Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Peer-group outlier SOC 29-1181

Audiologists

Median pay sits 71% below the mid peer in Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations (neighbors include Pediatric Surgeons, Physicians, All Other, Cardiologists, Surgeons, All Other).

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Audiologists: Pediatric Surgeons ($559K) , Physicians, All Other ($266K) , Cardiologists ($496K) , Surgeons, All Other ($414K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Audiologists publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 29-1181 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Maintain patient records at all stages, including initial and subsequent evaluation and treatment activities
  2. 2. Evaluate hearing and balance disorders to determine diagnoses and courses of treatment
  3. 3. Fit, dispense, and repair assistive devices, such as hearing aids
  4. 4. Administer hearing tests and examine patients to collect information on type and degree of impairment, using specialized instruments and…
  5. 5. Monitor patients' progress and provide ongoing observation of hearing or balance status
  6. 6. Instruct patients, parents, teachers, or employers in communication strategies to maximize effective receptive communication
  7. 7. Counsel and instruct patients and their families in techniques to improve hearing and communication related to hearing loss
  8. 8. Refer patients to additional medical or educational services, if needed
  9. 9. Participate in conferences or training to update or share knowledge of new hearing or balance disorder treatment methods or technologies
  10. 10. Examine and clean patients' ear canals
  11. 11. Recommend assistive devices according to patients' needs or nature of impairments
  12. 12. Advise educators or other medical staff on hearing or balance topics

Audiologists: O*NET ranks Reading Comprehension first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 29-1181 - lead skill Reading Comprehension at 4.1 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Reading Comprehension 4.1
  2. 2. Active Listening 4.1
  3. 3. Writing 4.0
  4. 4. Speaking 4.0
  5. 5. Critical Thinking 4.0
  6. 6. Active Learning 4.0
  7. 7. Social Perceptiveness 4.0
  8. 8. Monitoring 3.8

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 4.8
  2. 2. Therapy and Counseling 4.6
  3. 3. Psychology 4.3
  4. 4. Medicine and Dentistry 4.3
  5. 5. English Language 4.2
  6. 6. Sales and Marketing 4.1
Pay vs Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations peers
-71%
vs mid peer median $335,550
This role $95,780/yr
$96K
National median
↑ +10%
Growth 2024-2034
700
Annual openings
13,660
Estimated US jobs
Pediatric Surgeons
Highest-pay peer · $559K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Doctoral or professional degree

Top Paying States for Audiologists

1. North Dakota $118,750
2. Nevada $133,110
3. Washington $108,580
4. New Hampshire $105,590
5. Connecticut $113,180
6. California $114,910
7. Oregon $109,560
8. Hawaii $113,850
9. Alaska $114,170
10. New Jersey $119,230

Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations titles

  1. 1. Cardiologists $496,010
  2. 2. Pediatric Surgeons $559,030
  3. 3. Physicians, All Other $265,930
  4. 4. Surgeons, All Other $414,010
  5. 5. Prosthodontists $311,180
  6. 6. Radiologists $420,860

Among Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations peers on this card, Audiologists sits 71% below the mid peer median ($335,550). Its own median is $95,780.

Employment Projections expect +10% change between 2024 and 2034 (much faster than average vs baseline 3.1%). About 700 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Doctoral or professional degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: North Dakota at $118,750. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Pediatric Surgeons at $559,030. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Audiologists pay-rank #42 in Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations

Audiologists sits at pay-rank #42 of 71 detailed Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 29-1181 · national median $95,780 · middle third of Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations (#42/71). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Audiologists salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 29-1181

North Dakota · top state for Audiologists

$119K published median

Nevada · #2 state pay

$133K · behind North Dakota

Pediatric Surgeons

Highest-pay peer vs Audiologists · $559K

Physicians, All Other

Lower-pay peer beside Audiologists · $266K

Compare Audiologists

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Audiologists with another occupation →

Peer-comparison next reads

Compare Audiologists

Against another occupation

Pediatric Surgeons card

Top peer in this major group

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Audiologists mid-table among Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #42 of 71 detailed Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists ($95K), Diagnostic Medical Sonographers ($97K), Registered Nurses ($98K), Speech-Language Pathologists ($98K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do audiologists do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Audiologists. Leading ones include: Maintain patient records at all stages, including initial and subsequent evaluation and treatment activities; Evaluate hearing and balance disorders to determine diagnoses and courses of treatment; Fit, dispense, and repair assistive devices, such as hearing aids; Administer hearing tests and examine patients to collect information on type and degree of impairment, using specialized instruments and…. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for audiologists? ▼
For SOC 29-1181, O*NET importance scores lead with Reading Comprehension (4.1), Active Listening (4.1), Writing (4.0), Speaking (4.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, Therapy and Counseling, Psychology. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Audiologists? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $95,780 as the national median for Audiologists. The published 10th-90th range is $64,610 to $133,120. Beside Pediatric Surgeons ($559,030), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Audiologists? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Audiologists is +10%. Projected annual openings: about 700. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: much faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Audiologists? ▼
BLS assigns Doctoral or professional degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Audiologists. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Audiologists? ▼
North Dakota ($118,750), Nevada ($133,110), Washington ($108,580) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Audiologists card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 29-1181. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Audiologists. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics