What the numbers mean
NYC wage = actual NYC metro mean salary from BLS (May 2024). Est. cost = total training estimate including tuition and licensing. Net 20y = total earnings minus training costs over 20 years.
Health care wages in New York City run far above the national average. A respiratory therapist earns about $75,000 nationally—in the NYC metro, it’s $109,720. That gap shows up across nearly every clinical role on this page, and it’s why a NYC-specific ranking exists. The salary data here comes from BLS OEWS for the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro, May 2024.
The practical tradeoff: the highest-paying paths on this list—radiation therapy, nuclear medicine, respiratory therapy—require full associate degree programs with demanding coursework and clinical rotations. The faster certificate routes (LPN, surgical tech) get you earning within about a year, but they cap at about $72–$79k. This page ranks all nine by total earnings over 20 years after training costs, so you can see both the sprint and the marathon.
For the national view across all education levels, see our Best ROI Health Care Careers page.
Key Findings
- •5 of these 9 careers pay six figures in NYC: Radiation therapist ($143k), nuclear medicine tech ($116k), respiratory therapist ($110k), ultrasound tech ($105k), and dental hygienist ($101k). That is still a strong short-path lineup, but narrower than the first pass of this page suggested.
- •The fastest routes aren’t the highest-paying: LPN and surgical tech get you working in about a year, but they cap at about $72–$79k in NYC. If long-run earnings matter more than speed, the two-year clinical programs dominate.
- •Radiation therapist tops the list at $143k: The highest-paid career on this page is reachable with an associate degree plus certification. The tradeoff: it is a specialized oncology path with fewer training seats than broader imaging roles like radiologic tech.
NYC 2-Year Career Rankings (All 9 Careers)
Nine health care careers you can start with two years of training or less, ranked by total earnings over 20 years using NYC metro wages.
| Rank ↑ | Career ↕ | Net 20y ↕ | NYC wage ↕ | Paycheck in | Est. cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
#1 | Radiation Therapist | $2.5M Strong | $143k/yr Very High | 2 years | $25k | View Details |
#2 | Nuclear Medicine Technologist | $2.0M Strong | $116k/yr Very High | 2 years | $25k | View Details |
#3 | Respiratory Therapist | $1.9M Strong | $110k/yr Very High | 3 years | $24k | View Details |
#4 | Dental Hygienist | $1.7M Strong | $101k/yr Very High | 2 years | $25k | View Details |
#5 | Radiologic Technologist | $1.7M Strong | $97k/yr High | 2 years | $25k | View Details |
#6 | Ultrasound Technician | $1.7M Strong | $105k/yr Very High | 2 years | $25k | View Details |
#7 | Cardiovascular Technician | $1.3M Solid | $85k/yr High | 2 years | $25k | View Details |
#8 | Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) / Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) | $1.3M Solid | $72k/yr Above Average | 2 years | $11k | View Details |
#9 | Surgical Technologist | $1.2M Solid | $79k/yr Above Average | 1 year | $10k | View Details |
#1
Radiation Therapist
Net 20y
$2.5M
Strong
NYC wage: $143k/yr
Paycheck in: 2 years
Est. cost: $25k
#2
Nuclear Medicine Technologist
Net 20y
$2.0M
Strong
NYC wage: $116k/yr
Paycheck in: 2 years
Est. cost: $25k
#3
Respiratory Therapist
Net 20y
$1.9M
Strong
NYC wage: $110k/yr
Paycheck in: 3 years
Est. cost: $24k
#4
Dental Hygienist
Net 20y
$1.7M
Strong
NYC wage: $101k/yr
Paycheck in: 2 years
Est. cost: $25k
#5
Radiologic Technologist
Net 20y
$1.7M
Strong
NYC wage: $97k/yr
Paycheck in: 2 years
Est. cost: $25k
#6
Ultrasound Technician
Net 20y
$1.7M
Strong
NYC wage: $105k/yr
Paycheck in: 2 years
Est. cost: $25k
#7
Cardiovascular Technician
Net 20y
$1.3M
Solid
NYC wage: $85k/yr
Paycheck in: 2 years
Est. cost: $25k
#8
Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) / Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN)
Net 20y
$1.3M
Solid
NYC wage: $72k/yr
Paycheck in: 2 years
Est. cost: $11k
#9
Surgical Technologist
Net 20y
$1.2M
Solid
NYC wage: $79k/yr
Paycheck in: 1 year
Est. cost: $10k
How to Read This Page
Why some careers aren't listed
RN is excluded because NYC increasingly expects a BSN (4-year degree), making the 2-year ADN path less straightforward. A few other roles (EKG tech, OTA, PTA) are excluded because BLS groups them with broader occupations, making wage data unreliable for a direct comparison.
