Kentucky and Iowa are each paying interventional cardiologists an average of $875,000 per year, which means the Midwest is now outbidding coastal markets by margins that would make a hospital CFO wince. The national market currently holds 188 active listings spread across 34 states, though only 18 of those listings disclose actual compensation figures. The data tells a clear story: interventional cardiology remains one of the most lucrative subspecialties in American medicine, but finding out what you’ll actually be paid requires more detective work than most physicians have time for.
👉 Explore Cardiology-Interventional job market insights and trends

The Cardiology-Interventional Job Market at a Glance

Total listings: 188. Listings with salary data: 18. Full national range: $380,000 to $900,000. Average range: $680,905 to $752,203.

The salary floor sits at $380,000 (Massachusetts), which is respectably above what most Americans earn but underwhelming for a physician who spent years learning to thread wires through coronary arteries. The ceiling reaches $900,000, a figure that reflects either exceptional skill, exceptional scarcity, or exceptional desperation on the part of the hiring institution. The average range clustering near $680,000 to $752,000 suggests that most markets have settled on a going rate, though significant outliers exist in both directions. The 9.6% transparency rate (18 of 188 listings) means physicians will spend considerable time on phone calls that could have been emails.

States represented:

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Connecticut
• Florida
• Georgia
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• Montana
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Washington
• Wisconsin

👉 Browse Cardiology-Interventional physician job opportunities

How States Stack Up

Overperformers: Kentucky leads at $875,000 (both ends of range), a figure that suggests rural hospital systems are pricing in the cost of convincing someone to leave Louisville. Iowa matches Kentucky at $875,000, proving that corn country can compete with anyone when the need is urgent. Illinois averages $775,000 to $883,000 across five disclosed listings, making it both data-rich and wallet-friendly. Minnesota comes in at $645,596 to $680,596, which is competitive though not eye-watering.

Near-average: Washington state offers $700,000 to $800,000, a reasonable benchmark for West Coast compensation without the California tax burden. Missouri ranges from $625,000 to $700,000 across two listings, positioning it as a middle-of-the-pack option with decent volume (9 total listings). California spans $527,550 to $714,229, reflecting the state’s usual salary variability and the fact that Modesto and San Francisco are not the same market.

Underperformers: Massachusetts bottoms out at $380,000, which might make sense in a saturated academic market but looks anemic compared to the national average. New Jersey sits at $500,000 to $550,000, a figure that will not impress anyone familiar with Bergen County property taxes. Indiana posts $580,000, trailing the national benchmark despite having four total listings in the state.

Volume leaders: Texas and Florida tie at 18 listings each, Arizona carries 14, and Missouri and Louisiana each hold 9. None of the top-volume states disclosed salary data, which means physicians interested in these markets will need to negotiate blind or press recruiters harder than they’d prefer.
👉 Compare Cardiology-Interventional compensation and opportunities by region

What This Means If You’re a Physician

If your priority is maximum compensation: Target Kentucky, Iowa, or Illinois. The highest individual listing in the dataset is in Illinois (specific city not provided in raw data), with compensation reaching $900,000. Kentucky and Iowa both average $875,000, and Illinois offers five listings with disclosed pay ranging from $775,000 to $883,000, giving you negotiating data and multiple options. Minnesota’s top listing also merits attention, though the average skews slightly lower.

If your priority is maximum optionality: Texas and Florida each offer 18 listings, giving you the most choices for practice setting, geography, and employment model. Arizona adds another 14 opportunities. The trade-off is zero salary transparency in these states, so you’ll need to extract compensation details directly from employers. Missouri combines reasonable volume (9 listings) with some disclosed salary data ($625,000 to $700,000), making it a middle-ground option.

