Surgical Technology/Technologist Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Surgical Technology/Technologist maps to BLS occupations averaging about $64,987, with roughly 1,596,050 workers nationwide in those roles. Median in-state published tuition is about $9,228; common paths include Teachers, Postsecondary and Secondary School Teachers.
Key Statistics
Surgical Technology/Technologist: what the data shows
Common questions about surgical technology/technologist degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a surgical technology/technologist degree?
A Surgical Technology/Technologist program is classified under NCES CIP 51.0909 in the Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions field family (51.09).
A program that prepares individuals, under the supervision of physicians and surgical nurses, to maintain, monitor, and enforce the sterile field and adherence to aseptic technique by preoperative, surgical team, and postoperative personnel. Includes instruction in instrument and equipment sterilization and handling, surgical supplies management, wound exposure and closure, surgical computer and robot operation and monitoring, maintenance of hemostasis, and patient and team scrubbing
IPEDS counted 25 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of surgical technology/technologist degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 51.09 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Athletic Training/Trainer (CIP 51.0913)
- Cardiopulmonary Technology/Technologist (CIP 51.0915)
- Cardiovascular Technology/Technologist (CIP 51.0901)
- Diagnostic Medical Sonography/Sonographer and Ultrasound Technician (CIP 51.0910)
- Electrocardiograph Technology/Technician (CIP 51.0902)
- Electroneurodiagnostic/Electroencephalographic Technology/Technologist (CIP 51.0903)
- Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic) (CIP 51.0904)
- Gene/Genetic Therapy (CIP 51.0914)
- Hearing Instrument Specialist (CIP 51.0918)
- Hyperbaric Medicine Technology/Technician (CIP 51.0921)
- Intraoperative Neuromonitoring Technology/Technician (CIP 51.0922)
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Technology/Technician (CIP 51.0920)
- Mammography Technology/Technician (CIP 51.0919)
- Medical Radiologic Technology/Science - Radiation Therapist (CIP 51.0907)
- Nuclear Medical Technology/Technologist (CIP 51.0905)
- Orthopedic Technology/Technician (CIP 51.0923)
- Perfusion Technology/Perfusionist (CIP 51.0906)
- Physician Associate/Assistant (CIP 51.0912)
- Polysomnography (CIP 51.0917)
- Radiation Protection/Health Physics Technician (CIP 51.0916)
- Radiologic Technology/Science - Radiographer (CIP 51.0911)
- Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist (CIP 51.0908)
How long does it take to get a surgical technology/technologist degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 51.0909 in our file:
- 5,465 Associate (49.6% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 25 Bachelor's (0.2% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 5,465 Master's (49.6% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
- 62 Doctorate (0.6% of IPEDS total)—varies by program
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What do you learn in surgical technology/technologist?
O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Writing, Critical Thinking, Service Orientation, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.
What degree do you need?
For Teachers, Postsecondary (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 surgical technology/technologist degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Surgical Technology/Technologist 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Teachers, Postsecondary | 1,500,000 | — |
| Secondary School Teachers | 1,072,540 | $64,580 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a surgical technology/technologist degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions bachelor's program family: median debt $23,791, median earnings $70,786 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.39.
About 1.3% 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 $9,228 and median net price is $19,685.
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 Surgical Technology/Technologist and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$9,228 Median In-State Public
$36,298 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Surgical Technology/Technologist majors are, on average, $9,228 for in-state public colleges, and $36,298 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Surgical Technology/Technologist programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
25 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Surgical Technology/Technologist from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Surgical Technology/Technologist.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 156,755 |
| 2 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | 68,619 |
| 3 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,398 |
| 4 | Texas A&M University-College Station | TX | 59,099 |
| 5 | University of Central Florida | FL | 59,095 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Surgical Technology/Technologist programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Monica College | CA | $1,156 |
| 2 | Santiago Canyon College | CA | $1,164 |
| 3 | Orange Coast College | CA | $1,208 |
| 4 | Los Angeles Harbor College | CA | $1,238 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Pierce College | CA | $1,238 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Surgical Technology/Technologist programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coahoma Community College | MS | $560 |
| 2 | Cerritos College | CA | $693 |
| 3 | Texas A & M International University | TX | $3,061 |
| 4 | Mt San Antonio College | CA | $3,107 |
| 5 | Santiago Canyon College | CA | $3,407 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Surgical Technology/Technologist programs.
