Radiation Therapists Salary: $162,797 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 18,700 radiation therapists nationally earn a mean of $162,797. Employment in the series shown rose about 27% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 1.5% annual decline.
Key Statistics
Radiation Therapists: what the data shows
Common questions about radiation therapists careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a radiation therapists?
Radiation Therapists is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 29-1124.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 18,700 workers.
What does a radiation therapists do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Assisting and Caring for Others, Controlling Machines and Processes, Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials, Documenting/Recording Information, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a radiation therapists make?
BLS national median annual wage: $101,990 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $162,797 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $118,916 |
| 25th percentile | $140,230 |
| Median (50th) | $164,389 |
| 75th percentile | $176,942 |
| 90th percentile | $208,425 |
What education do you need?
For Radiation Therapists, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Social Perceptiveness, Operations Monitoring, Monitoring, and knowledge areas including Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Medicine and Dentistry, Physics. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is radiation therapists in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 1.5% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -7.1%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -13.8%.
Current U.S. headcount: 18,700.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do radiation therapistss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Hospitals | 21,100 | 18.7% |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 19,240 | 17.1% |
| Cross-industry | 18,700 | 16.6% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 17,930 | 15.9% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 17,090 | 15.2% |
| Ambulatory Health Care Services | 7,380 | 6.5% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Radiation Therapists in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Radiation Therapists workforce.
Employment Over Time
18,700 Workforce in 2023
The Radiation Therapists workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Radiation Therapists.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$162,797 Average Wage
In 2023, Radiation Therapists earned an average of $162,797.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Radiation Therapists.
Salary distribution for Radiation Therapists.
Employment Growth Projections
-1.5% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
4,234 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -7.1%
3,931 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -13.8%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Radiation Therapists.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Radiation Therapists and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Radiation Therapists employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Radiation Therapists.
Wage Trends by Industry
1.5% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Total, All Industry: -10.4% growth (Current: $198,174)
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Radiation Therapists.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Radiation Therapists.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- TX: 1,440 employees, $120,540 avg wage
- FL: 1,390 employees, $95,480 avg wage
- CA: 1,240 employees, $158,490 avg wage
- NY: 1,140 employees, $129,890 avg wage
- NC: 940 employees, $94,950 avg wage
- PA: 800 employees, $98,170 avg wage
- VA: 760 employees, $109,040 avg wage
- NJ: 750 employees, $132,650 avg wage
- MI: 620 employees, $89,580 avg wage
- OH: 600 employees, $112,910 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Radiation Therapists.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 1,200 employees, $142,900 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 540 employees, $113,100 avg wage
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: 470 employees, $118,860 avg wage
- Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC: 460 employees, $96,140 avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 430 employees, $112,130 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 380 employees, $152,530 avg wage
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ: 340 employees, $108,750 avg wage
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: 270 employees, $101,580 avg wage
- St. Louis, MO-IL: 270 employees, $97,200 avg wage
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: 250 employees, $170,190 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Radiation Therapists.
Diversity
Demographic information on Radiation Therapists in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Radiation Therapists in 2023 was 18,700 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Radiation Therapists.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Radiation Therapists.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Radiation Therapists.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Radiation Therapists in 2023 were Health Sciences, Biology, Psychology.
Common majors for Radiation Therapists.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Radiation Therapists workers.
Education level distribution for Radiation Therapists.
Skills
Radiation Therapists need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Social Perceptiveness, Operations Monitoring.
Required skills for Radiation Therapists.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Radiation Therapists.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Radiation Therapists include Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Medicine and Dentistry, Physics, Mathematics.
Knowledge areas required for Radiation Therapists.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Radiation Therapists include Oral Comprehension, Problem Sensitivity, Oral Expression, Written Comprehension, Written Expression.
Required abilities for Radiation Therapists.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Radiation Therapists.
Daily Activities
Radiation Therapists spend their time on activities such as Assisting and Caring for Others, Controlling Machines and Processes, Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials, Documenting/Recording Information, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events.
Most important work activities for Radiation Therapists.
About
Radiation Therapists
The average yearly wage for Radiation Therapists was $162,797 in 2023.
SOC Code
29-1124 - Radiation Therapists
Insights and Analysis
High earnings profile: Radiation Therapists reports an average salary of $162,797, placing it among stronger-paying occupations.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 18,700 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -1.5%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.