Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Peer-group outlier SOC 29-2055

Surgical Technologists

Median pay sits 81% below the mid peer in Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations (neighbors include Cardiologists, Physicians, All Other, Psychiatrists, Physicians, Pathologists).

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Surgical Technologists: Cardiologists ($496K) , Physicians, All Other ($266K) , Psychiatrists ($282K) , Physicians, Pathologists ($312K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Surgical Technologists publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 29-2055 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Maintain a proper sterile field during surgical procedures
  2. 2. Count sponges, needles, and instruments before and after operation
  3. 3. Scrub arms and hands and assist the surgical team to scrub and put on gloves, masks, and surgical clothing
  4. 4. Provide technical assistance to surgeons, surgical nurses, or anesthesiologists
  5. 5. Prepare patients for surgery, including positioning patients on the operating table and covering them with sterile surgical drapes to pre…
  6. 6. Hand instruments and supplies to surgeons and surgeons' assistants, hold retractors and cut sutures, and perform other tasks as directed…
  7. 7. Prepare, care for, and dispose of tissue specimens taken for laboratory analysis
  8. 8. Wash and sterilize equipment, using germicides and sterilizers
  9. 9. Monitor and continually assess operating room conditions, including patient and surgical team needs
  10. 10. Operate, assemble, adjust, or monitor sterilizers, lights, suction machines, or diagnostic equipment to ensure proper operation
  11. 11. Prepare dressings or bandages and apply or assist with their application following surgery
  12. 12. Clean and restock operating room, gathering and placing equipment and supplies and arranging instruments according to instructions, such…

Surgical Technologists: O*NET ranks Monitoring first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 29-2055 - lead skill Monitoring at 3.8 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Monitoring 3.8
  2. 2. Active Listening 3.4
  3. 3. Operations Monitoring 3.3
  4. 4. Speaking 3.1
  5. 5. Critical Thinking 3.1
  6. 6. Coordination 3.1
  7. 7. Time Management 3.1
  8. 8. Reading Comprehension 3.0

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 3.7
  2. 2. Medicine and Dentistry 3.7
  3. 3. English Language 3.5
  4. 4. Education and Training 3.1
  5. 5. Psychology 2.9
  6. 6. Public Safety and Security 2.9
Pay vs Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations peers
-81%
vs mid peer median $335,550
This role $64,650/yr
$65K
National median
↑ +5%
Growth 2024-2034
7,000
Annual openings
117,460
Estimated US jobs
Cardiologists
Highest-pay peer · $496K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Postsecondary nondegree award

Top Paying States for Surgical Technologists

1. California $81,310
2. Oregon $81,390
3. New York $79,550
4. Hawaii $82,640
5. Alaska $80,380
6. Minnesota $80,210
7. Washington $77,270
8. Massachusetts $80,870
9. Connecticut $79,890
10. District of Columbia $77,520

Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations titles

  1. 1. Psychiatrists $281,870
  2. 2. Physicians, Pathologists $312,400
  3. 3. Physicians, All Other $265,930
  4. 4. Cardiologists $496,010
  5. 5. Prosthodontists $311,180
  6. 6. Surgeons, All Other $414,010

Among Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations peers on this card, Surgical Technologists sits 81% below the mid peer median ($335,550). Its own median is $64,650.

Employment Projections expect +5% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 7,000 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Postsecondary nondegree award 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: California at $81,310. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Cardiologists at $496,010. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Surgical Technologists pay-rank #56 in Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations

On the Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations median table (71 detailed occupations with OEWS medians), Surgical Technologists lands at #56, in the lower third. That rank is a table position, not a statement about individual workers.

Other lower-third 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 29-2055 · national median $64,650 · lower third of Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations (#56/71). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Surgical Technologists salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 29-2055

California · top state for Surgical Technologists

$81K published median

Oregon · #2 state pay

$81K · behind California

Cardiologists

Highest-pay peer vs Surgical Technologists · $496K

Physicians, All Other

Lower-pay peer beside Surgical Technologists · $266K

Compare Surgical Technologists

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

Peer-comparison next reads

Compare Surgical Technologists

Against another occupation

Cardiologists card

Top peer in this major group

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Surgical Technologists land on the Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations median table? ▼
Surgical Technologists is pay-rank #56 of 71 in this major group, lower third of the median table. Closest lower-third titles: Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses ($64K), Hearing Aid Specialists ($65K), Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Workers, All Other ($66K), Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians ($63K). That position is a table rank, not a worker percentile.
What do surgical technologists do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Surgical Technologists. Leading ones include: Maintain a proper sterile field during surgical procedures; Count sponges, needles, and instruments before and after operation; Scrub arms and hands and assist the surgical team to scrub and put on gloves, masks, and surgical clothing; Provide technical assistance to surgeons, surgical nurses, or anesthesiologists. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for surgical technologists? ▼
For SOC 29-2055, O*NET importance scores lead with Monitoring (3.8), Active Listening (3.4), Operations Monitoring (3.3), Speaking (3.1). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, Medicine and Dentistry, English Language. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Surgical Technologists? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $64,650 as the national median for Surgical Technologists. The published 10th-90th range is $45,940 to $96,940. Beside Cardiologists ($496,010), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Surgical Technologists? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Surgical Technologists is +5%. Projected annual openings: about 7,000. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Surgical Technologists? ▼
BLS assigns Postsecondary nondegree award as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Surgical Technologists. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Surgical Technologists? ▼
California ($81,310), Oregon ($81,390), New York ($79,550) 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 Surgical Technologists card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 29-2055. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Surgical Technologists. 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