Graduation Rates
53.13% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)
52.58% Average Graduation Rate
965 Institutions Reporting
40.00% - 65.36% Interquartile Range
Graduation/completion rates for Surgical Technology/Technologist programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Surgical Technology/Technologist is in MI (22 completions). That state represents about 88.0% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is MI (0.02% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| MI | 22 | 88.0% | 0.02% |
| WI | 3 | 12.0% | 0.00% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 51.09 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Athletic Training/Trainer CIP 51.0913
- Cardiopulmonary Technology/Technologist CIP 51.0915
- Cardiovascular Technology/Technologist CIP 51.0901
- Diagnostic Medical Sonography/Sonographer and Ultrasound Technician CIP 51.0910
- Electrocardiograph Technology/Technician CIP 51.0902
- Electroneurodiagnostic/Electroencephalographic Technology/Technologist CIP 51.0903
- Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic) CIP 51.0904
- Gene/Genetic Therapy CIP 51.0914
- Hearing Instrument Specialist CIP 51.0918
- Hyperbaric Medicine Technology/Technician CIP 51.0921
- Intraoperative Neuromonitoring Technology/Technician CIP 51.0922
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Technology/Technician CIP 51.0920
- Mammography Technology/Technician CIP 51.0919
- Medical Radiologic Technology/Science - Radiation Therapist CIP 51.0907
- Nuclear Medical Technology/Technologist CIP 51.0905
- Orthopedic Technology/Technician CIP 51.0923
- Perfusion Technology/Perfusionist CIP 51.0906
- Physician Associate/Assistant CIP 51.0912
- Polysomnography CIP 51.0917
- Radiation Protection/Health Physics Technician CIP 51.0916
- Radiologic Technology/Science - Radiographer CIP 51.0911
- Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist CIP 51.0908
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 51.0909 in the survey year used in our extract (11,017 total across levels below).
- 5,465 Associate (49.6% of IPEDS total)
- 25 Bachelor's (0.2% of IPEDS total)
- 5,465 Master's (49.6% of IPEDS total)
- 62 Doctorate (0.6% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
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 $64,987. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Surgical Technology/Technologist graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Teachers, Postsecondary | $36,511 | 1,500,000 |
| Secondary School Teachers | $104,813 | 1,072,540 |
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 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions CIP family (46 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Surgical Technology/Technologist graduate.
- $23,791 median federal loan debt among completers
- $70,786 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.39 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 1.3% 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
$40,621 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Surgical Technology/Technologist majors is $40,621.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Surgical Technology/Technologist majors.
Occupations by Share
1,596,050 2023 Workforce
The number of Surgical Technology/Technologist graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Surgical Technology/Technologist by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Surgical Technology/Technologist in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Surgical Technology/Technologist.
Age distribution for Surgical Technology/Technologist degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
25 Total Degrees Awarded
4 Male (16.00%)
21 Female (84.00%)
Gender distribution of Surgical Technology/Technologist degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
14 White (56.00%)
4 Hispanic or Latino (16.00%)
2 Two or More Races (8.00%)
1 Black or African American (4.00%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Surgical Technology/Technologist degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Surgical Technology/Technologist are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Surgical Technology/Technologist.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Surgical Technology/Technologist field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Surgical Technology/Technologist majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Surgical Technology/Technologist 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 Surgical Technology/Technologist majors.
About
A program that prepares individuals, under the supervision of physicians and surgical nurses, to maintain, monitor, and enforce the sterile field and adherence to aseptic technique by preoperative, surgical team, and postoperative personnel. Includes instruction in instrument and equipment sterilization and handling, surgical supplies management, wound exposure and closure, surgical computer and robot operation and monitoring, maintenance of hemostasis, and patient and team scrubbing
In 2023, 25 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Surgical Technology/Technologist.
CIP Code
51.0909 - Surgical Technology/Technologist
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $23,791 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $70,786, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.39. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Surgical Technology/Technologist graduate.
Women earned 86.1% of 7,626 Surgical Technology/Technologist completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $64,987. The largest mapped role by headcount is Teachers, Postsecondary (1,500,000 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $9,228 in-state at public colleges and $36,298 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.