Self-employed cardiologists can see their income nearly double over more than 20 years, according to Medscape’s salary explorer.
Nationwide, self-employed cardiologists with one to seven years of experience earn an average of $360,000 annually. That figure increases significantly with experience:
- 8 to 14 years: $460,000
- 15 to 21 years: $570,000
- 22 to 28 years: $670,000
That is a pay increase of more than 85% from early to late-career stages.
These gains come amid major shifts in practice models. Hospital acquisitions of physician practices have accelerated over the past decade, but many cardiologists remain independent.
Nearly 50% of private cardiology groups are now backed by private equity, with the highest compensation growth seen in procedural subspecialties such as interventional cardiology and electrophysiology, according to MedAxiom’s “2024 Cardiovascular Provider Compensation Survey.”
