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Salary · Biological Technician · United States

Biological Technician salary: $57,510 median, and how to negotiate yours.

The full pay range by percentile, every state, the top-paying metro areas and similar roles, from the latest BLS survey. Place your own offer on the range.

Updated Nov 2, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025
Annual wage range · U.S. · BLS May 2025
$57,510median ($27.65/hr)

Hourly pay, BLS May 2025: 10th percentile $19.39 · 25th $23.14 · median $27.65 · 75th $34.39 · 90th $40.84.

Quick answer

The median annual wage for biological technicians in the United States was $57,510 in May 2025 (BLS). The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $40,330 and the top 10% earned more than $84,940. That median is 1.1 times the $50,980 median for all occupations. The highest-paying state was California ($71,440).

10th percentile
$40,330
lowest-paid 10% earn less
25th percentile
$48,130
a quarter earn less
75th percentile
$71,520
a quarter earn more
90th percentile
$84,940
top 10% earn more
Key facts

More on biological technician pay

  • The median hourly wage for biological technicians in the United States was $27.65 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • The middle half of biological technicians in the United States earned between $48,130 and $71,520 a year in May 2025 (25th to 75th percentile, BLS).

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • The lowest-paid 10% of biological technicians in the United States earned less than $40,330 a year in May 2025, and the top 10% more than $84,940 (BLS).

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • The mean annual wage for biological technicians in the United States was $61,380 in May 2025, according to BLS; the mean is a different measure from the median.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • BLS estimated that 69,620 people were employed as biological technicians in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

Pay by state

Biological Technician salary in every state

Data BLS state estimates, May 2025. 51 states and DC published a median for this occupation. Sort by pay or by number employed.

Highest median pay
  1. California$71,440
  2. New Jersey$66,040
  3. District of Columbia$64,770
  4. Connecticut$62,360
  5. Massachusetts$62,070
Most people employed
  1. California9,210
  2. Massachusetts8,430
  3. New York5,050
  4. Maryland3,470
  5. Washington3,210
Median annual wage by state
State10th–90th percentile
California$71,440$46,700–$121,6709,210
New Jersey$66,040$47,650–$97,8501,290
District of Columbia$64,770$42,230–$81,560210
Connecticut$62,360$39,520–$92,180650
Massachusetts$62,070$49,880–$94,7608,430
North Carolina$61,720$41,300–$79,0702,460
New York$61,210$39,040–$79,6305,050
Washington$60,800$45,720–$79,5803,210
Maine$60,160$46,450–$79,510510
Colorado$59,400$49,480–$79,3801,990
Indiana$58,790$45,140–$84,9001,020
Delaware$58,550$44,570–$77,910180
Mississippi$56,930$38,550–$79,440330
Alaska$56,470$44,720–$76,860410
Illinois$55,790$36,230–$79,440790
New Hampshire$55,540$41,410–$77,860240
North Dakota$55,330$44,950–$69,150250
Pennsylvania$54,950$43,270–$80,5302,820
Virginia$53,360$40,330–$79,4701,820
Arizona$53,290$44,040–$81,960830
South Carolina$53,040$35,710–$74,890550
Utah$52,960$40,330–$82,500710
Maryland$52,900$41,270–$82,2803,470
Georgia$52,420$42,940–$72,420860
Oregon$52,190$40,330–$73,7401,590
Wisconsin$51,750$40,330–$73,5701,800
Nevada$51,680$37,620–$65,930280
Kansas$51,630$36,700–$82,650480
West Virginia$51,440$41,620–$90,900100
Vermont$51,190$44,390–$64,890220
Ohio$51,080$36,400–$79,4902,240
Michigan$51,070$38,900–$67,8701,160
Tennessee$50,840$41,440–$80,3301,240
Missouri$50,640$38,800–$74,600620
Texas$50,130$36,960–$80,6002,730
Montana$49,920$40,330–$64,980430
New Mexico$49,570$40,330–$61,610140
Alabama$49,220$35,610–$62,230270
Kentucky$48,910$35,280–$73,040260
Hawaii$48,770$36,090–$63,520830
Florida$48,700$36,050–$78,1303,170
Nebraska$48,220$35,380–$67,200600
Minnesota$48,130$40,940–$73,2801,400
Iowa$48,050$39,310–$72,510800
Oklahoma$47,850$38,990–$75,360360
Louisiana$47,310$32,390–$77,400190
Arkansas$46,930$34,920–$73,750420
Wyoming$46,480$40,330–$62,980190
Rhode Island$45,530$43,830–$79,060140
Idaho$42,130$36,030–$59,010450
South Dakota$41,300$38,170–$56,620230
Top-paying metro areas

Where the median is highest

Data Metropolitan areas with at least 100 people employed in the occupation, BLS May 2025.

  1. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$95,220
  2. Trenton-Princeton, NJ$77,170
  3. Boulder, CO$75,390
  4. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$72,940
  5. Worcester, MA$69,730
  6. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA$67,060
  7. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA$66,610
  8. Charlottesville, VA$66,590
  9. Richmond, VA$65,210
  10. Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO$65,140
Similar roles

How the pay compares

Data National medians for related occupations (O*NET related roles, BLS pay).

  1. Biomedical Engineer$109,370
  2. Biologist (BLS: Biological Scientists, All Other)$98,920
  3. Geneticist (BLS: Biological Scientists, All Other)$98,920
  4. Chemist$91,240
  5. Microbiologist$87,990
  6. Chemical Technician$60,390
  7. Biological Technician$57,510
Negotiation script builder

Ask for more, calmly and in writing

Advice Uses only what you type. Replace anything in brackets with something true.

Our view If you cite market data, cite this page's source: the BLS median for your state and the percentile your offer sits at. A specific, sourced number is easier to agree to than a feeling.

Pay by industry

What OEWS reports by employing industry

Data Median and mean annual wage for biological technician jobs in the industries employing the most of them (May 2025). Among the 3 industries here that meet TryHired's reliability rule (5,000+ jobs, 5%+ of establishments reporting, low sampling error, a non-degenerate wage distribution), OEWS reports the highest median for those employed in pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing ($63,190).

Pay by industry
IndustryJobsMedian annual wageMean annual wage
Scientific Research and Development Services25,090$62,060$66,100
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools13,270$53,560$59,000
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)6,440$52,210$55,460
Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing6,320$63,190$72,970
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals4,060$50,580$56,860
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services2,940$47,200$50,670
State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)2,940$49,330$50,760
Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories1,010$47,780$53,280

Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 national industry-specific estimates (A_MEDIAN and A_MEAN fields), detailed industries with at least 1,000 such jobs. Since May 2025 OEWS publishes specific values for many wages that used to appear only as “$239,200 or more”; values BLS still marks that way are shown that way. Industry estimates differ; they are not a forecast of anyone's pay after a move.

Method

How this page is built

Wages are BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates for May 2025 (national, state and metropolitan area), for the occupation shown. OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay: they include base pay, commissions, production bonuses and tips, and exclude overtime, shift differentials, non-production bonuses and benefits. Percentiles describe all workers in the occupation, not entry or senior levels.

What this page can't tell you
  • Pay at a specific employer, or for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Experience level: percentiles are not seniority bands.
  • Equity, bonuses outside OEWS's definition, and benefits.
Sources
  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
  2. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.

How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.

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