Skip to content
NDT Connect Logo
Home/Cost Guide/New York/Radiographic Testing
Pricing guide · Tier 1 labour band
New York, NY

NDT inspection cost in New York: Radiographic Testing rates

Field-anchored pricing guide for RT (Radiographic Testing) and the other five common NDT methods in New York, NY. Rates are quoted in USD per hour and reflect the Tier-1 labour band that applies across northeast markets.

NYC infrastructure inspections operate under multi-decade audit retention — every cert and every cal record is subpoena-bound.

Low band

$472

per hour · routine scope, full-day crew

Typical

$826

per hour · most jobs land here

High band

$1416

per hour · turnaround / night shift / rope access

Local market overview — New York, NY

Inspection-services demand across New York, NY flows out of engineering consulting hqs, construction & infrastructure, and aviation mro. The northeast corridor — a mega-metro footprint of 19.6 million residents — concentrates 3 named industrial sites that RT crews mobilise to on a recurring cadence, with Port of NY/NJ typically holding standing-order contractor coverage.

Steady-state programme work dominates the RT order book here. Bechtel, AECOM, WSP, Arup, Skanska — major NDT consultancies. Combined with AECOM HQ's capital-asset footprint, that is what makes New York, NY a core RT market for local providers.

Major engineering consultancies HQ here — global NDT specs originate from NYC offices. Wages, capital-equipment depreciation, and procedure overhead all feed into the RT rate band, which clears at the regional benchmark for Level II work Procurement teams should expect measured negotiation on volume contracts here.

Regional code context — RT in New York, NY

BPVC Sec V Art. 2 (RT) governs the RT examination itself. On top of that, New York, NY contractors close the procedure against NYC Building Code Ch. 33 (construction safety), MTA SI specifications (transit infrastructure), API 510/570/653, ASME Section V/VIII, Port Authority NY/NJ Engineering Specs before the first weld is shot. Customer-specific specs appear in the pack for this market — and Bechtel NYC offices's pre-qualification process re-validates that the procedure pack is current at every onboarding.

  • NYC Building Code Ch. 33 (construction safety)
  • MTA SI specifications (transit infrastructure)
  • API 510/570/653
  • BPVC Sec V Art. 2 (RT)
  • BPVC Sec VIII Div 1 UW-51
  • B31.3 para 344.5
Local pricing breakdown — RT in New York, NY

Field-anchored RT pricing in New York, NY runs $862/day at the typical Level II point, scaling to $1372/day for Level III procedural sign-off. The northeast demand profile, COL index 187, and high transport band combine into a ×1.12 multiplier on the national base ($620–$920/day). Bechtel NYC offices sets the high water mark — pre-qualified providers there typically collect the upper-band rate without negotiation.

Line itemRateDetail
Hourly labour (Level II)$87–$129/hrstandard programme rate
Hourly labour (Level III)$172/hrprocedure qualification + disposition
Day rate (Level II)$862/day8 hours, ≤30 km from base
Equipment surcharge$314/dayinstrument + consumables
Mobilisation$850/triphigh transport-surcharge band
Outage / night-shift uplift+25–40%turnaround windows and weekend work

Effective multiplier vs national base: ×1.12 · transport surcharge band: high.

Top local providers — RT in New York, NY

Providers covering the New York, NY market work to the cadence set by Bechtel NYC offices and other anchors like AECOM HQ, WSP USA HQ. Filter the NDT Connect provider list by city to surface crews with current RT qualifications and recent named-site deliverables — three quotes inside 72 hours is the realistic SLA for routine scope.

Major regional clients served

  • Bechtel NYC offices
  • AECOM HQ
  • WSP USA HQ
  • Arup
  • Skanska USA
Find RT providers in New York, NY
RT in New York, NY — local applications

Across New York, NY, RT is the examination engineering consulting hqs programmes lean on for nozzle-to-shell weld inspection. The local case is straightforward: Bechtel, AECOM, WSP, Arup, Skanska — major NDT consultancies drives a workload mix where programme work accounts for the majority of billable hours, and RT's detection envelope — particularly for the common-mode defects — is the right technical fit.

Bechtel NYC offices and the port footprint at Port of NY/NJ set the scope language. Procedures cite BPVC Sec V Art. 2 (RT); deliverables are Radiograph (film or DICONDE digital) and a written disposition. Programme work dominates the local order book, with UT/PAUT (for laminar flaws) carried as the standard paired method for cross-coverage.

Where New York, NY departs from generic national benchmarks: Highest US inspector day rates due to NYC weighting + cost-of-living. Major engineering consultancies HQ here — global NDT specs originate from NYC offices Recurring asset populations are the volume backbone; spot-buys cover the surge.

