Surgical Technologists Salary: $85,502 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 113,890 surgical technologists nationally earn a mean of $85,502. Employment in the series shown fell about 5% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 1.1% annual growth.
Key Statistics
Surgical Technologists: what the data shows
Common questions about surgical technologists careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a surgical technologists?
Surgical Technologists is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 29-2055.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 113,890 workers.
What does a surgical technologists do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Getting Information, Assisting and Caring for Others, Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards, Handling and Moving Objects, Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a surgical technologists make?
BLS national median annual wage: $62,830 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $85,502 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $58,621 |
| 25th percentile | $68,472 |
| Median (50th) | $83,325 |
| 75th percentile | $99,462 |
| 90th percentile | $117,499 |
What education do you need?
For Surgical Technologists, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Monitoring, Active Listening, Operations Monitoring, Time Management, Coordination, Critical Thinking, and knowledge areas including Customer and Personal Service, Medicine and Dentistry, English Language, Education and Training. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is surgical technologists in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 1.1% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 5.6%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 11.5%.
Current U.S. headcount: 113,890.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do surgical technologistss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Hospitals | 160,490 | 21.5% |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 157,310 | 21.1% |
| Cross-industry | 113,890 | 15.3% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 108,170 | 14.5% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 102,140 | 13.7% |
| Ambulatory Health Care Services | 27,900 | 3.7% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Surgical Technologists in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Surgical Technologists workforce.
Employment Over Time
113,890 Workforce in 2023
The Surgical Technologists workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Surgical Technologists.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$85,502 Average Wage
In 2023, Surgical Technologists earned an average of $85,502.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Surgical Technologists.
Salary distribution for Surgical Technologists.
Employment Growth Projections
1.1% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
43,875 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 5.6%
46,320 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 11.5%
This occupation is projected to grow at 1.1% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Surgical Technologists.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Surgical Technologists and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Surgical Technologists employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Surgical Technologists.
Wage Trends by Industry
6.1% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Surgical Technologists.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Surgical Technologists.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 10,570 employees, $83,240 avg wage
- TX: 9,870 employees, $62,940 avg wage
- FL: 8,620 employees, $59,840 avg wage
- NY: 5,910 employees, $75,950 avg wage
- PA: 4,710 employees, $64,840 avg wage
- GA: 4,100 employees, $61,610 avg wage
- MI: 3,910 employees, $61,710 avg wage
- OH: 3,800 employees, $61,600 avg wage
- IL: 3,730 employees, $70,320 avg wage
- NC: 3,720 employees, $58,670 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Surgical Technologists.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 5,730 employees, $79,060 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 3,500 employees, $79,080 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 2,820 employees, $69,130 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 2,680 employees, $74,370 avg wage
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: 2,200 employees, $66,790 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 2,190 employees, $67,020 avg wage
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: 2,180 employees, $63,500 avg wage
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: 2,090 employees, $64,980 avg wage
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 1,680 employees, $80,100 avg wage
- Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI: 1,640 employees, $62,430 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Surgical Technologists.
Diversity
Demographic information on Surgical Technologists in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Surgical Technologists in 2023 was 113,890 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Surgical 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 Surgical Technologists.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Surgical Technologists.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Surgical Technologists in 2023 were Business Administration, Health Sciences, Business.
Common majors for Surgical Technologists.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Surgical Technologists workers.
Education level distribution for Surgical Technologists.
Skills
Surgical Technologists need many skills, but most especially Monitoring, Active Listening, Operations Monitoring, Time Management, Coordination.
Required skills for Surgical Technologists.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Surgical Technologists.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Surgical Technologists include Customer and Personal Service, Medicine and Dentistry, English Language, Education and Training, Psychology.
Knowledge areas required for Surgical Technologists.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Surgical Technologists include Oral Comprehension, Problem Sensitivity, Near Vision, Speech Recognition, Arm-Hand Steadiness.
Required abilities for Surgical Technologists.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Surgical Technologists.
Daily Activities
Surgical Technologists spend their time on activities such as Getting Information, Assisting and Caring for Others, Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards, Handling and Moving Objects, Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials.
Most important work activities for Surgical Technologists.
About
Surgical Technologists
The average yearly wage for Surgical Technologists was $85,502 in 2023.
SOC Code
29-2055 - Surgical Technologists
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Surgical Technologists reports an average salary of $85,502.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 113,890 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth 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.