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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

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).


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)
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


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)
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


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)
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




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)
Florence, SC 260 2.97 4.00 $18.77 $39,030
Owensboro, KY 130 2.49 3.36 $20.50 $42,640
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL 280 2.45 3.30 $20.76 $43,170
Rome, GA 80 2.23 3.00 $23.16 $48,180
Sioux Falls, SD 330 2.09 2.81 $20.70 $43,050
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 270 2.05 2.76 $20.58 $42,810
Wausau, WI 140 2.02 2.73 $26.89 $55,930
Rapid City, SD 130 1.93 2.60 $20.07 $41,760
Lima, OH 90 1.86 2.51 $22.88 $47,590
Montgomery, AL 300 1.85 2.49 $15.57 $32,390




Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Salinas, CA 60 0.35 0.47 $35.71 $74,280
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 1,170 0.47 0.64 $34.99 $72,790
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 560 0.49 0.66 $33.54 $69,750
Anchorage, AK 150 0.87 1.17 $33.50 $69,690
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 140 0.97 1.30 $33.25 $69,160
Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA 680 0.67 0.91 $32.76 $68,150
Fresno, CA 240 0.61 0.82 $32.35 $67,280
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV 830 0.81 1.09 $32.24 $67,060
Redding, CA 50 0.79 1.06 $31.98 $66,520
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA 110 0.57 0.76 $31.93 $66,420

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Northeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area 260 1.10 1.49 $19.54 $40,640
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 230 0.58 0.78 $19.19 $39,910
Piedmont North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 200 0.76 1.02 $20.16 $41,930
North Texas Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 180 0.66 0.89 $21.56 $44,830
South Nebraska nonmetropolitan area 170 1.15 1.55 $22.07 $45,900

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

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
West Central-Southwest New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 150 1.45 1.95 $22.10 $45,980
North Central Tennessee nonmetropolitan area 140 1.29 1.74 $18.03 $37,500
Northwest Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 160 1.29 1.74 $21.30 $44,300
South Nebraska nonmetropolitan area 170 1.15 1.55 $22.07 $45,900
Southern West Virginia nonmetropolitan area 80 1.11 1.49 $18.18 $37,810

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area 40 0.45 0.60 $36.81 $76,570
Alaska nonmetropolitan area 30 0.30 0.41 $31.61 $65,750
Southeast Minnesota nonmetropolitan area 90 0.54 0.73 $29.59 $61,540
Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area 50 0.87 1.18 $27.58 $57,370
Coast Oregon nonmetropolitan area 40 0.36 0.49 $27.56 $57,320


About May 2019 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.

(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 OES estimates and related information:

May 2019 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: July 6, 2020