What MRI technologists actually earn, by percentile
BLS tracks MRI technologist pay through its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program under SOC code 29-2035, a distinct six-digit code from radiologic technologists and technicians (29-2034), even though BLS profiles both roles together on one Occupational Outlook Handbook page titled "Radiologic and MRI Technologists." The most recent published wage data, from May 2025, puts the MRI technologist median annual wage at $95,480. BLS does not publish a role-specific hourly figure for MRI technologists on this page; dividing the annual median by a standard 2,080-hour work year works out to roughly $45.90 an hour, a calculated figure rather than one BLS reports directly.
The percentile spread is wide in dollar terms: the bottom 10% of MRI technologists earned less than $68,890 in May 2025, while the top 10% earned more than $127,670, a gap of nearly $58,800. That range sits well above the equivalent spread for radiologic technologists, whose bottom 10% earned less than $55,980 and top 10% earned more than $118,660 on the same page. Both occupations typically require only an associate's degree to enter, so the roughly $15,370 gap between the two medians traces to the additional post-primary certification most MRI technologists complete, not to a difference in base entry credentials. Outside clinical imaging entirely, truck driver pay sits far below either figure, with BLS reporting a $57,440 median annual wage for heavy and tractor-trailer drivers in May 2024.
Pay by industry setting, and a mismatch worth noticing
BLS breaks out May 2025 MRI technologist wages across four industry categories. Outpatient care centers paid the highest median by a wide margin, at $140,390, roughly $44,470 above the next-highest setting. Hospitals paid a median of $95,920, close to the national median for the occupation, followed by offices of physicians at $93,880 and medical and diagnostic laboratories at $93,540.
That $140,390 figure is easy to misread as where most MRI technologists work. BLS's separate work-environment data for this occupation shows the opposite: about 61% of MRI technologists work in hospitals, 17% in medical and diagnostic laboratories, 14% in offices of physicians, and only about 3% in outpatient care centers, the very setting with the highest median pay. Reading the industry wage table without the employment-share data would suggest outpatient centers are a large part of the field; in practice they are a small, higher-paying niche, not the typical work setting.
Job outlook: MRI technologists are projected to grow faster than radiologic technologists
BLS's Quick Facts box for this page only shows one combined figure for "radiologic and MRI technologists" (278,100 jobs in 2025, projected to reach 293,300 by 2035, 5% growth, adding 15,100 positions). But the Job Outlook tab includes a separate Employment Projections Data table that breaks that combined total out by the two specific SOC codes. For MRI technologists (29-2035) alone, BLS projects growth from 43,900 jobs in 2025 to 47,300 by 2035, an 8% increase, adding 3,400 positions. Radiologic technologists and technicians (29-2034), the larger of the two occupations by headcount, are projected to grow from 234,200 to 246,000 jobs, a 5% increase adding 11,800 positions. A much smaller, slower-growing occupation by comparison, this site's funeral director wage data covers morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers, with BLS projecting just 3% growth through 2035.
That 8% MRI-specific growth rate is faster than the 5% projected for radiologic technologists on the same page, and faster than the 5% combined-group figure that a reader relying only on the Quick Facts box would see. BLS attributes growth in this occupation pairing to an aging population that needs more diagnostic imaging, along with continued demand for imaging in cancer detection and treatment planning; the agency's SOC-specific table doesn't break out how much of that demand is driving MRI growth specifically versus radiologic imaging generally, but the higher projected growth rate for the MRI role lines up with the wage premium in the section above.
How people become MRI technologists, and how the entry path compares to radiologic technology
Entry-level education for MRI technologists is an associate's degree, the same typical requirement BLS lists for radiologic technologists. BLS does not name a specific credentialing body on this page; the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT), which administers the field's MR credential, is a separately confirmed, real credentialing organization, not a BLS-sourced detail. ARRT publishes two distinct routes into that credential. The primary pathway runs through an ARRT-approved MRI educational program that requires at least an associate's degree and documented competence across a set of imaging procedures. The post-primary pathway is the route many working radiologic technologists actually take: it requires already holding an ARRT certification in a supporting discipline, specifically radiography, nuclear medicine technology, radiation therapy, or sonography, plus at least 16 hours of structured MRI-specific education, 125 documented MRI procedure repetitions, and passing the MR certification exam.
That post-primary route is one reason the two occupations on this BLS page are so closely linked in practice: a meaningful share of MRI technologists start out as radiologic technologists, earning the lower of the two medians on this page, and add the MR credential later once they have enough clinical hours to qualify for the post-primary pathway. For a comparison at a similar associate's-degree entry point in a different diagnostic imaging modality, this site's ultrasound technologist salary guide covers sonography, credentialed through a separate body (ARDMS) rather than ARRT, using sound waves instead of magnetic fields. Outside imaging, this site's surgical tech salary guide covers BLS wage data and job outlook for that allied health role.