Training path and earnings over time
Pick a career to see training steps, estimated costs, and when you start earning. The chart shows how each path pays off using NYC metro wages.
Chart Insights
- •The $100k+ tier requires associate degrees: Nuclear medicine tech, respiratory therapist, and radiation therapist lead the pack—but expect demanding coursework, clinical rotations, and certification exams.
- •LPN and surgical tech get you working sooner: LPN and surgical tech are the entry points if you need income fast. Both reach a paycheck in about a year.
- •The 20-year view changes the rankings: Higher-paying associate programs pull ahead of certificate routes by year 4–5 and stay ahead. The gap compounds: a $30k salary difference adds up to $600k over 20 years.
Career-by-career breakdown
Each career below includes the training path, NYC metro salary, estimated cost, and time to your first paycheck. Ranked by total earnings over 20 years after training costs.
1
Radiation Therapist
Allied Health
Net 20y
$2.5M
NYC wage
$143k/yr
Paycheck in
3 years
Est. cost
$25k
- What they do
- Deliver radiation treatments to cancer patients, set up equipment precisely, and monitor each session for accuracy and safety.
- Why it works in NYC
- NYC’s density of cancer treatment centers—Memorial Sloan Kettering, NYU Langone, NewYork-Presbyterian—drives steady demand for radiation therapists. At $142,900 in the metro, this is the highest-paid role on the page and one of the strongest salary outcomes available on a two-year degree.
2
Nuclear Medicine Technologist
Allied Health
Net 20y
$2.0M
NYC wage
$116k/yr
Paycheck in
3 years
Est. cost
$25k
- What they do
- Prepare radiopharmaceuticals, run specialized imaging studies, and monitor patients during nuclear medicine procedures.
- Why it works in NYC
- Still one of the few two-year paths above $116,140 in NYC—reachable with an associate degree and NMTCB or ARRT certification. The tradeoff: nuclear medicine is a smaller specialty with fewer open positions than broader imaging roles. If you can land a seat in an accredited program, the ceiling remains unusually high for this education level.
3
Respiratory Therapist
Allied Health
Net 20y
$1.9M
NYC wage
$110k/yr
Paycheck in
3 years
Est. cost
$24k
- What they do
- Treat patients with breathing disorders, manage oxygen therapy and ventilators, and support ICU and emergency teams.
- Why it works in NYC
- Post-COVID awareness raised the profile, but the fundamentals were already strong: NYC’s hospital density and aging population keep demand high. At $109,720 in the metro, respiratory therapy remains one of the city’s clearest six-figure clinical paths with broad hospital demand.
4
Dental Hygienist
Allied Health
Net 20y
$1.7M
NYC wage
$101k/yr
Paycheck in
3 years
Est. cost
$25k
- What they do
- Clean teeth, assess oral health, take X-rays, and educate patients on preventive care in dental practices and clinics.
- Why it works in NYC
- Predictable hours, no overnights, and private-practice flexibility set dental hygiene apart from hospital-based roles. At $100,910 in NYC, dental hygiene still clears the six-figure line without shift work or weekend rotations.
