Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019

29-2055 Surgical Technologists

Assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons, registered nurses, or other surgical personnel. May help set up operating room, prepare and transport patients for surgery, adjust lights and equipment, pass instruments and other supplies to surgeons and surgeons’ assistants, hold retractors, cut sutures, and help count sponges, needles, supplies, and instruments. Excludes “Surgical Assistants” (29-9093).

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

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
109,000	1.1 %	$24.09	$50,110	0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$16.07	$19.11	$23.22	$28.52	$34.33
Annual Wage (2)	$33,420	$39,760	$48,300	$59,320	$71,400

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Industry profile for this occupation: Top

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)
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	77,820	1.39	$23.89	$49,700
Outpatient Care Centers	11,270	1.18	$25.65	$53,360
Offices of Physicians	11,020	0.42	$23.90	$49,720
Offices of Dentists	3,370	0.35	$22.68	$47,180
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals	1,880	0.71	$26.18	$54,460

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	77,820	1.39	$23.89	$49,700
Outpatient Care Centers	11,270	1.18	$25.65	$53,360
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals	1,880	0.71	$26.18	$54,460
Offices of Physicians	11,020	0.42	$23.90	$49,720
Offices of Dentists	3,370	0.35	$22.68	$47,180

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals	1,880	0.71	$26.18	$54,460
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	480	0.02	$26.06	$54,210
Outpatient Care Centers	11,270	1.18	$25.65	$53,360
Management of Companies and Enterprises	100	(7)	$24.65	$51,270
Employment Services	1,500	0.04	$24.54	$51,040

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Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

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)
Texas	10,220	0.82	1.11	$23.65	$49,190
California	9,480	0.55	0.74	$30.05	$62,510
Florida	7,540	0.86	1.16	$21.52	$44,770
New York	5,620	0.59	0.79	$27.61	$57,420
Michigan	4,240	0.98	1.31	$21.44	$44,590

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)
West Virginia	1,050	1.50	2.02	$17.94	$37,310
South Dakota	620	1.45	1.96	$20.32	$42,260
Arkansas	1,310	1.08	1.45	$19.95	$41,510
Oklahoma	1,700	1.05	1.42	$20.66	$42,980
South Carolina	2,190	1.04	1.40	$19.73	$41,030

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Alaska	240	0.74	1.00	$32.53	$67,660
Nevada	1,100	0.79	1.07	$30.79	$64,050
California	9,480	0.55	0.74	$30.05	$62,510
District of Columbia	260	0.36	0.49	$29.20	$60,740
Minnesota	2,460	0.85	1.15	$28.89	$60,090

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)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	5,760	0.60	0.80	$28.67	$59,620
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	3,340	0.54	0.72	$28.42	$59,110
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	2,850	0.93	1.26	$25.75	$53,560
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	2,850	0.61	0.82	$24.70	$51,370
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	2,490	0.91	1.22	$23.83	$49,560
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	2,300	0.63	0.85	$24.67	$51,310
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	2,260	0.86	1.15	$22.19	$46,150
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	1,930	0.97	1.31	$21.47	$44,650
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	1,810	0.63	0.85	$22.82	$47,470
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	1,700	0.61	0.82	$28.11	$58,470