Surgical Assistant: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.
The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.
10% of surgical assistants earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $39,690
- Hourly
- $19.08
- Source
- BLS May 2025
25% of surgical assistants earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $50,170
- Hourly
- $24.12
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Half of surgical assistants earn more than this and half earn less.
- Annual
- $66,800
- Hourly
- $32.11
- Source
- BLS May 2025
75% of surgical assistants earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $88,010
- Hourly
- $42.31
- Source
- BLS May 2025
90% of surgical assistants earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $107,610
- Hourly
- $51.74
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Surgical Assistants assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons. The median pay is $66,800 a year ($32.11 an hour) (BLS, May 2025).
- Median pay
- $66,800
- BLS May 2025
- Employed in the U.S.
- 22,270
- BLS May 2025
- Preparation
- Job Zone 3 of 5
- medium preparation
Surgical Assistants at a glance
Surgical assistants in the United States earned a median annual wage of $66,800 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a postsecondary nondegree award as the typical entry-level education for surgical assistants in the United States.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
BLS projects employment of surgical assistants in the United States to grow 6.1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,400 openings a year on average, including replacement openings.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
BLS estimated that 22,270 people were employed as surgical assistants in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Every page for Surgical Assistants
What surgical assistants do day to day
Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).
- Monitor and maintain aseptic technique throughout procedures.
- Maintain an unobstructed operative field, using surgical retractors, sponges, or suctioning and irrigating equipment.
- Pass instruments or supplies to surgeon during procedure.
- Assist with patient resuscitation during cardiac arrest or other life-threatening events.
- Verify the identity of patient or operative site.
- Obtain or inspect sterile or non-sterile surgical equipment, instruments, or supplies.
- Assist members of surgical team with gowning or gloving.
- Cover patients with surgical drapes to create and maintain a sterile operative field.
Industries that employ it
Data Share of all surgical assistant jobs in each industry, 2025 (BLS Employment Matrix).
- Ambulatory healthcare services50.6% of all jobs in this occupation · +7.8% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $69,130
- Hospitals; state, local, and private37.8% of all jobs in this occupation · +3.7% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $76,570
- Administrative and support services1.4% of all jobs in this occupation · -1.9% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $96,660
- Management of companies and enterprises1.2% of all jobs in this occupation · +4.6% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $71,760
- Educational services; state, local, and private0.4% of all jobs in this occupation · +4.0% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $63,860
Sources: BLS 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (share of the occupation's jobs, projected change) and BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates (mean wage). Different industry estimates are not a pay forecast for any person.
Ranked by importance to the job
Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.
Knowledge areas: Medicine and Dentistry, Education and Training, Public Safety and Security, English Language, Biology, Customer and Personal Service.
Software surgical assistants use
Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.
- MEDITECH softwareMedical softwareHot technology
- Electronic medical record EMR softwareMedical software
- Nursing documentation softwareMedical software
- Patient scheduling softwareMedical software
- Patient tracking softwareMedical software
- Supply documentation softwareMedical software
- Surgery workflow communication softwareMedical software
- Microsoft ExcelSpreadsheet softwareHot technology
- Microsoft Office softwareOffice suite softwareHot technology
- Microsoft PowerPointPresentation softwareHot technology
Also called: Certified Surgical Technician (Certified Surgical Tech), CRNFA (Certified Registered Nurse First Assistant), CSA (Certified Surgical Assistant), CSFA (Certified Surgical First Assistant), GI Technician (Gastrointestinal Technician), RNFA (Registered Nurse First Assistant).
How this page is built
Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.
- How a specific employer defines the job.
- Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
- Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
- 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.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.