Surgical Assistants Salary in New York-Newark-Jersey City
SOC 29-9093 · New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ · BLS OEWS May 2025
Median Annual Salary
$62,982
$30.28/hr
5.7% lower than the US national median ($66,789)
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Is this a competitive Surgical Assistants salary in New York-Newark-Jersey City in 2026?
Based on BLS OEWS wage percentiles, JOLTS September 2026 demand signals, and ECI Q3 2026 wage growth.
$Competitive · ~P50
P10$54K
P25$56K
P50$63K
P75$73K
P90$125K
Drag the dot or type an amount above.
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Demand: HOT. Demand is hot -- health care job openings are running at 5.8% (JOLTS, September 2026), a tight market. Candidates have leverage, so a competitive offer sits at or above the median; below-median offers often will not close.
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Merit budget: Wages in health care are rising about 3.7% a year (BLS ECI, Q3 2026). Budget a 3.3-3.8% merit increase to hold this role at market.
Our read
For a competitive 2026 offer, target $62,982 to $72,717 (market median to the 75th percentile). Lean toward the top of the range for senior or hard-to-fill roles.
Figures are market benchmarks from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; apply professional judgment before making pay decisions.
How Surgical Assistants pay is moving in 2026
Trend, demand, and spread context from BLS OEWS, JOLTS, and ECI
Pay trend
BLS's May 2025 median estimate for this role is 10.8% above its May 2024 estimate. A swing that large usually reflects survey sampling or classification changes between OEWS vintages rather than actual pay changes, so lean on the sector wage-growth benchmark (3.7% per year, BLS ECI) for planning.
Hiring demand · HOT
Health Care & Social Assistance is running a 5.8% job-openings rate with quits at 2.0% (BLS JOLTS). The openings rate has drifted up from 5.5% to 5.8% over the past quarter.
Pay spread
Top earners (P90) make about 2.7 times what entry-level (P10) workers make in this role. That spread is wider than typical, so expect large pay differences by experience, employer size, and geography; build generous ranges and differentiate strongly.
What changed recently
Nov 3, 2026JOLTS September 2026: sector openings at 5.8% (down 35K). BLS revised August up from 5.4% to 5.9%, so last month's pullback largely did not happen. Still the tightest major sector; layoffs fell 70K.
Oct 30, 2026ECI Q3 2026: health care and social assistance wages rose 3.7% over the year (3.6% in Q2), the fastest of the sectors we track.
Sep 29, 2026JOLTS August 2026: sector openings fell to 5.4% (down 115K; July revised up to 5.8%), still the tightest major sector. Quits held at 2.0%.
Commentary is generated from published BLS figures (OEWS May 2025 vs May 2024, JOLTS September 2026, ECI Q3 2026) and refreshed each release. It is interpretation, not a BLS product.
Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026
Next refresh: May 2027
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The median salary for Surgical Assistants in New York-Newark-Jersey City is $62,982 per year ($30.28/hr). This is 5.7% lower than the national median of $66,789.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons. May, in accordance with state laws, help surgeons to make incisions and close surgical sites, manipulate or remove tissues, implant surgical devices or drains, suction the surgical site, place catheters, clamp or cauterize vessels or tissue, and apply dressings to surgical site.
Wage Percentiles: New York-Newark-Jersey City
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours) · BLS metro data
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
vs National
P10Entry level
$26.18
$54,454
+37.2%
P25
$26.77
$55,682
+11.0%
P50MEDIAN
$30.28
$62,982
-5.7%
P75
$34.96
$72,717
-17.4%
P90Top earners
$59.91
$124,613
+15.8%
How New York compares for Surgical Assistants
Computed from this metro's own BLS distribution against national
Pay for Surgical Assistants in New York is above national (+37.2%) at entry but above national (+15.8%) at the top, so local pay sits relatively lower toward the senior end of the range.
An offer at the national median of $66,789 would sit at about the 62nd percentile in New York.
The top of the range earns 2.29 times the bottom here against 2.71 times nationally, so pay for this role is more compressed between entry and senior levels in New York.
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P10–P90 breakdown, career outlook, industry wages, and JOLTS market signal for Surgical Assistants
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Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+5.1%
Faster than average
Annual openings
2K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
25K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
8% from new growth92% 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 2 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
NAICS 622100
9K
$77,260
Offices of Dentists
NAICS 621200
6K
$56,100
Wage range across top 5 industries: $56,100 to $77,260 (38% spread)
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median surgical assistants salary in New York-Newark-Jersey City?
The median (P50) annual salary for Surgical Assistants in New York-Newark-Jersey City is approximately $62,982, based on BLS OEWS May 2025 data. This is 5.7% lower than the national median of $66,789. For the full P10–P90 breakdown and market context, open CompSignal.
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.