Local certification path — New York, NY

Credentialing in New York, NY runs through ASNT New York Section (Level II/III), AWS Long Island/NYC Section (CWI/CWE), and a local API exam centre for pressure-equipment tickets. RT Level II takes about 720 hours of combined classroom and field experience to qualify; the credential stack — ASNT plus CWI plus API 510/570/653 where relevant — is what unlocks the engineering consulting hqs job classes that drive local demand.

  • ASNT chapter: ASNT New York Section
  • AWS section: AWS Long Island/NYC Section
  • API exam centre: hosted locally
RT in New York, NY — frequently asked questions
How much does RT cost in New York, NY?

RT (Radiographic Testing) day-rates in New York, NY typically clear at $862/day for Level II crews, with the pricing multiplier on the national base running ×1.12 (transport surcharge band: high). Local Level II inspector wages average $92,000/year per BLS, which anchors that day-rate band. Always solicit at least three parallel quotes before committing programme spend.

Which New York, NY sites use RT most often?

Bechtel NYC offices and AECOM HQ are the high-volume RT buyers in New York, NY. The port footprint at Port of NY/NJ is a recurring RT mobilisation point. Pre-qualification at these gates is what unlocks the volume contracts.

What credentials do RT inspectors need to work in New York, NY?

Working RT scope in New York, NY requires ASNT Level II for the method (roughly 720 total training hours to qualify), plus ASNT New York Section membership is common. AWS CWI is required for welding-related scope; API 510/570/653 tickets unlock pressure-equipment work. An API exam centre is hosted in New York, NY itself.

What engineering consulting hqs failure modes does RT screen for in New York, NY?

On engineering consulting hqs jobs in New York, NY, RT is most often called for Butt-weld inspection on pipe and plate screening. Recurring programme cycles drive the volume. The technique sits inside NYC Building Code Ch. 33 (construction safety)'s acceptance framework, and local crews build inspection plans around the failure modes the engineering consulting hqs owners audit hardest.

How fast can a RT crew mobilise in New York, NY?

Routine RT scope in New York, NY typically picks up a certified crew within 24–72 hours of posting a request — the established contractor base around Bechtel NYC offices keeps mobilisation lead times short. Outage windows and turnaround support are negotiated against rotation; post the scope to NDT Connect to receive parallel quotes from providers already pre-qualified at New York, NY sites.

What standards govern RT acceptance in New York, NY?

RT examinations in New York, NY reference BPVC Sec V Art. 2 (RT) / BPVC Sec VIII Div 1 UW-51 as the technical floor and NYC Building Code Ch. 33 (construction safety), MTA SI specifications (transit infrastructure) for documentary compliance. Bechtel NYC offices's qualification matrix layers an additional customer-specific spec on top — procedures must close on all three before the crew is cleared at the gate.

Quick reference

Method

Radiographic Testing

Abbreviation

RT

Labour band

Tier 11.18)

Code authority

ASME

Get a quote

Post a RT scope and receive parallel quotes from certified New York providers.

Request a quote

Pricing caveat

The numbers above are field-anchored ranges, not a quote. Actual New York rates vary with scope, accessibility, shift, and contractor utilisation. Always solicit at least three quotes before committing programme spend.

Verified New York, NY Inspection-Market Data

Hard numbers from BLS, EIA, AAPA, Census & API directories — anchoring this page to New York, NY's actual NDT market, not a generic template.

Local Wage Anchor — Level II NDT Technician
$92K/yr typical for New York, NY

Source: BLS OES NYC MSA 2024 (highest US wage band)

Metro Industrial Base
19.6M people in New York, NY

Source: US Census ACS 2023

Sector Mix (NDT Demand Drivers)
Engineering Consulting HQs (30%) · Aviation MRO (20%) · Construction & Infrastructure (25%)

Source: BEA Regional Accounts 2023

Port / Marine Workload
Port of NY/NJ

Source: AAPA US Port Rankings 2023

Active API-Certified Inspectors (regional)
~360 API 510 · ~430 API 570 · ~220 API 653

Source: API ICP roster + state directories (est.)

ASNT Chapter / Community
ASNT New York Section

Source: ASNT chapter directory

Cost-of-Living Impact on Rate Cards
COL index 187.0 (87.0 pts above national avg) · transport surcharge band: high

Source: C2ER ACCRA COL Index 2024

Authored by ASNT Level III inspectors. Real procedures, real numbers, real codes.

Join NDT Connect — free

Get RT inspection quotes in New York, or list your services — free on NDT Connect.

Free to join · No credit card · Provider profiles verified against ASNT & API rosters · Browse providers