5
Radiologic Technologist
Allied Health
Net 20y
$1.7M
NYC wage
$97k/yr
Paycheck in
3 years
Est. cost
$25k
- What they do
- Perform X-ray and related imaging studies, position patients, maintain radiation safety, and keep diagnostic workflows moving.
- Why it works in NYC
- The broadest imaging role and the one with the most open positions. At $96,930 in NYC, rad tech no longer clears six figures in the metro data, but it remains a strong stepping stone into CT, mammography, or nuclear medicine.
6
Ultrasound Technician
Allied Health
Net 20y
$1.7M
NYC wage
$105k/yr
Paycheck in
3 years
Est. cost
$25k
- What they do
- Capture diagnostic ultrasound images, position patients, and support physician interpretation across obstetric, vascular, abdominal, and other studies.
- Why it works in NYC
- Sonography’s breadth is its strength—OB, vascular, cardiac, and abdominal subspecialties mean you can shift focus without starting over. At $104,880 in NYC, a two-year degree still opens a six-figure imaging path with multiple specialty lanes.
7
Cardiovascular Technician
Allied Health
Net 20y
$1.3M
NYC wage
$85k/yr
Paycheck in
3 years
Est. cost
$25k
- What they do
- Support cardiovascular testing and procedures, including stress testing, EKG work, and cath-lab-adjacent diagnostic workflows.
- Why it works in NYC
- NYC’s concentration of cardiac cath labs and cardiology practices creates strong local demand. At $85,140 in the metro, cardiovascular tech no longer sits in the six-figure tier here, but it still places you in one of the most procedure-heavy specialty environments in the city.
8
Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) / Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN)
Patient Care
Net 20y
$1.3M
NYC wage
$72k/yr
Paycheck in
2 years
Est. cost
$11k
- What they do
- Provide bedside nursing care, monitor patients, administer medications within scope, and support care teams in long-term care and clinic settings.
- Why it works in NYC
- The fastest nursing-adjacent path on this page. At $72,150 in NYC, LPN doesn’t reach six figures—but many NYC employers offer tuition assistance for LPN-to-RN bridge programs, making it a deliberate stepping stone rather than a dead end.
9
Surgical Technologist
Allied Health
Net 20y
$1.2M
NYC wage
$79k/yr
Paycheck in
2 years
Est. cost
$10k
- What they do
- Prepare operating rooms, sterilize instruments, support surgeons during procedures, and maintain sterile technique.
- Why it works in NYC
- No other path on this page puts you inside an operating room this fast. At $79,060 in NYC, surgical tech is the entry point to procedural medicine—direct experience with surgical teams and OR workflows that no classroom can replicate.
Sources
- •BLS OEWS metro wage data (New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ)
- •BLS OEWS occupation profile pages
- •U.S. Department of Education - College Scorecard
- •BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034
Methodology
This page uses official BLS OEWS geographic wage data for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro. For local pay, we use May 2024 annual mean wage values from the metro occupation tables, not the national median wages used on some of our broader ranking pages.
We then run those wages through the existing HealthJob ROI model: career earnings over 20 years minus estimated education and licensing costs. Training-cost estimates come from College Scorecard when available, plus pathway-based licensing fees and accreditor-based context. Training cost estimates include tuition and licensing but not living expenses, and they are national program averages—not NYC-specific tuition quotes.
We excluded RN from the ranked list because NYC increasingly expects a BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) for new-grad hospital hiring, making the two-year ADN path less straightforward than it appears in national data. EKG/ECG technician is excluded because the NYC BLS wage row covers the broader cardiovascular-technologist-and-technician occupation. OTA, PTA, and clinical lab technician are excluded because local BLS rows group assistants or technicians with broader occupation families.
The result is still a model, not a promise. The wage side is local NYC data. The cost side is a national program-cost estimate. Program quality, hiring networks, clinical placements, shift differentials, and employer preferences can all move your real outcome away from the ranked order.