Personal or work email, both work. No account needed. Unsubscribe anytime.
The national median salary for Surgical Technologists is $64,646 per year ($31.08/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $54,683 and $79,747 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $96,949 per year. There are approximately 117,460 surgical technologists employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
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.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+4.5%
Faster than average
Annual openings
7K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
116K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
7% from new growth93% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
Postsecondary nondegree award
Experience
None
On-the-job training
None
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
NAICS 622100
82K
$64,950
Offices of Physicians
NAICS 621100
12K
$64,590
Outpatient Care Centers
NAICS 621400
12K
$64,670
Employment Services
NAICS 561300
4K
$62,250
Offices of Dentists
NAICS 621200
2K
$48,190
Wage range across top 5 industries: $48,190 to $64,950 (35% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$22.09
$45,947
P25
$26.29
$54,683
P50MEDIAN
$31.08
$64,646
P75
$38.34
$79,747
P90
$46.61
$96,949
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 surgical technologists salary?
The national median salary for Surgical Technologists is $64,646 per year ($31.08/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $54,683 and $79,747 annually.
How much do top-earning surgical technologists make?
The 90th percentile salary for Surgical Technologists is $96,949 per year ($46.61/hr). The 75th percentile is $79,747 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for surgical technologists?
Entry-level Surgical Technologists (10th percentile) earn approximately $45,947 per year ($22.09/hr). The 25th percentile is $54,683 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.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.