Somewhere in Normal, Illinois — a town whose name is, in fact, Normal — a radiologist is being offered $850,000 a year to look at pictures. That is not a typo, and it is not a coastal hub. It is central Illinois, and it is the highest-paying single radiology listing in the country right now. Across 345 total job listings spanning more than 40 states, the radiology market has quietly become one of the most lucrative and geographically scrambled corners of physician hiring. The thesis: in radiology, the map no longer matches the money.
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The Radiology Job Market at a Glance

Total listings: 345
Listings with salary data: 22
Full salary range: $400,000 to $850,000
National average range: $548,086 to $619,794

The spread tells the real story. From floor to ceiling, radiology compensation more than doubles depending on where you point the cursor. A $450,000 swing inside a single specialty is not normal market behavior — it is the signature of a field where reading volume, subspecialty scope, and locum premiums are all fighting for the same paycheck.

The average sits comfortably in the high five hundreds, but the top of the band runs well past $750,000 in several markets. That is not a rounding error. That is structural scarcity meeting structural demand.

States represented in the dataset: OH, MO, NY, NJ, WA, IL, NC, CO, WV, HI, MA, MD, FL, TN, MI, KS, TX, ND, CA, WI, SD, IA, OK, MT, DC, IN, PA, GA, LA, NM, KY, MN, AR, VA, AZ, SC, UT, OR, NE, AL, NH.
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How States Stack Up

Overperformers

• Illinois: Average range of $653,333 to $787,667, anchored by the $850,000 Normal, IL listing — the national high.
• Colorado: A single Montrose listing at $750,000 to $790,000, proving one job can carry an entire state ranking.
• North Carolina: Locum tenens compensation in Lenoir at $340 to $365 per hour (annualized: $707,200 to $759,200) pulls the state into the top tier.
• Maryland: $625,000 to $675,000 — the Mid-Atlantic’s quiet overachiever.

Near-average

• Washington: $589,346 to $637,131 across 14 listings — the cleanest benchmark in the country.
• Ohio: $557,500 to $612,500 across 9 listings, textbook middle of the road.
• Missouri: $524,250 to $557,000 across 16 listings, slightly below the midpoint but high-volume.
• New York: $475,000 to $650,000, a wide band reflecting urban-rural split.

Underperformers

• West Virginia: $400,000 to $401,000 in White Sulphur Springs — the national low, and the tightest band on record.
• Hawaii: $400,000 to $500,000 (the sunset is part of the compensation package).
• Massachusetts: $460,000 to $520,000, well below national average despite the academic prestige.
• New Jersey: $482,500 to $525,000, similarly underwhelming for the cost of living.
• Florida: $450,000 to $550,000 — high volume, low pay.

Volume leaders: Florida (33), Pennsylvania (24), California (18), Indiana (18), Missouri (16), Illinois (16). Florida leads on listings and trails on pay. Pennsylvania, California, and Indiana disclosed no salary data at all.
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What This Means If You’re a Physician

If your priority is maximum compensation: Look at Normal, IL ($850,000), Montrose, CO ($750,000 to $790,000), and the Lenoir, NC locum at $340 to $365 per hour (annualized: $707,200 to $759,200). The highest single listing is Normal, IL at $850,000.

If your priority is maximum optionality: Florida (33), Pennsylvania (24), California (18), and Indiana (18) offer the deepest listing pools — though three of those four disclose no salary data, which is its own form of information.

If your priority is balance: Illinois, Washington, and Missouri pair real volume with disclosed pay. Massachusetts and New Jersey are the cost-of-living mismatches worth scrutinizing — both pay below average in markets where housing does not.
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What This Means If You’re a Recruiter

Salary transparency rate: 22 of 345 listings disclosed compensation. That is 6.4%.

A 6.4% transparency rate is, in plain English, an information vacuum. Candidates fill vacuums with assumptions, and assumptions in radiology start at $700,000 because that is what they see at the top of the band. Pennsylvania (24 listings, zero disclosed), California (18, zero), and Indiana (18, zero) are running blind into a candidate market that has already seen Normal, IL. Florida’s volume-pay mismatch — 33 listings averaging $450,000 to $550,000 — means recruiters there will need to lead with lifestyle, schedule, subspecialty mix, or partnership track. Compensation alone will not close.
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What’s Driving the Numbers

Locum premiums are doing real work at the top of the band. The North Carolina entry is not a staff job — it is hourly locum coverage that annualizes into the $700,000s. When temporary scarcity pricing shows up in a state-level ranking, the ranking is telling you something about coverage gaps, not base-pay norms.

Scope and rural scarcity are commanding the premium, not prestige. Normal, IL and Montrose, CO are not coastal academic centers. They are markets where someone needs reads done and the supply curve is short. Massachusetts and New Jersey, meanwhile, sit below average — prestige does not pay rent in radiology.

The volume-pay relationship is broken. Florida has the most listings and below-average pay. Illinois and Missouri tie at 16 listings, but Illinois pays $200,000 more at the midpoint. Volume in this market reflects employer demand, not employer generosity.

Transparency is the structural story. With 93.6% of listings withholding compensation, the visible market is a small, self-selected sample skewed toward employers confident enough to post a number. The real distribution is almost certainly wider, and almost certainly lower at the median than the disclosed average suggests.

The Bottom Line

Radiology in 2026 is a specialty where a town called Normal pays $850,000, Hawaii pays $400,000, and 93.6% of employers would rather not say. The money is real, the geography is upside-down, and the transparency is theoretical. Physicians with flexibility and a willingness to read from less glamorous zip codes are the ones cashing the largest checks.

In radiology, the darkroom pays better than the spotlight.
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Salary data based on 22 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.