Pay

What do cardiologists earn?

Salaried cardiologists earned a mean of $432,490 a year in May 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, across 18,020 employed nationally.

Mean annual wage, May 2024: $432,490
Employed nationally, May 2024: 18,020

These are salaried figures. BLS surveys employers, doesn't cover the self-employed or owners and partners in unincorporated practices, and leaves out pay such as year-end bonuses. So they can understate what partners and private-practice owners earn, and they don't separate cardiologists by subspecialty or by stage.

Practice

How is cardiology changing?

Most cardiologists now work outside physician-owned practices. In the AMA's 2024 survey, 30.7% of cardiologists were in private practice, meaning a practice wholly owned by physicians. That was the lowest share of any specialty the AMA reports. Across all physicians the share was 42.2%, down from 60.1% in 2012.

The GAO reports that at least 47% of physicians were employed by or affiliated with hospital systems in 2024, up from less than 30% in 2012. A study it cites found that about 37% of physicians in five specialties together (cardiology, gastroenterology, medical oncology, orthopedics and urology) were affiliated with corporate entities, such as insurers or management services organizations, in 2022. That figure covers the five specialties combined, not cardiology alone.

So a first offer may come from a hospital or health system, a physician-owned group or a practice with outside investors. None is better in itself. Each changes how you're paid, what you might own and what you'd sign.

The first year

Your first year as an attending

The first twelve months bring the same decisions for most new attendings, in roughly this order. The full checklist goes through each one.

The first-year attending checklist

Disability insurance

Your income is what most of the rest of the plan depends on. Read how your employer's group coverage defines disability and how much of your pay it replaces, then decide whether an individual own-occupation policy belongs alongside it.

Student loans

Pick a repayment path on purpose rather than by default. Forgiveness, repayment plans and refinancing each depend on your loans and your employer, and moving federal loans to a private lender gives up options you can't get back, so compare before you move anything.

Retirement accounts

Learn what your employer offers, what the match is and how long it takes to vest, and when you can join. Above the Roth IRA income limits, a backdoor Roth may be worth reviewing with your tax professional.

Your contract and signing bonus

Read what you would repay if you left early, and how a signing or relocation payment is taxed and withheld. Your attorney reads the agreement; we help you see what it means for your household.

An emergency fund

Hold enough cash to cover your fixed costs for a stretch without income, before raising spending or investing more. The right amount depends on your household and how settled your job is.

Life and umbrella insurance

If anyone depends on your income, term life insurance is worth a look. Umbrella liability coverage sits above home and auto policies. We advise and coordinate with your insurance professional; we don't sell insurance.

What's different in cardiology?

These are questions to ask before you sign and during the first year. The contract is for your attorney and the tax for your accountant. We advise and coordinate with both; we don't negotiate contracts or value practices.

01

Who is the employer, and who owns it?

Ask whether you'd be employed by a hospital, a health system, a physician-owned group or a group with outside investors, and whether that has changed recently. It decides your benefits, your retirement plan and whether the job counts toward loan forgiveness tied to your employer.

02

How is call paid?

Ask how often you'd take call, whether it's paid separately or built into salary, and whether that changes as you gain seniority. Ask what happens to call pay if coverage needs grow.

03

How is your work counted?

If your role mixes clinic, reading studies and procedures, ask how each is credited, whether productivity is counted in work relative value units (wRVUs), and what the conversion rate is. Ask how long any fixed starting salary lasts and what replaces it.

04

Is there a partnership track?

If the group is physician-owned, ask how long until partnership, what the buy-in costs and how it was valued, and what you get back if you leave. We look at what a buy-in does to your cash flow and loans next to your other goals.

05

What does the agreement restrict?

Ask where and for how long you couldn't practice if you leave, and who pays for tail malpractice coverage. These shape your options later, and your attorney reads them.

Common questions

What cardiologists ask.

Do cardiologists need a financial advisor?

Not necessarily. Plenty of cardiologists manage well with a good accountant and some reading. An advisor tends to help most when several decisions land at once: a first contract, loans, a house and a growing family. If you hire one, ask how they're paid and whether they act as a fiduciary. How to choose a financial advisor as a doctor

How much does a cardiologist make?

BLS puts the mean for salaried cardiologists at $432,490 a year (May 2024). Those figures don't split out subspecialty or stage, so compare with cardiologists at your stage and in your state rather than with one national number.

Are most cardiologists employed by hospitals?

Fewer than a third are in physician-owned private practice: 30.7% in the AMA's 2024 survey. The rest work in hospital-owned practices, directly for hospitals, in practices with outside owners or in other settings.

What should I ask about a cardiology contract?

How call is paid, how your work is counted, how long any fixed starting salary lasts, and what the agreement restricts if you leave. Questions to ask before you sign

Guides

Financial planning for cardiologists