salary Guide

The average annual cardiologist salary is $421,330 per year in the U.S., according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, cardiologists make a total of $507,000 per year, according to Medscape’s 2023 cardiologist compensation report.  

Physician compensation has overall increased in recent years, as the demand for providers continues to increase. 

Locum tenens cardiologists can make upwards of $255 per hour on average, however, there are many factors that impact rates including location, years of experience, and the level of demand.

If you were to extrapolate that rate over a year (at 40 hours per week), the average locum salary comes out to around $530,400. 

That means locum tenens cardiologists can make up to roughly 26% more than the average provider. However, making direct salary comparisons can be complicated. While perm cardiologists are more likely to be salaried, locum tenens cardiologists are independent contractors earning an hourly rate, which can vary based on which assignments they take in a year. 

Furthermore, because locum tenens cardiologists are paid by the hour, the hours they work are directly reflected in their pay, while a salaried cardiologist  additional hours may not be reflected in their salary.

Finally, paid time off and insurance may be reflected in the perm cardiologists salary structure, but locum tenens providers do have options when it comes to health insurance. 

The most recent state breakdown of cardiologists salaries comes from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, though the BLS was not able to collect enough data for all 50 states. However, the top 5 highest paying states for cardiologist salaries are:

• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Colorado
• Delaware
• Georgia 

Cardiologists are within the top 3 highest earning specialties surveys in the Medscape 2023 physician compensation report.  The top five specialties (plastic surgery, orthopedics, cardiology, urology, gastroenterology) all reported annual income of greater than $500,000. 

Cardiologists salaries have been increased over the last several years, with a 35% increase in reported salary since 2015. In 2023, cardiologist salaries increased 3.47% from the previous year. A safe estimate is that cardiologists will make around $524,593 in annual salary in 2024.