Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019

19-4021 Biological Technicians

Assist biological and medical scientists. Set up, operate, and maintain laboratory instruments and equipment, monitor experiments, collect data and samples, make observations, and calculate and record results. May analyze organic substances, such as blood, food, and drugs.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
79,530	2.6 %	$23.61	$49,110	0.7 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$14.20	$17.25	$22.05	$28.47	$35.26
Annual Wage (2)	$29,540	$35,870	$45,860	$59,210	$73,350

Industry profile for this occupation:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Scientific Research and Development Services	27,180	3.84	$24.65	$51,270
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	18,620	0.60	$23.00	$47,840
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	6,970	0.12	$24.99	$51,980
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation)	6,190	0.31	$21.72	$45,170
Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing	4,330	1.46	$25.42	$52,880

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Scientific Research and Development Services	27,180	3.84	$24.65	$51,270
Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing	4,330	1.46	$25.42	$52,880
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	18,620	0.60	$23.00	$47,840
Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories	1,630	0.59	$21.91	$45,570
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation)	6,190	0.31	$21.72	$45,170

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Management of Companies and Enterprises	170	0.01	$29.35	$61,040
Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing	220	0.05	$28.12	$58,490
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals	(8)	(8)	$26.22	$54,550
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	990	0.02	$25.82	$53,710
Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing	4,330	1.46	$25.42	$52,880

Geographic profile for this occupation:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	9,740	0.56	1.03	$25.83	$53,740
Texas	6,810	0.55	1.01	$24.06	$50,030
Massachusetts	6,290	1.74	3.21	$30.06	$62,530
Ohio	5,010	0.92	1.70	$22.35	$46,480
New York	3,920	0.41	0.76	$23.97	$49,870

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Massachusetts	6,290	1.74	3.21	$30.06	$62,530
Oregon	2,470	1.30	2.39	$21.42	$44,560
Maryland	3,380	1.25	2.31	$25.62	$53,280
Montana	510	1.09	2.02	$18.02	$37,490
Colorado	2,910	1.09	2.01	$21.69	$45,120

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Connecticut	710	0.43	0.79	$33.30	$69,260
Massachusetts	6,290	1.74	3.21	$30.06	$62,530
New Jersey	1,130	0.28	0.51	$26.73	$55,610
New Hampshire	580	0.88	1.63	$26.10	$54,290
Illinois	1,890	0.31	0.58	$26.04	$54,160

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	5,660	2.02	3.73	$30.15	$62,710
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	3,190	1.05	1.93	$22.71	$47,240
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	2,740	0.28	0.52	$26.04	$54,160
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO	2,440	1.61	2.98	$21.24	$44,180
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	2,200	0.60	1.11	$28.14	$58,530
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	2,200	1.09	2.01	$24.04	$50,000
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	2,120	0.74	1.36	$24.99	$51,980
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA	1,930	1.29	2.39	$24.86	$51,700
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	1,920	0.31	0.57	$23.96	$49,840
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	1,920	0.60	1.12	$29.33	$61,010

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Corvallis, OR	200	5.49	10.14	$21.85	$45,450
Athens-Clarke County, GA	460	5.24	9.67	$25.87	$53,810
Ames, IA	180	4.08	7.53	$23.41	$48,700
Iowa City, IA	350	3.80	7.01	$21.11	$43,910
Ann Arbor, MI	700	3.11	5.75	$19.58	$40,730
Charlottesville, VA	350	3.00	5.54	$22.88	$47,600
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	780	2.47	4.56	$22.14	$46,040
Ithaca, NY	120	2.37	4.38	$23.51	$48,900
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	5,660	2.02	3.73	$30.15	$62,710
Madison, WI	660	1.66	3.06	$26.26	$54,620