Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Above-baseline growth SOC 29-1127

Speech-Language Pathologists

Projected +15% employment change leads this card; pay sits next to Anesthesiologists, Psychiatrists, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, Emergency Medicine Physicians.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Speech-Language Pathologists: Anesthesiologists ($391K) , Psychiatrists ($282K) , Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons ($352K) , Emergency Medicine Physicians ($336K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Speech-Language Pathologists publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 29-1127 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Evaluate hearing or speech and language test results, barium swallow results, or medical or background information to diagnose and plan t…
  2. 2. Write reports and maintain proper documentation of information, such as client Medicaid or billing records or caseload activities, includ…
  3. 3. Monitor patients' progress and adjust treatments accordingly
  4. 4. Develop or implement treatment plans for problems such as stuttering, delayed language, swallowing disorders, or inappropriate pitch or h…
  5. 5. Administer hearing or speech and language evaluations, tests, or examinations to patients to collect information on type and degree of im…
  6. 6. Educate patients and family members about various topics, such as communication techniques or strategies to cope with or to avoid persona…
  7. 7. Supervise or collaborate with therapy team
  8. 8. Participate in and write reports for meetings regarding patients' progress, such as individualized educational planning (IEP) meetings, i…
  9. 9. Teach clients to control or strengthen tongue, jaw, face muscles, or breathing mechanisms
  10. 10. Instruct clients in techniques for more effective communication, such as sign language, lip reading, or voice improvement
  11. 11. Consult with and advise educators or medical staff on speech or hearing topics, such as communication strategies or speech and language s…
  12. 12. Develop speech exercise programs to reduce disabilities

Speech-Language Pathologists: O*NET ranks Reading Comprehension first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 29-1127 - lead skill Reading Comprehension at 4.1 ; lead knowledge English Language. 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. Critical Thinking 4.1
  4. 4. Social Perceptiveness 4.1
  5. 5. Writing 4.0
  6. 6. Speaking 4.0
  7. 7. Learning Strategies 4.0
  8. 8. Active Learning 3.9

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. English Language 4.9
  2. 2. Education and Training 4.2
  3. 3. Customer and Personal Service 4.0
  4. 4. Psychology 4.0
  5. 5. Therapy and Counseling 4.0
  6. 6. Administrative 3.6
Projected employment change 2024-2034
↑ +15%
much faster than average (3.1%)
National median $97,870/yr
$98K
National median
13,300
Annual openings
183,390
Estimated US jobs
Anesthesiologists
Highest-pay peer · $391K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Master's degree

Top Paying States for Speech-Language Pathologists

1. Delaware $102,760
2. New Jersey $101,560
3. District of Columbia $109,380
4. Alaska $102,670
5. Oregon $102,660
6. Rhode Island $104,000
7. Washington $105,550
8. California $118,970
9. Colorado $110,750
10. Nevada $104,510

Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations titles

  1. 1. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons $352,220
  2. 2. Emergency Medicine Physicians $335,550
  3. 3. Physicians, Pathologists $312,400
  4. 4. Psychiatrists $281,870
  5. 5. Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric $300,080
  6. 6. Anesthesiologists $391,490

BLS projects +15% employment change for Speech-Language Pathologists (2024-2034), much faster than average vs the all-occupations baseline of 3.1%. Published median pay is $97,870.

BLS assigns Master's degree as typical entry education. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal employer rules. 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: Delaware at $102,760. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Anesthesiologists at $391,490. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Speech-Language Pathologists pay-rank #39 in Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations

Speech-Language Pathologists sits at pay-rank #39 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 29-1127 · national median $97,870 · middle third of Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations (#39/71). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Speech-Language Pathologists salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 29-1127

Delaware · top state for Speech-Language Pathologists

$103K published median

New Jersey · #2 state pay

$102K · behind Delaware

Anesthesiologists

Highest-pay peer vs Speech-Language Pathologists · $391K

Psychiatrists

Lower-pay peer beside Speech-Language Pathologists · $282K

Compare Speech-Language Pathologists

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Speech-Language Pathologists with another occupation →

Growth and outlook next reads

Fastest-Growing Rankings

National projection leaders

Highest-Paying Careers

Where growth meets pay

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Speech-Language Pathologists mid-table among Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #39 of 71 detailed Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Dental Hygienists ($98K), Registered Nurses ($98K), Diagnostic Medical Sonographers ($97K), Audiologists ($96K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do speech-language pathologists do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Speech-Language Pathologists. Leading ones include: Evaluate hearing or speech and language test results, barium swallow results, or medical or background information to diagnose and plan t…; Write reports and maintain proper documentation of information, such as client Medicaid or billing records or caseload activities, includ…; Monitor patients' progress and adjust treatments accordingly; Develop or implement treatment plans for problems such as stuttering, delayed language, swallowing disorders, or inappropriate pitch or h…. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for speech-language pathologists? ▼
For SOC 29-1127, O*NET importance scores lead with Reading Comprehension (4.1), Active Listening (4.1), Critical Thinking (4.1), Social Perceptiveness (4.1). Knowledge areas emphasize English Language, Education and Training, Customer and Personal Service. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Speech-Language Pathologists? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $97,870 as the national median for Speech-Language Pathologists. The published 10th-90th range is $62,900 to $134,160. Beside Anesthesiologists ($391,490), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
How fast is Speech-Language Pathologists projected to grow? ▼
BLS Employment Projections put Speech-Language Pathologists at +15% change for 2024-2034, with about 13,300 annual openings. Versus the all-occupations baseline (3.1%): much faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Speech-Language Pathologists? ▼
BLS assigns Master's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Speech-Language Pathologists. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Speech-Language Pathologists? ▼
Delaware ($102,760), New Jersey ($101,560), District of Columbia ($109,380) 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 Speech-Language Pathologists card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 29-1127. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Speech-Language Pathologists. 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