Start with the answer
Cardiologists pay in Lexington-Fayette, KY and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Cardiologists is $558,180 per year in Lexington-Fayette, KY. It is $662,760 per year in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA. Lexington-Fayette, KY is 15.8% below Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 29-1212 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 140 wage and salary jobs in Lexington-Fayette, KY and 130 in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings
