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Salary · Psychiatric Technician · United States

Psychiatric Technician salary: $45,130 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
$45,130median ($21.70/hr)

Hourly pay, BLS May 2025: 10th percentile $16.87 · 25th $18.48 · median $21.70 · 75th $24.12 · 90th $29.21.

Quick answer

The median annual wage for psychiatric technicians in the United States was $45,130 in May 2025 (BLS). The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $35,090 and the top 10% earned more than $60,750. That median is 0.9 times the $50,980 median for all occupations. The highest-paying state was District of Columbia ($67,430).

10th percentile
$35,090
lowest-paid 10% earn less
25th percentile
$38,430
a quarter earn less
75th percentile
$50,160
a quarter earn more
90th percentile
$60,750
top 10% earn more
Key facts

More on psychiatric technician pay

  • The median hourly wage for psychiatric technicians in the United States was $21.70 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • The middle half of psychiatric technicians in the United States earned between $38,430 and $50,160 a year in May 2025 (25th to 75th percentile, BLS).

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • The lowest-paid 10% of psychiatric technicians in the United States earned less than $35,090 a year in May 2025, and the top 10% more than $60,750 (BLS).

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • The mean annual wage for psychiatric technicians in the United States was $46,610 in May 2025, according to BLS; the mean is a different measure from the median.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • BLS estimated that 156,960 people were employed as psychiatric technicians in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

Pay by state

Psychiatric Technician salary in every state

Data BLS state estimates, May 2025. 49 states and DC published a median for this occupation. Sort by pay or by number employed.

Highest median pay
  1. District of Columbia$67,430
  2. Oregon$59,820
  3. New York$58,080
  4. Nebraska$57,370
  5. Connecticut$55,500
Most people employed
  1. California14,100
  2. Florida12,710
  3. Texas11,350
  4. Pennsylvania10,340
  5. Illinois9,410
Median annual wage by state
State10th–90th percentile
District of Columbia$67,430$42,440–$78,460380
Oregon$59,820$44,570–$73,5301,250
New York$58,080$41,650–$85,9202,040
Nebraska$57,370$39,490–$62,0001,390
Connecticut$55,500$41,250–$77,5401,040
Hawaii$55,150$45,830–$63,7202,060
New Jersey$54,040$45,770–$64,6202,520
Washington$52,470$44,030–$76,7301,920
Massachusetts$52,000$40,140–$66,3305,340
Alaska$51,650$40,270–$77,830340
California$49,140$40,880–$88,09014,100
Rhode Island$48,520$43,450–$62,490990
Virginia$48,320$38,580–$58,5303,950
Vermont$47,560$40,630–$58,360600
Colorado$47,430$40,940–$59,8101,740
Nevada$46,450$38,480–$56,2502,060
Georgia$46,250$37,530–$58,1305,560
Illinois$46,200$36,820–$53,6209,410
Missouri$45,840$34,870–$55,5304,450
Arizona$45,640$36,240–$56,4208,160
Maryland$45,520$34,500–$61,190680
Maine$45,320$39,320–$51,740620
New Hampshire$44,660$44,180–$60,530260
Pennsylvania$43,930$36,920–$54,00010,340
Kansas$43,780$36,710–$49,3001,670
Florida$43,570$35,280–$57,29012,710
Michigan$43,140$36,630–$72,5504,850
Iowa$42,910$36,370–$46,310690
Idaho$41,490$37,980–$48,180780
South Carolina$40,970$35,390–$53,170560
Indiana$40,910$36,010–$50,1906,790
Utah$40,770$34,760–$47,8701,940
North Carolina$40,630$33,900–$50,5305,950
Kentucky$40,370$31,300–$54,750910
Minnesota$40,300$36,830–$58,4903,550
Wisconsin$40,290$32,560–$84,7604,430
Texas$39,970$33,240–$49,25011,350
North Dakota$39,960$38,350–$55,760270
Tennessee$39,800$31,370–$53,9403,810
Montana$39,190$35,030–$54,350310
Ohio$39,140$31,550–$48,8403,950
Oklahoma$39,060$34,080–$62,400820
New Mexico$39,020$31,390–$49,760660
Delaware$38,410$32,100–$47,320350
Alabama$36,680$23,330–$45,8703,290
Arkansas$35,930$29,790–$44,1301,900
Mississippi$35,320$27,540–$49,770930
West Virginia$34,100$30,130–$44,270770
Louisiana$31,440$28,400–$36,8302,420
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. Stockton-Lodi, CA$95,580
  2. Napa, CA$83,960
  3. Visalia, CA$76,700
  4. Vallejo, CA$76,120
  5. Ann Arbor, MI$72,550
  6. Madison, WI$64,380
  7. Kahului-Wailuku, HI$62,590
  8. Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA$62,400
  9. Lincoln, NE$59,570
  10. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$58,610
Similar roles

How the pay compares

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

  1. Psychiatrist$281,870
  2. Physical Therapist$102,760
  3. Clinical Psychologist$100,580
  4. Occupational Therapy Assistant$72,300
  5. Physical Therapy Assistant$68,380
  6. Recreational Therapist$61,960
  7. Psychiatric Technician$45,130
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 psychiatric technician jobs in the industries employing the most of them (May 2025). Among the 4 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 general medical and surgical hospitals ($45,040).

Pay by industry
IndustryJobsMedian annual wageMean annual wage
Offices of Other Health Practitioners36,400$45,570$46,190
Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals33,100$44,850$47,000
Individual and Family Services17,660$47,240$46,790
Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Facilities16,060$39,800$40,650
Outpatient Care Centers16,030$44,990$46,700
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals15,340$45,040$47,050
State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)4,810$59,570$63,450
Offices of Physicians3,370$46,020$46,440

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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