Perfusionist Salary: What the Wage Survey Reports
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I have been recruiting clinicians since 2009, and certified clinical perfusionists ask a fair question: what does the wage survey say we earn? The honest answer is that the survey does not say. It has no row labeled perfusionist. Publishing the nearest row as if it were a perfusionist wage would invent a number the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish.
CCP is the credential of the American Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion (opens in a new tab). The classification below is about the job title in the federal occupational system, for perfusionists who already hold that credential and want the wage source stated plainly.
What does BLS publish for a perfusionist salary?
Nothing under that name. The May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics occupation list has no detailed occupation called perfusionist. The 2018 SOC Direct Match Title File (opens in a new tab) matches the title Perfusionist to SOC 29-2099, Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other.
A direct-match title is a job title the classification assigns to an occupation. Perfusionist is one title inside 29-2099. The wage BLS publishes for 29-2099 is the wage for the occupation, which holds every title assigned to it.
Which titles share that occupation?
The same direct-match file also assigns Dialysis Technician, Electroencephalogram (EEG) Technologist, Polysomnograph Tech, and Respiratory Therapy Technician to SOC 29-2099, among other titles. Perfusionist is on that list. It is one title in a residual occupation, which is the category BLS uses for health technologists and technicians who are not listed separately.
Because the wage is estimated for the whole occupation, a dialysis technician and a perfusionist are inside the same published number. Anyone who quotes that number as a perfusionist salary is quoting the mix.
What did that occupation pay in May 2025?
OEWS estimated 182,610 jobs in Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other, in May 2025. That employment estimate excludes the self-employed. It is the count for the whole occupation, so it is not a count of perfusionists.
The median annual wage was $50,290. The median hourly wage was $24.18. The mean annual wage was $58,710, or $28.23 an hour. Employment, the mean, and the median hourly wage also appear in the May 2025 national news release. The annual median and the other percentiles are in the national estimates file.
| Percentile | Annual wage | Hourly wage |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $38,180 | $18.36 |
| 25th | $44,170 | $21.24 |
| Median (50th) | $50,290 | $24.18 |
| 75th | $64,340 | $30.93 |
| 90th | $85,270 | $40.99 |
| Mean | $58,710 | $28.23 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 national estimates, Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other (SOC 29-2099), oesm25nat.zip (opens in a new tab). Employment, mean wages, and the median hourly wage for the same row are in Table 1 of the May 2025 news release (opens in a new tab). The file is linked from the OEWS tables page (opens in a new tab).
For scale, the same national file puts the median annual wage for all occupations at $50,980. The 29-2099 median sits next to that all-occupations median because the occupation mixes many titles. It should be read as the residual category's wage.
OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay. The survey excludes overtime, shift differentials, and the employer cost of benefits (May 2025 technical notes (opens in a new tab)). Call pay that arrives as overtime or a differential is outside even this category wage.
Cardiovascular technologists are a separate occupation
Cardiovascular technologists and technicians are SOC 29-2031. The direct-match title Perfusionist is assigned to 29-2099, so 29-2031 is a different occupation with its own wage.
In May 2025, OEWS estimated 62,960 cardiovascular technologists and technicians. Their median annual wage was $74,310, and their mean annual wage was $76,940 (same national file (opens in a new tab)). Those figures describe cardiovascular technologists and technicians. They are not a perfusionist wage either.
What should you ask about pay on a real offer?
The published category wage cannot tell you what a cardiac surgery program pays a CCP. Ask the program for the base, how call is paid, whether ECMO time is included, and who covers benefits. Ask how many perfusionists share the wheel. A wage survey that mixes dozens of titles cannot answer those questions, and a posting that quotes a national category wage has not answered them either.
Our perfusionist recruiting page is the program-and-clinician comparison for call, ECMO, and case mix. The travel or staff perfusionist guide is the career version of that list. The clinical desk is the wider operating-room door, including the CRNA salary page, where BLS does publish an occupation wage.
If you want to move without your current program hearing about it, our confidential search explains how that works.
Related career guides: travel or staff perfusionist roles, locum or staff CRNA roles, pelvic floor PT jobs, remote dosimetrist jobs.
Where do these facts come from?
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018 SOC Direct Match Title File, sorted by title. Perfusionist matches SOC 29-2099, Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other: direct match title file (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 national estimates, SOC 29-2099 and SOC 29-2031: oesm25nat.zip (opens in a new tab), also listed on the OEWS tables page (opens in a new tab)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wages news release, May 2025, Table 1: ocwage.t01.htm (opens in a new tab)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS technical notes, May 2025: oes_tec.htm (opens in a new tab)
- American Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion, the board that credentials CCPs: abcp.org (opens in a new tab)
Frequently Asked Questions
Does BLS publish a perfusionist salary?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish a wage for perfusionists as their own occupation. In the 2018 SOC Direct Match Title File, the title Perfusionist matches Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other, SOC 29-2099.
What is the May 2025 wage for that occupation?
The May 2025 national OEWS median annual wage for SOC 29-2099 was $50,290. The mean annual wage was $58,710. Estimated employment was 182,610, excluding the self-employed. Those figures cover the whole occupation, including titles other than perfusionist.
Are perfusionists classified with cardiovascular technologists?
Cardiovascular technologists and technicians are SOC 29-2031, a separate occupation. Their May 2025 median annual wage was $74,310. The direct-match title Perfusionist is assigned to SOC 29-2099.
Why is the category wage a poor stand-in for a CCP?
The same classification file matches dialysis technicians, EEG technologists, polysomnograph techs, and respiratory therapy technicians to SOC 29-2099, along with perfusionists. One median for that mix is the occupation's wage. An offer from a cardiac surgery program is a different document, and it should state base, call, and ECMO pay on its own.
Can I explore a move without my program finding out?
Yes. The conversation is confidential. Your program is not contacted unless you ask.
Book a confidential career call
Tell me what you want the next role to feel like on a Tuesday. The conversation stays with us, and your current employer is not contacted unless you ask.
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