Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists (2026 stats)
Executive Summary
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists — key workforce and wage figures are in the stats below. Projections imply about 1.1% annual decline.
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists: what the data shows
Common questions about medical and clinical laboratory technologists careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a medical and clinical laboratory technologists?
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 29-2011.
What does a medical and clinical laboratory technologists do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Documenting/Recording Information, Getting Information, Working with Computers, Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Analyzing Data or Information, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Science, Operations Monitoring, Active Learning, and knowledge areas including Medicine and Dentistry, Biology, Customer and Personal Service, Chemistry. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is medical and clinical laboratory technologists in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 1.1% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -5.2%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -10.1%.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
What careers are related?
Other occupations linked through shared degree pathways in our mapping:
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Medical Assistants | 793,460 | $44,200 |
| Physician Assistants | 155,540 | $133,260 |
| Nurse Practitioners | 307,390 | $129,210 |
| Pharmacy Technicians | 487,920 | $43,460 |
| Registered Nurses | 3,282,010 | $93,600 |
| Dental Hygienists | 200,000 | — |
| Occupational Therapists | 152,280 | $98,340 |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists workforce.
Employment Over Time
N/A U.S. workforce (OEWS)
Employment for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists shrank from 50,240 in 2009 to 46,140 in 2017 (8.2%).
Historical employment for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists, 2009–2017 (OEWS).
Yearly Wage Ranking
No published wage figure for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists in our current extract.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists.
Salary distribution for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists.
Employment Growth Projections
-1.1% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
43,749 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -5.2%
41,482 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -10.1%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists.
Wage Trends by Industry
Wage trend data by industry is not available for this occupation.
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists.
Top States by Employment
State-level employment data is not available for this occupation.
Top 10 states by employment for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Metropolitan area employment data is not available for this occupation.
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists.
Diversity
Demographic information on Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists in the US.
Gender and Age
Our current extract does not publish a workforce count for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists.
Gender and age distribution for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists in 2023 were Health Sciences, Biology, Chemistry.
Common majors for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists workers.
Education level distribution for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists.
Skills
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Science, Operations Monitoring.
Required skills for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists include Medicine and Dentistry, Biology, Customer and Personal Service, Chemistry, English Language.
Knowledge areas required for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists include Written Comprehension, Near Vision, Oral Comprehension, Inductive Reasoning, Deductive Reasoning.
Required abilities for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists.
Daily Activities
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists spend their time on activities such as Documenting/Recording Information, Getting Information, Working with Computers, Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards, Making Decisions and Solving Problems.
Most important work activities for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists.
About
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists
No published wage figure for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists in our current extract.
SOC Code
29-2011 - Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists
Insights and Analysis
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -1.1%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.