Sterile Processing Technology/Technician Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Sterile Processing Technology/Technician maps to BLS occupations averaging about $100,040, with roughly 786,680 workers nationwide in those roles. Median in-state published tuition is about $5,250; common paths include Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators and Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks.
Key Statistics
Sterile Processing Technology/Technician: what the data shows
Common questions about sterile processing technology/technician degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a sterile processing technology/technician degree?
A Sterile Processing Technology/Technician program is classified under NCES CIP 51.1012 in the Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions field family (51.10).
A program that prepares individuals to clean, sterilize, and assemble surgical instruments, equipment, and supplies for use in operating rooms and other medical and surgical facilities. Includes instruction in sterilization; infection control; decontamination; and surgical instrumentation processing, distribution, and record-keeping
Types of sterile processing technology/technician degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 51.10 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Blood Bank Technology Specialist (CIP 51.1001)
- Clinical Laboratory Science/Medical Technology/Technologist (CIP 51.1005)
- Clinical/Medical Laboratory Technician (CIP 51.1004)
- Cytogenetics/Genetics/Clinical Genetics Technology/Technologist (CIP 51.1010)
- Cytotechnology/Cytotechnologist (CIP 51.1002)
- Hematology Technology/Technician (CIP 51.1003)
- Histologic Technician (CIP 51.1008)
- Histologic Technology/Histotechnologist (CIP 51.1007)
- Ophthalmic Laboratory Technology/Technician (CIP 51.1006)
- Phlebotomy Technician/Phlebotomist (CIP 51.1009)
- Renal/Dialysis Technologist/Technician (CIP 51.1011)
What degree do you need?
For Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a sterile processing technology/technician degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Sterile Processing Technology/Technician to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators | 111,930 | $56,530 |
| Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks | 229,070 | $48,450 |
| Computer Hardware Engineers | 75,710 | $155,020 |
| Brickmasons and Blockmasons | 53,520 | $60,800 |
| Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products | 293,930 | $100,070 |
| Logging Equipment Operators | 22,520 | $49,210 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a sterile processing technology/technician degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions bachelor's program family: median debt $10,250, median earnings $75,975 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.16.
About 2.3% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $5,250 and median net price is $12,190.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Sterile Processing Technology/Technician and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$5,250 Median In-State Public
$30,680 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Sterile Processing Technology/Technician majors are, on average, $5,250 for in-state public colleges, and $30,680 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Sterile Processing Technology/Technician programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Sterile Processing Technology/Technician from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Sterile Processing Technology/Technician.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | 73,371 |
| 2 | University of Central Florida | FL | 59,146 |
| 3 | Ivy Tech Community College | IN | 58,267 |
| 4 | Ivy Tech Community College | IN | 58,267 |
| 5 | Miami Dade College | FL | 46,182 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Sterile Processing Technology/Technician programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | El Camino Community College District | CA | $1,144 |
| 2 | San Diego City College | CA | $1,146 |
| 3 | San Diego Mesa College | CA | $1,146 |
| 4 | San Diego Miramar College | CA | $1,146 |
| 5 | San Diego Miramar College | CA | $1,146 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Sterile Processing Technology/Technician programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Mexico State University-Grants | NM | $68 |
| 2 | Infinity College | LA | $230 |
| 3 | Wiregrass Georgia Technical College | GA | $614 |
| 4 | Wiregrass Georgia Technical College | GA | $614 |
| 5 | Southern Regional Technical College | GA | $813 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Sterile Processing Technology/Technician programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Sterile Processing Technology/Technician programs across institutions.
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 51.10 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Blood Bank Technology Specialist CIP 51.1001
- Clinical Laboratory Science/Medical Technology/Technologist CIP 51.1005
- Clinical/Medical Laboratory Technician CIP 51.1004
- Cytogenetics/Genetics/Clinical Genetics Technology/Technologist CIP 51.1010
- Cytotechnology/Cytotechnologist CIP 51.1002
- Hematology Technology/Technician CIP 51.1003
- Histologic Technician CIP 51.1008
- Histologic Technology/Histotechnologist CIP 51.1007
- Ophthalmic Laboratory Technology/Technician CIP 51.1006
- Phlebotomy Technician/Phlebotomist CIP 51.1009
- Renal/Dialysis Technologist/Technician CIP 51.1011
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $100,040. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Sterile Processing Technology/Technician graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators | $61,088 | 111,930 |
| Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks | $58,299 | 229,070 |
| Computer Hardware Engineers | $188,333 | 75,710 |
| Brickmasons and Blockmasons | $74,538 | 53,520 |
| Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products | $131,986 | 293,930 |
| Logging Equipment Operators | $65,058 | 22,520 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions CIP family (6 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Sterile Processing Technology/Technician graduate.
- $10,250 median federal loan debt among completers
- $75,975 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.16 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 2.3% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$100,040 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Sterile Processing Technology/Technician majors is $100,040.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Sterile Processing Technology/Technician majors.
Occupations by Share
786,680 2023 Workforce
The number of Sterile Processing Technology/Technician graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Sterile Processing Technology/Technician by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Sterile Processing Technology/Technician in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Sterile Processing Technology/Technician.
Age distribution for Sterile Processing Technology/Technician degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
1,964 Total Degrees Awarded
404 Male (20.57%)
1,560 Female (79.43%)
Gender distribution of Sterile Processing Technology/Technician degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
716 Black or African American (36.46%)
561 Hispanic or Latino (28.56%)
373 White (18.99%)
100 Asian (5.09%)
68 Two or More Races (3.46%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Sterile Processing Technology/Technician degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Sterile Processing Technology/Technician are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Sterile Processing Technology/Technician.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Sterile Processing Technology/Technician field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Sterile Processing Technology/Technician majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Sterile Processing Technology/Technician majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Sterile Processing Technology/Technician majors.
About
A program that prepares individuals to clean, sterilize, and assemble surgical instruments, equipment, and supplies for use in operating rooms and other medical and surgical facilities. Includes instruction in sterilization; infection control; decontamination; and surgical instrumentation processing, distribution, and record-keeping
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Sterile Processing Technology/Technician.
CIP Code
51.1012 - Sterile Processing Technology/Technician
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $10,250 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $75,975, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.16. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Sterile Processing Technology/Technician graduate.
Women earned 79.4% of 1,964 Sterile Processing Technology/Technician completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $100,040. The largest mapped role by headcount is Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators (111,930 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $5,250 in-state at public colleges and $30,680 at private institutions for programs in this field.
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 U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.