If your priority is balance: Washington state offers $700,000 to $800,000 with a reasonable cost of living outside Seattle, and Missouri provides $625,000 to $700,000 with low housing costs and nine total listings. Illinois combines high pay ($775,000 to $883,000) with eight total listings and a mix of urban and rural options. Avoid Massachusetts unless you have compelling non-financial reasons; $380,000 in a high-cost state represents a significant compensation gap that lifestyle alone may not justify.
👉 Search Cardiology-Interventional jobs by location and compensation

What This Means If You’re a Recruiter

Salary transparency rate: 9.6% (18 of 188 listings). This is abysmal. It reflects industry norms around Locum Tenens placements and agency reluctance to publish figures, but it creates friction in the candidate pipeline and hands an advantage to employers willing to disclose upfront.

Candidate pipeline implications: Physicians evaluating opportunities will skip over non-transparent listings or deprioritize them in favor of markets where they can anchor expectations early. High-volume states like Texas, Florida, and Arizona are operating at an informational disadvantage despite offering the most opportunities. If you’re recruiting in these states, be prepared to lead with lifestyle, partnership track, or procedural volume rather than compensation, and expect candidates to ask for numbers earlier in the conversation than you’d prefer.

Volume-pay misalignments: Illinois bucks the trend by combining high volume (8 listings) with strong disclosed compensation ($775,000 to $883,000 average), making it a recruiter’s dream market. Meanwhile, Massachusetts holds 7 listings but discloses only one salary at $380,000, well below the national average—if other listings in the state follow that pattern, recruiters will need to lean heavily on academic prestige or urban amenities. Missouri offers 9 listings with modest transparency (2 disclosed) and near-average pay, positioning it as a volume play for recruiters willing to work the phones.
👉 Post Cardiology-Interventional positions on PhysEmp

What’s Driving the Numbers

Midwest and rural markets are pricing in scarcity. Kentucky and Iowa leading at $875,000 is not an accident. These are states where interventional cardiologists are scarce, hospitals are often the largest employers in town, and patient volumes justify the investment. The premium reflects the difficulty of recruitment, not the cost of living. Physicians willing to work in these markets can extract significant compensation, and hospitals have evidently decided that paying up is cheaper than losing cardiac service lines.

Coastal markets are either saturated or non-transparent. Massachusetts at $380,000 suggests oversupply or a single outlier listing (academic, part-time, or otherwise constrained). New Jersey at $500,000 to $550,000 is similarly underwhelming given the cost of living. Meanwhile, California’s range of $527,550 to $714,229 shows variability, but the state’s 7 listings include only 2 with disclosed pay, making it hard to draw firm conclusions. Coastal markets may be paying well but choosing not to advertise it, or they may be relying on lifestyle and reputation to offset lower compensation.

High-volume states are black boxes. Texas, Florida, and Arizona combine for 50 listings and zero salary disclosures, which suggests heavy reliance on staffing agencies and Locum Tenens models. This is not inherently a red flag—these states may pay competitively—but it creates a transparency problem that will frustrate candidates and slow the recruitment cycle. Recruiters in these markets should consider selective disclosure as a competitive advantage.

The volume-pay relationship is weak. Illinois combines high volume (8 listings) with high pay ($775,000 to $883,000), but Missouri combines high volume (9 listings) with near-average pay ($625,000 to $700,000). Texas and Florida lead in volume but offer no pay data. There is no clear pattern suggesting that more listings mean better or worse compensation; instead, pay appears driven by local supply-demand dynamics, hospital system resources, and recruiter strategy. Physicians should evaluate each market independently rather than assuming volume signals opportunity quality.

The Bottom Line

The interventional cardiology market is robust, geographically dispersed, and paying well for physicians willing to go where the need is greatest. Midwest markets are outbidding coastal ones, high-volume states are hiding their numbers, and the national average sits comfortably above $680,000. The transparency problem is real, but the opportunities are plentiful.

If you can thread a wire through a coronary artery, someone will pay you handsomely to do it—you just might have to ask them what “handsomely” means.
👉 Browse all Cardiology-Interventional physician jobs
👉 Upload your CV to get matched with opportunities
👉 Set alerts for new Cardiology-Interventional roles

Salary data based on 18 listings with disclosed compensation. Figures may reflect part-time or specialized roles. This report is informational and should not replace professional judgment or financial planning.