Cardiologist who treats heart and vascular disease with catheter-based procedures such as coronary stenting, heart attack intervention and valve replacement. MedAxiom 2025 Cardiovascular Provider Compensation and Production Survey puts typical pay at $788,083 a year (2024). BLS does not publish separate figures for cardiologists; it counts them within cardiologist (SOC 29-1212), whose median pay is $496,010 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Typical entry-level education: Doctoral or professional degree.
- SOC 29-1212
- Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Last updated October 9, 2026
At a glance
Interventional Cardiologist in four numbers
- Median pay
- $496,010a year, or $238.47/hrBLS OEWS, May 2025Lowest 10% $107KTop 10% $712K
US median, all jobs: $50,980
- Projected growth
- +4.8%Faster than averageBLS EP, 2025–2035This career+4.8%All jobs+3.5%
Projected employment change, 2025–2035 Item Value This career +4.8% All jobs +3.5% - Openings a year
- 50018,500 jobs todayBLS EP, 2025–2035
- Jobs in 202518.5K
- Projected 203519.4K
Employment, 2025–2035 Item Value Jobs in 2025 18.5K Projected 2035 19.4K - Typical education
- Doctorateneeded to enterBLS EP, 2025–2035; mix: O*NET
Also advertised as: Invasive Cardiologist, Interventional Cardiology Physician, Cath Lab Cardiologist, Structural Heart Cardiologist.
Pay
How much do Cardiologists make?
Industry-reported pay
$788,083
Median total annual compensation, interventional cardiologists in integrated (hospital-affiliated) cardiovascular programs; private practice median reported lower.
Source: MedAxiom 2025 Cardiovascular Provider Compensation and Production Survey, 2024 (published compensation survey). This is not a BLS figure: BLS counts cardiologists within cardiologist, whose pay is shown below. TCTMD: Cardiologists saw rising incomes but additional pressures in 2024 (MedAxiom 2025 survey)
Every interventional cardiologist in the US, by percentile of annual wage
Median
$496,010
Middle half earn $274,280 to $610,060
- 10th
- $107,190
- 25th
- $274,280
- 75th
- $610,060
- 90th
- $712,130
All US occupations: $50,980
| Percentile | Value |
|---|---|
| 10th | $107,190 |
| 25th | $274,280 |
| Median | $496,010 |
| 75th | $610,060 |
| 90th | $712,130 |
| All US occupations | $50,980 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
- Median annual wage
- $496,010
- Median hourly wage
- $238.47/hr
- Mean annual wage
- $454,940
- People employed
- 17,290
Versus all US occupations
At $496,010, Cardiologists earn 873% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $445,030 a year.
Versus healthcare practitioners and technical occupations
Inside the Healthcare Practitioners and Technical group, where the middle occupation pays $102,760, this is 383% above the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $712,130 or more while the bottom 10% earn $107,190, a gap of 6.6×. That is an unusually wide spread, which usually tracks specialisation, employer type and years of experience.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 100% of the 1,741 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Cost of living
Washington posts the highest raw median ($656,330), but once local prices are taken into account Nebraska leads at $717,290 in national-average dollars.
Pay by state
Which states pay Cardiologists the most?
State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Washington | $656,330 | $613,318 | 200 |
| 2Missouri | $648,070 | $713,600 | 150 |
| 3Nebraska | $646,300 | $717,290 | 170 |
| 4Wisconsin | $636,580 | $676,529 | 200 |
| 5Tennessee | $610,080 | $664,069 | 560 |
| 6Georgia | $610,070 | $633,556 | 1,150 |
| 7Indiana | $588,890 | $630,983 | 140 |
| 8Pennsylvania | $579,120 | $593,531 | 640 |
| 9Kentucky | $558,180 | $619,106 | N/A |
| 10Alabama | $519,480 | $584,849 | 130 |
Job outlook
Is Interventional Cardiologist a growing career?
Employment change over 2025–2035, against every US occupation
Faster than average. +4.8% projected growth vs 3.5% for all occupations.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Cardiologists | +4.8% |
| All US occupations | +3.5% |
Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035
Faster than average
BLS projects employment of Cardiologists to change 4.8% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% projected for all occupations. That is 900 more jobs.
Annual openings
About 500 openings are projected each year, 2.7% of the 18,500 jobs that existed in 2025. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Getting in
How to become an Interventional Cardiologist
The path is medical school, a three-year internal medicine residency, a three-year cardiovascular disease fellowship and then a one-year ACGME-accredited interventional cardiology fellowship. Structural heart work usually requires an additional year of training.
The American Board of Internal Medicine certifies physicians in cardiovascular disease and then in interventional cardiology. The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) and the American College of Cardiology are the main professional organizations. Cardiology fellowship is competitive, so residents usually build a record of cardiology research, strong evaluations and letters from cardiologists before applying. Interventional fellowship positions are then filled from within the pool of cardiology fellows.
