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The national median salary for Speech-Language Pathologists is $97,864 per year ($47.05/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $77,730 and $114,566 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $134,160 per year. There are approximately 183,390 speech-language pathologists employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
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.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+15.0%
Much faster than average
Annual openings
13K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
187K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
21% from new growth79% from people leaving the role
Mixed: openings come from both new growth and people exiting the role.
Typical entry requirements
Education
Master's degree
Experience
None
On-the-job training
Internship/residency
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Elementary and Secondary Schools
NAICS 611100
72K
$83,080
Offices of Other Health Practitioners
NAICS 621300
49K
$99,080
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
NAICS 622100
20K
$103,160
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities)
NAICS 623100
7K
$111,680
Home Health Care Services
NAICS 621600
6K
$117,370
Wage range across top 5 industries: $83,080 to $117,370 (41% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$30.24
$62,899
P25
$37.37
$77,730
P50MEDIAN
$47.05
$97,864
P75
$55.08
$114,566
P90
$64.50
$134,160
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · health sector
Hot
Openings Rate
5.4%
Quits Rate
1.9%
Health Care & Social Assistance openings rebounded to 1.36M (+87K) in March with rate at 5.4%. Hires rose to 700K (+75K). The sector remains structurally tight; compensation pressure persists for clinical roles.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average speech-language pathologists salary?
The national median salary for Speech-Language Pathologists is $97,864 per year ($47.05/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $77,730 and $114,566 annually.
How much do top-earning speech-language pathologists make?
The 90th percentile salary for Speech-Language Pathologists is $134,160 per year ($64.50/hr). The 75th percentile is $114,566 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for speech-language pathologists?
Entry-level Speech-Language Pathologists (10th percentile) earn approximately $62,899 per year ($30.24/hr). The 25th percentile is $77,730 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
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