Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020
29-1127 Speech-Language Pathologists
Assess and treat persons with speech, language, voice, and fluency disorders. May select alternative communication systems and teach their use. May perform research related to speech and language problems.
National estimates for Speech-Language Pathologists
Industry profile for Speech-Language Pathologists
Geographic profile for Speech-Language Pathologists
National estimates for Speech-Language Pathologists:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Speech-Language Pathologists:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 148,450 |
1.7 % |
$ 40.02 |
$ 83,240 |
0.6 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Speech-Language Pathologists:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 24.22 |
$ 30.19 |
$ 38.69 |
$ 48.61 |
$ 59.04 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 50,370 |
$ 62,790 |
$ 80,480 |
$ 101,110 |
$ 122,790 |
Industry profile for Speech-Language Pathologists:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Speech-Language Pathologists are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Speech-Language Pathologists, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Speech-Language Pathologists:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
58,530 |
0.71 |
$ 36.38 |
$ 75,670 |
| Offices of Other Health Practitioners |
34,240 |
3.79 |
$ 41.36 |
$ 86,020 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
17,140 |
0.31 |
$ 42.06 |
$ 87,480 |
| Home Health Care Services |
6,410 |
0.43 |
$ 43.31 |
$ 90,080 |
| Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) |
5,990 |
0.39 |
$ 45.46 |
$ 94,560 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Speech-Language Pathologists:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Offices of Other Health Practitioners |
34,240 |
3.79 |
$ 41.36 |
$ 86,020 |
| Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals |
4,030 |
1.51 |
$ 42.30 |
$ 87,990 |
| Educational Support Services |
2,080 |
1.12 |
$ 34.96 |
$ 72,710 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
58,530 |
0.71 |
$ 36.38 |
$ 75,670 |
| Home Health Care Services |
6,410 |
0.43 |
$ 43.31 |
$ 90,080 |
Top paying industries for Speech-Language Pathologists:
Geographic profile for Speech-Language Pathologists:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Speech-Language Pathologists are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Speech-Language Pathologists, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Speech-Language Pathologists:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
14,640 |
0.89 |
0.84 |
$ 45.95 |
$ 95,570 |
| Texas |
14,220 |
1.17 |
1.10 |
$ 36.17 |
$ 75,240 |
| New York |
12,950 |
1.49 |
1.40 |
$ 47.12 |
$ 98,010 |
| Florida |
8,370 |
0.99 |
0.93 |
$ 38.94 |
$ 81,000 |
| Illinois |
7,370 |
1.31 |
1.23 |
$ 38.66 |
$ 80,420 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Speech-Language Pathologists:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Arkansas |
1,940 |
1.64 |
1.54 |
$ 35.40 |
$ 73,630 |
| Delaware |
690 |
1.61 |
1.51 |
$ 40.79 |
$ 84,840 |
| Colorado |
3,950 |
1.53 |
1.44 |
$ 43.85 |
$ 91,200 |
| Connecticut |
2,360 |
1.53 |
1.44 |
$ 48.36 |
$ 100,590 |
| New York |
12,950 |
1.49 |
1.40 |
$ 47.12 |
$ 98,010 |
Top paying states for Speech-Language Pathologists:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| District of Columbia |
450 |
0.65 |
0.61 |
$ 49.00 |
$ 101,920 |
| Connecticut |
2,360 |
1.53 |
1.44 |
$ 48.36 |
$ 100,590 |
| New Jersey |
5,020 |
1.33 |
1.24 |
$ 48.23 |
$ 100,330 |
| New York |
12,950 |
1.49 |
1.40 |
$ 47.12 |
$ 98,010 |
| California |
14,640 |
0.89 |
0.84 |
$ 45.95 |
$ 95,570 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Speech-Language Pathologists:
| 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 |
12,600 |
1.43 |
1.34 |
$ 51.48 |
$ 107,080 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
5,900 |
1.35 |
1.27 |
$ 39.90 |
$ 82,980 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
5,870 |
1.01 |
0.94 |
$ 43.57 |
$ 90,630 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
4,740 |
1.32 |
1.24 |
$ 33.27 |
$ 69,190 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
3,130 |
1.34 |
1.26 |
$ 49.53 |
$ 103,020 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
3,010 |
1.16 |
1.08 |
$ 41.37 |
$ 86,060 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
2,850 |
1.06 |
0.99 |
$ 39.63 |
$ 82,420 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
2,540 |
0.85 |
0.80 |
$ 35.62 |
$ 74,100 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
2,400 |
0.79 |
0.74 |
$ 45.64 |
$ 94,920 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
2,300 |
1.58 |
1.48 |
$ 44.74 |
$ 93,050 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Speech-Language Pathologists:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Homosassa Springs, FL |
120 |
3.90 |
3.65 |
$ 37.68 |
$ 78,380 |
| Tyler, TX |
230 |
2.39 |
2.24 |
$ 35.71 |
$ 74,270 |
| Greenville, NC |
180 |
2.39 |
2.24 |
$ 35.48 |
$ 73,800 |
| Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH |
290 |
2.34 |
2.19 |
$ 31.52 |
$ 65,560 |
| Carbondale-Marion, IL |
120 |
2.34 |
2.19 |
$ 33.22 |
$ 69,090 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT |
860 |
2.27 |
2.13 |
$ 54.35 |
$ 113,050 |
| Syracuse, NY |
600 |
2.15 |
2.01 |
$ 39.88 |
$ 82,950 |
| Jonesboro, AR |
110 |
2.08 |
1.95 |
$ 33.25 |
$ 69,170 |
| Abilene, TX |
140 |
2.07 |
1.94 |
$ 40.37 |
$ 83,960 |
| Idaho Falls, ID |
140 |
1.99 |
1.86 |
(8) |
(8) |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Speech-Language Pathologists:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Modesto, CA |
130 |
0.74 |
0.69 |
$ 61.80 |
$ 128,540 |
| Santa Rosa, CA |
80 |
0.43 |
0.40 |
$ 58.13 |
$ 120,920 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA |
60 |
0.33 |
0.31 |
$ 55.52 |
$ 115,480 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT |
860 |
2.27 |
2.13 |
$ 54.35 |
$ 113,050 |
| Corvallis, OR |
40 |
1.18 |
1.10 |
$ 54.22 |
$ 112,780 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
420 |
0.38 |
0.36 |
$ 52.23 |
$ 108,640 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
12,600 |
1.43 |
1.34 |
$ 51.48 |
$ 107,080 |
| Grand Junction, CO |
80 |
1.41 |
1.32 |
$ 51.14 |
$ 106,360 |
| Chico, CA |
60 |
0.86 |
0.81 |
$ 50.89 |
$ 105,860 |
| Fresno, CA |
260 |
0.68 |
0.64 |
$ 50.37 |
$ 104,770 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Speech-Language Pathologists:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Speech-Language Pathologists:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Speech-Language Pathologists:
About May 2020 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.
(8) Estimate not released.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2020 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2021
United States Department of Labor