- 1
Typical entry-level education
Doctoral or professional degree
- 2
Work experience in a related occupation
None
- 3
Typical on-the-job training
Internship/residency
- 4
Preparation needed (O*NET job zone)
Considerable preparation
BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035; job zone from O*NET 31.0 Database.
The work
What does an Interventional Cardiologist do?
Interventional cardiologists work in the cardiac catheterization lab. They thread catheters through an artery in the wrist or groin to image the coronary arteries, open blockages with balloons and stents, and treat heart attacks as emergencies, often within minutes of a patient arriving. Many also treat blocked leg arteries.
Structural heart specialists within the field replace and repair heart valves through catheters, close holes in the heart and implant devices that reduce stroke risk. Outside the lab, interventional cardiologists see patients in clinic, read imaging, and work with cardiac surgeons in heart teams to decide between catheter procedures and open surgery.
Day-to-day tasks
- Perform diagnostic cardiac catheterization and coronary angiography
- Open blocked coronary arteries with balloon angioplasty and stents
- Treat heart attacks with emergency catheter procedures
- Replace or repair heart valves through catheters
- Treat peripheral artery disease with endovascular procedures
- Use intravascular imaging and pressure wires to guide treatment
- Discuss treatment options with heart team surgeons and patients
Typical tasks, researched by NueCareer from the sources below.
Working conditions and hours
Interventional cardiologists work in hospitals with catheterization labs and in cardiology group practices. Lab days involve standing in heavy lead aprons, and call for heart attacks can bring them in at any hour. Radiation safety and ergonomics are ongoing concerns over a long career.
Tools and software
- Medical software · in demand
- Transaction security and virus protection software
“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.
Personality fit
What personality type suits an Interventional Cardiologist?
NueCareer estimate (Holland code IRS) built on O*NET's Cardiologist profile, scored 1 to 7
| Axis | Interventional Cardiologist |
|---|---|
| Realistic | 5 |
| Investigative | 7 |
| Artistic | 1 |
| Social | 5 |
| Enterprising | 2 |
| Conventional | 4 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
What the work is built around
Day to day this is work built around investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data, combined with hands-on, practical work with tools, machines or the outdoors.
- Investigative6.9
- Realistic5.3
- Social5.0
- Conventional4.0
- Enterprising2.3
- Artistic1.1
Closest MBTI types
NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.
Explore further
Careers related to Interventional Cardiologist
O*NET related occupations
- Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
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- Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
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More healthcare practitioners and technical careers
Median annual pay, with cardiologists highlighted
- Interventional Cardiologist$496,010
- Anesthesiologist$391,490
- Physician Assistant$135,880
- Nurse Practitioner$132,300
- Physical Therapist$102,760
- Dental Hygienist$98,100
- Diagnostic Medical Sonographer$96,590
- Radiologic Technologist and Technician$80,110
- Surgical Technologist$64,650
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Interventional Cardiologist | $496,010 |
| Anesthesiologist | $391,490 |
| Physician Assistant | $135,880 |
| Nurse Practitioner | $132,300 |
| Physical Therapist | $102,760 |
| Dental Hygienist | $98,100 |
| Diagnostic Medical Sonographer | $96,590 |
| Radiologic Technologist and Technician | $80,110 |
| Surgical Technologist | $64,650 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lists Interventional Cardiologist appears on
Questions
Interventional Cardiologist: frequently asked questions
How much do Cardiologists make?
MedAxiom 2025 Cardiovascular Provider Compensation and Production Survey reports $788,083 (median total annual compensation, interventional cardiologists in integrated (hospital-affiliated) cardiovascular programs; private practice median reported lower, 2024). BLS does not publish a separate wage for cardiologists. It counts them within cardiologist, whose median pay is $496,010 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The middle half of that occupation earn between $274,280 and $610,060, and the top 10% earn $712,130 or more.
Do you need a degree to become an Interventional Cardiologist?
Yes, and beyond a bachelor's: BLS lists a doctoral or professional degree as the typical entry requirement for Cardiologists. BLS also lists internship/residency as typical on-the-job training.
Is Interventional Cardiologist a growing career?
Yes. Employment is projected to grow 4.8% over 2025–2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 500 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does an Interventional Cardiologist do?
Interventional cardiologists work in the cardiac catheterization lab. A typical task: perform diagnostic cardiac catheterization and coronary angiography. Employers most often ask for Medical software.
Which states pay Cardiologists the most?
The highest state medians for Cardiologists are Washington ($656,330), Missouri ($648,070), Nebraska ($646,300) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Adjusted for local prices using BEA Regional Price Parities, Nebraska moves to the top at $717,290.
What personality type suits an Interventional Cardiologist?
O*NET scores Cardiologists highest on the Investigative, Realistic and Social interest areas, so the work mixes investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data with hands-on, practical work with tools, machines or the outdoors. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ISTJ, ISTP. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.