The Great Reshuffling: Mapping the 2025 Cardiology Workforce by State

What state-level shifts in cardiologist and cardiovascular technologist employment signal for practice planning, recruitment, and patient access

A new workforce analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows striking state-by-state divergence in cardiology staffing between 2024 and 2025.

Only four states — Connecticut, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia — posted simultaneous growth in both employed cardiologists and cardiovascular technologists.

Eight states moved in the opposite direction, shedding both roles year over year, a pattern that should concern anyone tracking regional cardiovascular care capacity.

For physicians weighing relocation, recruitment, or service-line expansion, these numbers offer a real-time pulse on where cardiology capacity is being built and where it is eroding.

The states gaining ground on both fronts

Texas added the most cardiologists in absolute terms, growing from roughly 1,530 to 2,050 clinicians, a 34% increase, while its cardiovascular technologist workforce grew nearly 20%.

Virginia and South Carolina posted even sharper percentage gains in cardiologist headcount, at 58.8% and 61.5% respectively, alongside double-digit technologist growth.

Connecticut rounded out the four-state cohort with a 23.1% rise in cardiologists and a 17% rise in technologists.

Florida posted the single largest cardiologist percentage gain nationally at 67.3%, though its technologist count slipped slightly, keeping it outside the dual-growth group.

Teal = year-over-year growth in employed cardiologists; amber = decline. Source: BLS-derived state employment estimates.

The states losing ground on both fronts

Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Tennessee, and Washington each recorded simultaneous declines in cardiologist and cardiovascular technologist headcount.

Georgia stands out within this group, losing 24.3% of its cardiologist workforce and nearly 15% of its technologists in a single year, a combination that warrants scrutiny of regional referral patterns and access.

Iowa's 47.4% cardiologist decline was the second-steepest in the country, trailing only New Mexico's 71% drop.

Small base numbers amplify these percentages, so a single retirement, relocation, or employment-classification change in a low-volume state can swing the year-over-year figure dramatically.

State-by-state employment snapshot

The full dataset below reflects 2025 total employment and the percent change from 2024 for both roles, drawn from BLS occupational employment statistics.

State	Cardiologists, 2025	% Change	CV Techs, 2025	% Change
Connecticut	320	+23.1%	620	+17.0%
South Carolina	210	+61.5%	890	+7.2%
Texas	2,050	+34.0%	6,140	+19.7%
Virginia	810	+58.8%	2,410	+14.2%
Florida	920	+67.3%	5,640	-3.4%
New Mexico	90	-71.0%	400	+53.8%
New York	2,260	0.0%	3,540	+10.6%
Alabama	130	-23.5%	930	-15.5%
Georgia	1,150	-24.3%	2,580	-14.9%
Iowa	100	-47.4%	380	-13.6%
Ohio	760	-1.3%	2,140	-6.1%
Tennessee	560	-1.8%	1,030	-14.2%
Washington	200	-23.1%	1,110	-4.3%

Abbreviated table; full 51-jurisdiction dataset available via the source report linked above.

Why the technologist side matters just as much

Alaska and the District of Columbia each doubled their cardiovascular technologist workforce year over year, though both started from a small base.

West Virginia saw the steepest technologist decline nationally at 25.5%, a notable signal given the state's already limited cardiology footprint.

Technologist supply directly constrains echocardiography, stress testing, and cardiac catheterization lab throughput, so a shrinking tech workforce can bottleneck care even where physician staffing holds steady.

Programs expanding physician headcount without a parallel technologist pipeline risk creating scheduling backlogs rather than genuine capacity gains.

Circle area is illustrative of relative count, not statistically scaled.

Reading these numbers in context

National-level data show roughly 17,290 practicing cardiologists and about 63,000 cardiovascular technologists in 2025, with cardiologists earning a mean annual wage near $454,940 and technologists near $76,940.

These state swings unfold against a broader backdrop of projected physician shortfall, with the Association of American Medical Colleges projecting a shortage of tens of thousands of physicians by the mid-2030s.

Roughly half of U.S. counties lack a practicing cardiologist, and the gap is far more severe in rural areas, where the large majority of counties have no cardiologist at all.

Against that backdrop, a single state adding or losing a quarter of its cardiologist workforce in one year is not noise — it is a meaningful shift in regional access.

Compensation and demand context

Metric	2025 figure	Source
National cardiologist mean annual wage	$454,940	BLS OEWS
National CV technologist mean annual wage	$76,940	BLS OEWS
Median full-time cardiologist compensation	$694,954	MedAxiom 2025 survey
Average cardiologist starting salary	$470,000	AMN Healthcare

Case vignette

A mid-career non-invasive cardiologist at a hospital-employed practice in the Midwest is approached by a recruiter from a Gulf Coast health system.

Before responding, the physician asks Claude-style workforce data to compare cardiologist and cardiovascular technologist growth trends between the home state and the prospective state.

Seeing that the home state is among those losing both cardiologists and technologists year over year, while the destination state is in the four-state dual-growth group, the physician recognizes that the practice environment, call burden, and support staffing may differ substantially.

This kind of state-level workforce comparison becomes a useful, objective input alongside compensation and lifestyle factors when evaluating a job offer or a service-line expansion proposal.

What this means for practice and policy planning

Group practices and health systems in dual-decline states may need to budget for higher recruitment incentives and longer time-to-fill for both physician and technologist roles.

Systems in high-growth states should validate that echocardiography lab, cath lab, and electrophysiology support staffing is scaling proportionally with physician hiring, not lagging behind it.

For physicians considering relocation, pairing this workforce data with regional American College of Cardiology chapter resources can help benchmark call schedules and program maturity before signing a contract.

Bottom line

Only four states grew both their cardiologist and cardiovascular technologist workforces in 2025, while eight states shrank in both categories simultaneously, a divergence that physicians should factor into recruitment, relocation, and service-line planning decisions alongside compensation and lifestyle considerations.

References

1. Becker's Cardiology Review. State and metro concentration of cardiologists and cardiovascular technologists, 2025.
2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook: Physicians and Surgeons.
3. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook: Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians.
4. Association of American Medical Colleges. Physician supply and demand projections.
5. American College of Cardiology. Cardiovascular Team Section resources.

This article is intended for physician education and general informational purposes only, does not constitute career, legal, or financial advice, and should not be used as the sole basis for employment or business decisions.