When you go to the doctor and get a CAT scan or an x-ray, the person who handles the process is known as a radiation technician. There are an estimated 213,560 such technicians working in the United States, estimates the 2010-2011 version of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' occupational outlook handbook. The average hourly wages and annual salary earned by a radiation technician varies according to factors like where the technician lives or is employed.
National Average
The typical radiation technician in America earns an annual salary of $54,180, which rings up to $26.05 hourly. Technicians in the bottom 10th percentile -- this means 10 percent of the technicians in the country earn less than this -- make $35,700 annually while those in the 90th percentile rake in $75,440 annually.
Employers
The top five employers of radiation technicians are hospitals, physicians' offices, medical labs, outpatient care centers and the government. Most radiation technicians -- 127,820, or 59 percent -- are employed in surgical or general hospitals where they earn $54,770 every year. In contrast, the technicians in the offices of physicians make an average of $50,860 annually; those in medical labs rake in $57,250; those working in outpatient care centers earn $52,950 annually; and government-employed technicians ring in at $56,140.
States
The states that host the greatest concentration of radiation technicians are Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia. Tennessee's technicians bring in an average annual salary of $48,960. Kentucky's technicians typically make $45,840. And West Virginian technicians net $41,400 annually.
Cities
The cities that are home to the most technicians are Huntington, West Virginia; Johnson City, Tennessee; and Wheeling, West Virginia. In Huntington, the average salary for radiation technicians is $44,660. In Johnson City, it's $45,720. And the typical technician in Wheeling earns $40,190 every year.
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