Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020

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).

National estimates for Surgical Technologists
Industry profile for Surgical Technologists
Geographic profile for Surgical Technologists

National estimates for Surgical Technologists:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Surgical Technologists:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
107,400	1.2 %	$ 24.77	$ 51,510	0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for Surgical Technologists:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 16.40	$ 19.72	$ 23.90	$ 29.32	$ 35.15
Annual Wage (2)	$ 34,120	$ 41,010	$ 49,710	$ 60,980	$ 73,110

Industry profile for Surgical Technologists:

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

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Surgical Technologists:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	76,770	1.37	$ 24.65	$ 51,270
Offices of Physicians	11,140	0.43	$ 24.68	$ 51,330
Outpatient Care Centers	10,860	1.13	$ 25.81	$ 53,690
Offices of Dentists	2,980	0.35	$ 23.12	$ 48,080
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals	1,860	0.70	$ 26.39	$ 54,900

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Surgical Technologists:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	76,770	1.37	$ 24.65	$ 51,270
Outpatient Care Centers	10,860	1.13	$ 25.81	$ 53,690
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals	1,860	0.70	$ 26.39	$ 54,900
Offices of Physicians	11,140	0.43	$ 24.68	$ 51,330
Offices of Dentists	2,980	0.35	$ 23.12	$ 48,080

Top paying industries for Surgical Technologists:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	640	0.02	$ 27.69	$ 57,590
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals	1,860	0.70	$ 26.39	$ 54,900
Outpatient Care Centers	10,860	1.13	$ 25.81	$ 53,690
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services	310	0.10	$ 25.42	$ 52,880
Management of Companies and Enterprises	110	(7)	$ 25.21	$ 52,440

Geographic profile for Surgical Technologists:

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

States with the highest employment level in Surgical Technologists:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Texas	10,680	0.88	1.14	$ 23.97	$ 49,860
California	9,140	0.56	0.72	$ 31.04	$ 64,570
Florida	7,720	0.91	1.18	$ 22.46	$ 46,710
New York	5,510	0.63	0.82	$ 28.55	$ 59,380
Pennsylvania	4,080	0.74	0.96	$ 23.02	$ 47,890

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Surgical Technologists:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
South Dakota	730	1.78	2.30	$ 21.49	$ 44,700
West Virginia	890	1.37	1.77	$ 19.18	$ 39,890
South Carolina	2,300	1.14	1.48	$ 21.10	$ 43,880
Oklahoma	1,750	1.12	1.45	$ 21.59	$ 44,900
Louisiana	1,980	1.10	1.42	$ 20.26	$ 42,140

Top paying states for Surgical Technologists:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Alaska	230	0.79	1.02	$ 32.27	$ 67,120
Nevada	1,100	0.88	1.14	$ 32.21	$ 67,000
California	9,140	0.56	0.72	$ 31.04	$ 64,570
Connecticut	1,030	0.67	0.86	$ 29.96	$ 62,310
District of Columbia	280	0.41	0.53	$ 29.63	$ 61,620

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Surgical Technologists:

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	5,420	0.61	0.79	$ 29.29	$ 60,910
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	3,170	0.54	0.71	$ 28.79	$ 59,880
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	3,030	1.02	1.32	$ 26.08	$ 54,240
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	2,870	0.66	0.85	$ 25.49	$ 53,020
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	2,430	0.68	0.88	$ 25.07	$ 52,140
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	2,150	0.82	1.06	$ 24.66	$ 51,290
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	2,130	0.85	1.10	$ 22.68	$ 47,180
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	1,840	0.68	0.88	$ 23.32	$ 48,500
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	1,720	0.97	1.25	$ 22.67	$ 47,150
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	1,680	0.65	0.84	$ 28.62	$ 59,540

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Surgical Technologists:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Morgantown, WV	200	3.29	4.26	$ 16.50	$ 34,320
Rapid City, SD	200	3.21	4.16	$ 22.88	$ 47,580
Florence, SC	220	2.62	3.39	$ 20.15	$ 41,910
Sioux Falls, SD	360	2.34	3.04	$ 21.31	$ 44,330
Lawton, OK	80	2.01	2.60	$ 21.70	$ 45,140
Peoria, IL	320	1.99	2.58	$ 22.61	$ 47,020
Brunswick, GA	80	1.94	2.51	$ 15.34	$ 31,910
Rome, GA	70	1.90	2.47	$ 24.11	$ 50,150
Wausau, WI	120	1.80	2.33	$ 25.76	$ 53,580
Manhattan, KS	70	1.78	2.31	$ 21.70	$ 45,140